Fourth Estate collapses
Cactus Kate points out how the media through a combination of cost cutting and weakness are allowing themselves to be gagged in the worst way possible, self censorship to avoid legal costs.
Thus the so-called Fourth Estate that indefatigable defender of our rights and stronghold of fearless investigative truthtellers (pause forTui moment) is now adopting a craven position and abrogating it’s position.
Therefore we may as well assume that what we will read in the papers in future is likely to be in many cases press releases and spin under the byline of ‘professional’ journalists. This kind of behaviour will do more to kill the dead tree press than anything else. This is a another instalment in what it is now clear is a very long and increasingly self inflicted demise.
Who will start a proper online paper in NZ. Without all the need for big buildings, printing presses etc, there must be scope for an entrepreneur and a few real journalists to start an online publication.
And do not get Adam started on the myriad shortcoimings of broadcast media especially the increasingly trivialised TV News.
Adam,
I’ve taken a look at this. The problem is you’d still need to invest some money, or persuade a lot of people to invest their time for free, in order to get started. This is harder than you might imagine because journalists have been poorly paid for so long, hardly anyone with the skills can afford to take a punt.
If you have access to capital, please get back in touch.
Here is the first. Bravely started by a couple who long ago got shafted by APN.
Now have the biggest readership in the freebies and are building this online.
http://www.sunlive.co.nz/index.aspx
TGIF is behind a paywall, I was thinking more of something like HuffPo or Christian Science Monitor.
Doesn’t Ian Wishart already have an online paper? TGIF?