The new deputy prime minister appears to have suggested TVNZ and RNZ could fall under the new government’s remit that Crown Entities communicate primarily in English. But can the government dictate what TVNZ and RNZ broadcast?
Shortly after being sworn in for the first half of the coalition’s unique deputy prime minister job-share arrangement, Winston Peters was asked by media how quickly government departments were expected to remove te reo references.
“We’ll see the speed with which TVNZ and RNZ, which are taxpayer-owned, understand this new message,” he said.
Editorial independence
RNZ is state-owned and funded by the government. TVNZ is also state-owned but is commercially funded through advertising.
RNZ’s charter states that it’s an independent public service broadcaster that “provides reliable, independent, and freely accessible news and information”.
Government ministers or people acting on their behalf cannot give direction to RNZ about its programming or newsgathering by law.
TVNZ does not currently have a charter, but the Television New Zealand Act states TVNZ “must provide high-quality content that encompasses both New Zealand and international content and reflects Māori perspectives”.
That same law also gives TVNZ editorial independence, free from any political influence.
Former Broadcasting Minister Willie Jackson reiterated that editorial independence earlier today when asked to comment on Winston Peters’ assertions about the media.
“The rules are very clear, [the government] can’t interfere, we can’t intervene,” he told RNZ.
“You guys have to have your own independence.”
The Public Interest Journalism Fund
While taking a swipe at journalists yesterday, Winston Peters also repeated a notion widely held among critics of the media that the previous government bought reporters through the Public Interest Journalism Fund.
When a reporter pointed out to Peters that TVNZ and RNZ were independent broadcasters, he said, “Well, isn’t that fascinating, I’ve never seen evidence of that in the last three years.”
He then added: “You can’t defend $55 million of bribery.”
Peters was presumably referring to the Public Interest Journalism Fund, a contestable fund of $55 million spread across three years. The fund was set up during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 to shore up public interest media and came to a close in June this year.
The split across those three years was $10 million in funding in 2020/21, $25 million in 2021/22, and $20 million in 2022/23.
In total, the fund supported 73 projects, 22 industry development and training projects, and the creation of 219 roles. Those projects were spread across large media outlets like Stuff and NZME, as well as regional news outlets and smaller publishers.
NZ On Air was in charge of administering the fund. Under The Broadcasting Act of 1989, the government cannot give NZ On Air any direction on any programme or content, including newsgathering or current affairs content.
Willie Jackson also defended the Public Interest Journalism Fund during his interview with RNZ this morning, saying it was introduced as financial support at a time when many institutions were struggling to stay afloat through the pandemic.
"What you saw was a great investment in support of media outlets, Māori, Pasifika, regional [outlets] ... Gisborne Herald, Otago Daily Times, Ashburton Guardian, they got support and an opportunity to rebuild, reset,” he said today.
"I'm very proud of what we did."
National’s Melissa Lee has been appointed as Minister for Media and Communications in the new government. She is yet to reveal her plans for the sector.
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