Evolving online media in NZ

Written By: - Date published: 11:31 am, August 26th, 2012 - 13 comments
Categories: blogroll, blogs, Media - Tags: , ,

Print papers are going tabloid, the media world is changing, and everyone is finding their way in the brave new world. NZ is well served, I think, in the range of online offerings that are exploring beyond the fringes of the mainstream media.

Scoop pitches itself as a site for news-makers rather than consumers, with independent “no spin” reporting. It is home to the always excellent Gordon Campbell, and god-parent to Campbell’s very own Werewolf.

The Labour site Red Alert is a very bold gambit, of course, putting Labour MPs in to the front line of the new media. Mixed results, it has to be said, but so far ahead of the totally lame NationalMPs that it isn’t funny (who even knows that the Nats have a “blog”?).

Pundit is an interesting experiment with some high profile and excellent writers, and opinions from all over the political spectrum. It surprises me that they never seem to have achieved “critical mass” (something to do with the erratic and often slow posting schedule I suspect – sorry Tim!).

Then there are the teeming blogs. The right is represented by full time ego-bloggers with strong links to National at Kiwiblog and Whaleoil. They have both variously claimed to be the biggest blog in NZ, but I think that the group at Public Address could give them a run for their money (or our very own chaotic collective here at The Standard of course). Left leaning or otherwise interesting blogs that (time permitting) I’m currently reading include: No Right Turn, DimPost, The Political Scientist, Frankly Speaking, Local Bodies, Imperator Fish, Maui Street, Kiwipolitico, Ideologically Impure, Waitakere News, The Jackal, mars 2 earth, and the science oriented SciBlogs and Hot Topic. Apologies to the many other excellent blogs that I have left off the list, I invite folk to make your own recommendations in comments.

Anyway, this meandering review was prompted by the recent news of another new player in the online media market, with an interesting funding model. Welcome, and all the very best, to Bernard Hickey’s JOURNALISM.ORG.NZ – “Public interest journalism funded by the public”. If you haven’t heard of it yet you should go and check it out (a bit of a discussion here). From the About pitch:

Journalism.org.nz is a not-for-profit trust dedicated to creating and supporting public interest journalism.

It is building a platform for the public and journalists to work together to investigate, probe, challenge and hold to account governments, companies and special interests.

Journalism.org.nz is a non-partisan and that will employ journalists to gather information, ask questions and publish news, analysis, investigations and commentary in the public interest.

It is funded by members of the public who want to support this kind of journalism.

Hickey hopes to attract commenters who will pay an annual subscription, and is running a poll on possible rates here. Not many votes yet, but it’s early days, and this initiative will be one to watch (or even participate in!).

No doubt a new media ecosystem will eventually establish itself. I suspect that funding models based on micro-payments will be more successful than an annual subscription, but let’s wait and see. For the moment, we live in interesting times. Eventually they’ll be “the good old days”. Now there’s a worrying thought.

13 comments on “Evolving online media in NZ ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. Dr Terry 1
    26 August 2012 at 12:04 pm

    Helpful information (as well as hopeful!) I think we can safely trust endeavours by Bernard Hickey.

  2. Jackal 2
    26 August 2012 at 12:37 pm

    I’m not sure you can say National’s website is a blog, because it doesn’t allow any interaction with the public. National has a static websites, which pretty much sums up where they’re coming from.

  3. BernyD 3
    26 August 2012 at 1:27 pm

    Looking forward to some informed reading

  4. Colonial Viper 4
    26 August 2012 at 2:08 pm

    Good luck with the new project, Bernard!

  5. David H 5
    26 August 2012 at 4:42 pm

    Just stay away from Kiwiblag, whale slime and oh and Red Alert, and of the 3, Red Alert is the worst, for spiteful banning’s for criticism of the Labour party. Whale is just a slob, and DPR? well what can you say to a man who thinks he’s right all the time?

  6. prism 6
    26 August 2012 at 5:05 pm

    Looking ahead and getting prepared, good idea. I would say it’s an excellent move going forward but I bet that term will be banned on the site I hope so anyway.

  7. Carol 7
    26 August 2012 at 5:29 pm

    I also check out the Green Party frogblog from time to time – low key, but the MPs do engage with the commenters and explain the current issues they are focusing on.

    http://blog.greens.org.nz/

    The handmirror is a must to check out for feminists

    http://blog.greens.org.nz/

    And I check out gaynz from time to time…. sometimes they have political (including left wing stuff), and I just like to be aware of the current NZ-focused LGBT issues.

    http://www.gaynz.com/

    I’ll be interested to see how Hickey’s crowd sourcing goes, but he’s not the political op ed entity I’d be most into supporting financially.

    PS: I check out bomber et al’s Tumeke blog most days: don’t always agree with bomber, but often do, and he has a colourful way of making his analysis and views interesting – something not always present in left wing analysis.

    http://www.tumeke.blogspot.co.nz/

  8. felix 8
    26 August 2012 at 5:51 pm

    “Journalism.org.nz is a non-partisan and that will employ journalists to gather information, ask questions and publish news, analysis, investigations and commentary in the public interest.”

    Err, might want to employ a proofreader too. 😉

  9. fnjckg 9
    26 August 2012 at 6:34 pm

    “chaotic” is great
    interesting patterns to see within chaos

    ubi bene, ibi patria

    Long Live The Standard and all who sail her
    (there, one for each gender)

  10. mickysavage 10
    26 August 2012 at 8:27 pm

    Thanks for the link Rob.  I agree with comments about the Hand Mirror.

    Another blog that I really enjoy is Giovani Tiso’s Bat Bean Beam.  He is a very perceptive and interesting writer. 

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