Media doesn't need another regulator - lawyer
A media law specialist says New Zealand's media industry will probably resist any attempts to establish more regulations around so-called new media.
Chapman Tripp's Justin Graham suggests the powers of the press council will likely be extended instead.
The legal research foundation is to discuss a Law Commission suggestion there may need to be a body governing self-styled citizen journalists, bloggers, tweeters and social media posters, among other internet-related media.
In its New Media Issues paper published in December, the commission said there is a gap concerning what media regulators have jurisdiction over.
It gives the example of the Broadcasting Standards Authority, whose powers extend to content streamed live on the internet but not to programmes stored on the broadcaster's website for on-demand viewing.
Mr Graham says there are also issues around non-traditional media such as bloggers.
The mainstream media have taken it on themselves to police their own websites in terms of comments and blogging, but there is a problem regulating those outside the mainstream system.
"One simple way is having automatic enrollment to the Press Council rather than it being an opt-in system. That would be the least interventionist approach," he told NBR ONLINE.
However, Mr Graham does not believe the need for another regulator has been proven.
He predicts the proposal for more regulations will not amount to much.
"I can't imagine the media is going to be particularly interested itself in the Law Commission's suggestion of having a kind of 'super regulator' for all media," he says.
"The proposal is going to be very difficult to fund and establish, and might go a little bit too far."
Mr Graham expects the jurisdiction of the Press Council or the BSA will be extended instead.
"It's more likely to be the Press Council because that encourages self-regulation," he says.
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Comments and questions5
The MSM might not need another regulator – but they do need to be held accountable for all the left-wing biased stories and rhetoric they churn out after being spoon fed stories from the unions / Labour Party.
Case in point is the PoAL / MUNZ story about Mr. Cecil Walker. The MSM simply regurgitated the unions angle / story wholly without doing any background checking on the actual true facts. When WhaleOil blogger actually blogged the full, complete story – not only did it contradict the deliberate lies from the unions, it showed up the MSM in very bright stark contrast their insipid credibility with investigative journalism.
Now the unions are attempting to cry foul over “privacy breaches” but are quite happy to have the same individual used in their story to be painted as a poor, hard done by worker being mistreated by PoAL – when the actual truth is far, far from that. Why haven’t hard questions been asked of the Unions about that?
The MSM should be reporting the news – not trying to slant or make it according to their own political leanings – especially when their NoTW style ethics have been called into question again and again.
NZ deserves better – a balanced, fair, factual story – not un-true, false populist propaganda rhetoric that clearly has a left bent to it.
There’s serious, highly questionable financial / legal reporting mismanagement happening at present within the unions – some have only just filed their minimum legal requirements 7 years late – only filed yesterday. Why is that? These Unions fund the Labour Party – apparently with highly questionable finances – why aren’t the MSM trying to uncover the unsavoury financial goings-on within the unions / Labour Party? Or is it that the left-leaning MSM don’t want to dig too into Labour deep because of the unfolding Labour leadership crisis at present?
Great to hear from you Mr Talley!
Hahaha - not even close Ms. Kelly.
I'm looking forward though to NBR"s resident crusader against corruption - Penny Bright, commenting on all the dodgy financial mismanagement goings on within the Unions / Labour Party. She so loves Transparency...
One can only hope the dodgy financial mismanagements sparks an investigative journalist into actually investigating the 7 year late filings, the missing 6 year filings and the missing millions belonging to the union members.
Who will be the 1st journalist to actually take a serious look and ask serious the unions / Labour Party about these dodgy "related party" goings on?
Follow the loose thread... and it could quite likely unravel an entire political party - then just think of The Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting for weeding out corrupt political practises.
The notion that the Press Council can or should have an extended juristiction over bloggers is just ridiculous.
Sooner or later there would be an almighty dust up between it and someone like Cameron Slater and it would lose horribly.
Lets's call this what it its. The powers that be don't want anyone reporting the real facts, i.e. that which contradicts the propaganda fed to us through the main stream media.
This censorship cannot be allowed to be pushed upon us.