Despite Teagate Nats quiet on media reform

Following Teagate and allegations of “News of the World tactics”, you might be forgiven for thinking the media has been an issue for the National party this election.

But National’s broadcasting policy is bare of industry reform, merely parroting changes the Government has already made to TVNZ (removed its charter) and the planned the switchover to solely digital TV.

In response to questions this week, Broadcasting Minister Jonathan Coleman (left) says there is currently no strong case for the introduction of specific new regulation for the broadcasting sector.

“A departmental analysis of submissions made during the review process concluded that the current market appears workably competitive and that there are no compelling indications of future issues.” 

Labour party spokesperson Clare Curran (right) could not be reached for comment.

But the party’s policy that she is resonsible for is to hold a nation-wide debate on media regulation and the possibility of combining the various regulators.

Greens broadcasting spokesperson Sue Kedgley says the country needs to have a look at stronger media regulation, as NZ has one of the most de-regulated media systems in the world.

The Greens want the government to look at combining the Broadcasting Standards Authority (BSA), the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and the Press Council.

Ms Kedglery (left) says the Press Council is reasonably weak, and the ASA is a bit of a joke.

“Some members are people with vested interests and there’s no force to them. It’s like being slapped on the hand with a wet bus ticket.”

She does not think New Zealand has regulations that would prevent something like the News of the World phone hacking scandal.

She also points to the convergence of broadcasting, communications and IT through internet media, and Sky’s monopoly of pay television.

“There is a lot of issues emerging,” she says. “The government has got to put a line in the sand and there needs to be a wide-ranging review.

“But the media is justifiably concerned about freedom of the press, and we don’t want the media regulated in a way that jeopardises that.”

Media law commentator Stephen Price says looking at the way the systems work is unavoidable, but amalgamation of such different bodies may not be the answer.

He says two of them (the Press Council and ASA) are industry self-regulating, while the other is a government authority, and it is hard to say how a combination would work.

“By and large, there are not a lot of complaints about how the Advertising Standards Authority and Press Council are working, and it’s also hard to talk about those without mentioning the censorship authorities.”

He says New Zealand is not infected with the same kind of red top (tabloid) and sleaze news they have in the UK, and thinks the government needs to look at the convergence of internet and media.

Whitireia Journalism School head Jim Tucker says the News of the World scandal is a useful excuse for politicians and bureaucrats to push for more media regulation.

He also thinks the ASA and Press council are getting more criticism than they deserve.

Because the Press council has a majority of non-industry people and because all print media are “in” and all agree to publish council decisions, it works effectively, he says.

“The ASA has the same problem as the Press Council – as a self-regulating model it will always be open to claims of vested self-interest.

“However, analysis of its decisions tend to suggest it is more effective than the critics allow.”

He says news websites are where it gets tricky, as TV and radio broadcasters’ websites are not covered by the BSA, an inconsistency with print journalism which gives politicians another excuse to review the situation.

He says since the Press Council is a self-regulation system not based on a law, print will fight government amalgamation to the end, making it a politically risky topic for any government.