The Anytime News: what next for media?

How to get balanced in an unbalanced world.

I still enjoy the old-school paper, but it was sad reading Shayne Currie and Simon Wilson in the Weekend Herald as they rummaged through the wreckage of TV news in New Zealand. The continuous 24/7 broadcast model has lost out to the robber barons of the big digital platforms, and “the news” is on the chopping block. Meanwhile, consumers pick and chose what to watch or listen to and when. For example, people listen – with eyes freed from TV screens – as they drive or cook or work out.

Meanwhile, the old guard put the old ideas on life-support. For example, it’s been suggested that Newstalk ZB could do a video news hour from 6pm with Heather du Plessis-Allan. Or Stuff could grab Samantha Hayes and Mike McRoberts as anchors. And, for a dose of boomer leftism, we were told to ignore those white middle-aged hecklers down the back in row X.

It’s time for fresh ideas – “anything goes” – so I’ll fly some kites.

• The era of over-paid celebrity anchors and interviewers is ending.

• When TV staff get made redundant, media companies who are still hiring should bypass the big names.

• Invest in the young ones – people who understand new media and know how to use TikTok etc.

• For first-hand reporting from the scene, an audience only needs to hear from the reporter on the ground, with or without video. An anchor isn’t needed if the model is episodic, not continuous.

• There’s a saying that all politics is local politics. It’s even more pertinent to say that all reporting is local reporting, including the press gallery.

• For deeper analysis, hold robust conversations between politically diverse thinkers – rather than traditional interviews or (worse) one person telling everyone else what to think.

• An interviewer isn’t needed if there’s a good conversation going on.

• To get up to date, followers listen to the latest episode from their favourite sparring partners.

• Fewer sound-bites, more thinking. Don’t be afraid of long-form dialogues.

• Shift more into audio, with video only when it’s needed.

• Podcast first, rather than post audio or video content “on demand” later. Rather than wait for the pips, people get it when they want it.

• Forget about continuous broadcasting. Everything is episodic now. People are grazing far and wide.

• A political opinion poll is not headline news.

• The next technological wave will be AI, so build a brand that says implicitly “the humans are in control here” and “we don’t do fake stuff”.

• Build the brand up from local relationships and local voices, rather than on national celebrities.

They’re only ideas, and you can disagree or add others. It’s outside my brief to figure out where the revenue comes from. It’s a time for creative thinking though. And don’t expect the government to help. State intervention during the pandemic was one of the reasons for a lack of trust, and any assistance now won’t stem the tide of change.

If I’m put in front of an audience the majority of whom say they don’t trust me, then I have work to do to earn their trust, and it won’t be easy. If I take the lazy approach and say that their distrust is their own fault, and therefore I’m ignoring (or excluding) those rowdy people, then I’m only making things worse. At the very least, a large proportion of the audience will ignore me.

That large proportion looks to be more right-leaning, although many on the left are disillusioned with news media too. But the news channel that seems to be doing well at the moment is the right-leaning Newstalk ZB. And the majority of the electorate ticked right-wing boxes in the last election.

The minister for broadcasting Melissa Lee has been criticised for stalling and making obscure references to a cabinet paper. But the right-wing government is quietly enjoying the downfall of left-wing media. Stalling works for them right now.

NZ media have reached a political and business-model crossroad. They are at risk of polarising in ways that we’ve witnessed on a grand scale in the United States and/or being destroyed by American-owned AI platforms.

If Kiwis want locally made media, then they have to act now before someone like Murdoch does. Their country is too small to combat mega-platforms and cannot afford to polarise politically. A concerted effort is required to restore political balance, and to reduce accusations of bias. Even if many of those accusations may be exaggerated or unjustified, the effort needs to be made. It rarely pays to argue with the customer.