Post by Kiwi Frontline on Jun 16, 2021 11:38:43 GMT 12
Graham Adams: THE DANGERS OF PUTTING MEDIA ON THE GOVERNMENT’S PAYROLL
Examples of the kind Vance offered of the government hiding or distorting important information are the most obvious form of political censorship. There is, however, another form of political censorship which can be even more insidious — that is, attempting to impose narratives which suit the government’s purposes and thereby crowd out competing views.
The most effective way to do that is to co-opt journalists and others who are in a position to influence public opinion to help promote a favoured angle. And there have been accusations that Ardern’s government is doing just that in its prescriptions for what qualifies as allowable public discourse through its new $55 million Public Interest Journalism Fund.
The fund’s political intentions are signalled in a statement by the Ministry for Culture and Heritage (which designed the fund with NZ On Air) that its aims are to “support the production of journalistic content that is critical to an open, progressive democracy”.
The word “progressive” usually refers to a left-wing approach to politics that aims to reform society for the better. In this case, exactly which journalism proposals qualify as “better” for society will be decided by the bureaucrats at NZ On Air who will be administering the scheme. (NZ On Air is governed by a board appointed by the Minister of Broadcasting.)
Reading the extensive guidelines, it appears the fund’s architects see journalism principally as an agent for progressive social change. With its encouragement for proposals that “report from perspectives including Pacific, pan-Asian, women, youth, children, persons with disabilities [and] other ethnic communities” — as well as those “made by Maori about Maori perspectives, issues and interests prioritising the needs of Maori” — the fund looks very much like an ideological exercise in identity politics.
It remains an open question, of course, exactly what an emphasis on “diversity of topics, perspectives and analysis” referred to in a Cabinet paper in January under the name of the Minister of Broadcasting, Kris Faafoi, will mean in practice......
democracyproject.nz/2021/06/15/graham-adams-the-dangers-of-putting-media-on-the-governments-payroll/
Examples of the kind Vance offered of the government hiding or distorting important information are the most obvious form of political censorship. There is, however, another form of political censorship which can be even more insidious — that is, attempting to impose narratives which suit the government’s purposes and thereby crowd out competing views.
The most effective way to do that is to co-opt journalists and others who are in a position to influence public opinion to help promote a favoured angle. And there have been accusations that Ardern’s government is doing just that in its prescriptions for what qualifies as allowable public discourse through its new $55 million Public Interest Journalism Fund.
The fund’s political intentions are signalled in a statement by the Ministry for Culture and Heritage (which designed the fund with NZ On Air) that its aims are to “support the production of journalistic content that is critical to an open, progressive democracy”.
The word “progressive” usually refers to a left-wing approach to politics that aims to reform society for the better. In this case, exactly which journalism proposals qualify as “better” for society will be decided by the bureaucrats at NZ On Air who will be administering the scheme. (NZ On Air is governed by a board appointed by the Minister of Broadcasting.)
Reading the extensive guidelines, it appears the fund’s architects see journalism principally as an agent for progressive social change. With its encouragement for proposals that “report from perspectives including Pacific, pan-Asian, women, youth, children, persons with disabilities [and] other ethnic communities” — as well as those “made by Maori about Maori perspectives, issues and interests prioritising the needs of Maori” — the fund looks very much like an ideological exercise in identity politics.
It remains an open question, of course, exactly what an emphasis on “diversity of topics, perspectives and analysis” referred to in a Cabinet paper in January under the name of the Minister of Broadcasting, Kris Faafoi, will mean in practice......
democracyproject.nz/2021/06/15/graham-adams-the-dangers-of-putting-media-on-the-governments-payroll/