This is terrible news.

@jacindaardern @grantrobertson1 @KrisinMana while not your fault, and a pure commercial decision, it points to a looming news crisis arriving like a freight train.

@NZMETweets and @NZStuff are hemorrhaging too. /1 https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/120754944/publisher-of-metro-womans-day-closes-in-nz-amid-coronavirus-woes

The wage subsidy will help, but the demand crunch in advertising will be persistent after the lockdown ends.

If an independent viable media is to be saved in NZ urgent action Immediate large scale ad spend & subscription revenue is needed to stem the bleeding. Stat. /2

The news media is unfortunately somewhat pathologically unable to advocate for itself effectively, hence its outsourcing of the responsibility to @duncangreive.

You will therefore need to actively and generously engage with their leadership. And I have a proposal. /3

First it’s necessary to understand the dynamics. Real news of the kind that helps society organize itself, make good decisions and understand policy is inherently unprofitable because it doesn’t appeal to a large audience.

But it is vital for a functioning democracy. /4

While the ultimate beneficiaries of this kind of news - serious news (which has been in decline for three decades now) - are the public as a whole. It improves governance and supports the the rule of law. But the public does not consume it, they prefer lighter stuff. /5

That said the public like it existing, they like to see the Government and political parties held to account. To see bad policy exposed and malfeasance and corruption in high places held to account. /6

So how do you support public interest journalism, which is vital to the running of a nation by means other than advertising?

Paywalls work poorly. The public don’t see enough personal value, news doesn’t reach enough people, and reports fail to hold power to account. /7

In addition paywalls in NZ don’t work for pure scale reasons. Our population is too small.

But there is a rights based, copyright law solution, pioneered in NZ, and accepted by Parliament which could significantly move the needle. @ScoopNZ’s ethical paywall. /8

If the major news publishers adopted similar changes to the terms of use of their websites and Government and crown agencies complied, them businesses - who also benefit from a functioning state and operative rule of law - could probably be compelled to also comply. /9

From a policy perspective, a crisis like #coronavirus makes plain that an imaginative long term solution is needed to the thorny problem of the news media.

@Facebook where much of NZ Govt. adspend goes is a petri dish for dangerous misinformation propagation. E.G. 5G. /10

A strong trusted news media in a time like this is a health imperative. In the years following as we address first recovery then then the challenge of Climate Change, it will be even more so.

Right now #COVIDー19 is about to kill the information infrastructure of NZ dead. /11

The time to act on this is now!

At a relatively small cost independent (Inot state controlled/funded) NZ journalism can be placed on a footing enabling it to survive future crises in a digital first, revenue positive, and sustainable manner.

https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL1501/S00058/reinventing-news-as-a-public-right-a-public-conversation.htm /12

If you want to find out more about @ScoopNZ’s #ethicalpaywall a good place to start is here. A manifesto for transformation of the way news media is funded.

https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL1501/S00058/reinventing-news-as-a-public-right-a-public-conversation.htm /13