Political pressure on media merger pumped up

Legislation for a new public media entity due by March has been reviewed and is due to be debated in Parliament soon. But pundits and opposition politicians alike are urging the government - now under new 'bread and butter'-focused management - to pull the plug on it.Legislation for a new public media entity due by March has been reviewed and is due to be debated in Parliament soon. But pundits and opposition politicians alike are urging the government - now under new 'bread and butter' management - to pull the plug on it.When the legislation for the new public media entity - the Aotearoa New Zealand Public Media Bill - first appeared last year, it didn't get the reception the Broadcasting Minister wanted. "The guarantee of editorial independence is less than watertight," said Gavin Ellis, former editor of the New Zealand Herald. "Too much of the bill leaves out those things that are in the 'too-hard basket'. There is nothing about that relationship between its commercial and non-commercial operations beyond preserving what RNZ does now," Dr Ellis - an affiliate of Koi Tū, the Center for Informed Futures at the University of Auckland - told Mediawatch at the time. Broadcasting minister Willie Jackson insisted people would have "opportunity plus" to have a say - but there was less than a fortnight for submissions to Parliament's Economic Development, Science and Innovation committee. Almost 1000 people and institutions submitted in writing and in person at a series of subsequent hearings. This week the Committee reported back. proposing ministers be prohibited from interfering in content or advertising, the gathering or presentation of news or current affairs content."We consider it inappropriate for a Minister to be able to add functions to a public media entity," the EDSI committee report stated.It said requiring ANZPM to counter what it determines to be "misinformation" might also affect its ability to provide impartial and balanced current affairs content and "erode public faith in ANZPM.""The whole Bill continues to be more about the merging of two existing organisations than the creation of an organisation fit for purpose in the digital age." said Koi Tū's director Sir Peter Gluckman. Koi Tū's response to the Committee report said the Bill was still "unfit for purpose" even after the proposed changes. The Better Public Media Trust welcomed measures to reinforce political independence."However, it falls short of the original proposal in the business case for the new entity structure to be specifically designated as not-for-profit," said spokesperson Dr Peter Thompson. …Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details