More than 800 submissions have been received on the Government’s Aotearoa New Zealand Public Media Bill, a law that will merge TVNZ and RNZ under a new parent group.

A number of media executives, including from TVNZ and RNZ, are expressing concerns about the lack of protection for editorial independence of the proposed new public media entity - that the bill would give the Government far greater control over public media than it has at the moment.

Independent media, free of government influence, is vital to a well-functioning democracy. The media must be able to hold government officials accountable, raise controversial issues without fear of reprisal, and include a diversity of voices and opinions, not just those that politicians want covered. However, the legislation to merge RNZ and TVNZ - the Aotearoa New Zealand Public Media Bill - is raising fears that our new public media entity - ‘Aotearoa New Zealand Public Media’ will result in opportunities for political interference.

Most mainstream news organisations are making hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars a year, off the new Public Interest Journalism Fund.

The Public Interest Journalism Fund is a $55m government grant handed out to news media organisations by the Labour government, via NZ On Air. 

The backbone of any democracy is an independent, objective, and responsible media. But the Stuff media organisation is eschewing this value system to undertake a ‘reset’. This includes a new company charter with Te Tiriti o Waitangi embedded at its core.