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SEAN PLUNKET: How to fix a broken media

This article was published at The Common Room

I’ve been a journalist and broadcaster for nearly forty years. I’ve worked in radio, television and print, in both the public and private sectors. Two years ago, I set up a new online media company called The Platform. It streams talk radio, long-form interviews and sports even. We publish commentary and opinion pieces from a very wide range of writers.

I’ve never been successfully sued for defamation, I’ve won a few awards and in hundreds of thousands of hours on air, I’ve only had one BSA ruling against me. Now I’d like to think that might make me an expert in NZ media and give me a perspective about its current state.

But I’m not. I’m told by mainstream media and those a little younger than me that I’m pale stale and male, a coloniser, a rapist, a misogynist and, of course, a TERF. I don’t take any of that too seriously, but it does seem to be indicative of the mindset of legacy media in this country, they seem almost universally interested in telling you what to think and what your opinions should be rather than informing you so you can make up your own minds. And really, they aren’t at all interested in what you do think, they turn off their comments section and declare they will not debate issues like climate change, co-governance, the Treaty, transgenderism and, of course, free speech.

The ironically (or perhaps appropriately) named Disinformation Project trot out dubious studies claiming cataclysmic levels of racism, violence and discord in our society and then demands we restrict our democratic freedoms and abandon free speech to correct our misdeeds.

It is, of course, all rubbish but it creates a climate of fear where rational open debate is abandoned in favour of a craven conformity with identity politics and the agenda of cry-bully extremists who claim they will be injured if anyone dares to disagree with them.

This problem isn’t confined to the editorial staff of our major media outlets, all of whom, in one way or another, have been compromised by taking government funds with strings very definitely attached. The same attitude is prevalent in major New Zealand businesses who provide money for the advertising that funds the media and the ad agencies that create and place those ads.

The end result is that we are fast losing faith in our fourth estate, increasing numbers of New Zealanders do not trust mainstream news media, who gaslight them and portray this country as a place so at odds with their real lived experience.

We are not a nation divided by race, we do not in any legislative way discriminate against any minority. We are open, friendly, tolerant, innovative, and practical, and like most, we know bullshit when we see and smell it.

It is important that we return to having a functional uncorrupted news media. That’s vital in a functional open democracy.

How do we do it? Well, we say no to those who would brainwash us. We don’t read, turn on or tune in to those who would manipulate us in pursuit of their woke agenda, and we tell them no more.

It means each of us as individuals must make choices and search for outlets and journalists who haven’t fallen down the propaganda rabbit hole.

Praise those who write objectively, report truthfully and stretch your horizons.

Ignore those who lecture you, are biased and unfair or engage in character assassination.

Be wary of those constantly reinforcing your prejudices too or feed you precisely what you want in their information echo chambers.

There are plenty of new media organisations being set up often by people like me with old media experience. And the way news is conveyed to you is rapidly changing, but the fundamental principles of what it should be are timeless. We no longer live in a world where the six o’clock news and the morning paper provide certainty and universal truth, but through the wonders of the digital age and by using our own common sense, we can discern a true picture of the world we live in and make up our own minds of how we react to and exist in it.

To fix our broken media is going to require some effort, you will need to complain and praise and search and comment, you’ll need to get involved, to think, to argue, to discuss and to speak up when you see something wrong.

This doesn’t have to be done with anger or hatred, I prefer humour and engagement, but there will be resistance from those who currently feel they control the narrative and, by extension you. I get the feeling right now that we have collectively had enough, and there is a mood to examine the failings of our media and change it for the better. I really want to be part of that change, and I hope you do too.


I’m Sean Plunket, journalist and Founding Editor of The Platform, for The Common Room.

 
 
 

96 commentaires


john
22 mai 2023

Sky News has the best NZ news. Has done for a very long time. Debating all issues without fear or favour. Nana Herald is good on Saturdays sometimes with Kate McNamara a standout. Occasionally Fran O'Sullivan is able to drag herself away from the Cindy Old Girls Club and do something decent too. Probably best we just turn off everything as some of these correspondents are saying so that there is no longer advertising revenue and no longer rubbish published.

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Macademia
Macademia
22 mai 2023
En réponse à

Also, how do you get alerts for replies to your comments?


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Montgomery
21 mai 2023

I generally like Sean as a Journalist he is no doubt one of NZ's last Journalists standing and this was a good opinion piece but he needs to eat some of his own pie at times, he's occasionally unnecessarily rude to guests and holds opinions arrogantly that have completely no basis in fact whether he likes it or not, yes I am referring to the jab. Sometimes even a good journalist needs to dig deeper..

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janb
21 mai 2023

Very good analysis Sean. The PIJF is just the tip of the iceberg ito funding the media gets from central govt. I would love to know what the real numebrs are for all of govt, SOEs etc. I suspect it is easily 10 times the $ 54 mil that is thrown about. I did some work for The Herald many years ago, and one thing I learnt is this: When people stop their subscriptions (which always happened when they raised the price) it hurts them in more ways than one. Advertisers watch the total papers being printed, and when the number drops, they pull their advertising. The same must be true of TV. When they run an ad and get…

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winder44
winder44
21 mai 2023
En réponse à

Yep. Apart from the allbrown TV ads thrown at us when we would just like to enjoy the very few worthwhile programs that available to us. Thank God that I can record them.

Also I'm sick of trying to decipher some of the Government Dept. titles that have been made "inclusive" for the want of a better word to appease a very small minority of New Zealand's total population.

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kisspete47
21 mai 2023

People can overcome media prejudice . They can deny the supporters of bought media . IF companies are seen to support unpopular advertising by an unpopular political group , it appears to be a simple solution : do not support those who adhere to a bad political agenda

such as HARVEY NORMAN ! Most Herald papers are an insert to a Harvey ADVERT . Spend your hard earned $3 on a Herald paper , and you support Harvey , who pay big-time to be the front liner for the Herald . Without advertisers media , like the Herald , go bankrupt thru lack of revenue ., We all enjoy reading the morning paper , unfortunately due to capiktalistic tendenci…

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Stephen
23 mai 2023
En réponse à

I bet you look forward every day to sitting down having a coffee and reading the paper.and becoming irate


🤬

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