New Zealand
The 2023 World Press Freedom Index, published on May 3 by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), placed New Zealand 13 for levels of freedom, pluralism and independence of journalism. Despite the country’s slight fall from the 11 place last year, it has long established itself as a model for liberal media.
RSF is an international non-profit organization that evaluates and ranks media landscape for 180 countries worldwide in full awareness with their current political upheavals, drastic legal changes, sociocultural and economic context, and safety measures.
According to RSF’s New Zealand index report, the country’s wealthy Pacific nation, comprised of New Zealanders and Maori cultural groups, benefits from freedom of expression, oversight of broadcasting independence, and regulatory frameworks to support at-risk democratic principles.
Self-regulatory forums like New Zealand Media Council (NZMC) and Broadcasting Standards Authority (BSA) provided the public with consumer guide to free election complaints in the process leading up to the 2023 General Elections on Oct. 14.
Members from the two independent agencies say, “We are committed to supporting all those who publish or promote election related content to comply with the standards expected within New Zealand,” NZMC highlights in their General Elections report.
The government’s rejection on Feb. 8, 2023, to merge the two state-owned audiovisual media, Television New Zealand (TVNZ) and Radio New Zealand (RNZ), also shows clear separation between the executive branch and public interest journalism.
“It was felt that the quest for economic synergies posed too much of a threat to news quality,” reports RSF.
Employees inside both organizations were also supportive of the country’s government decision, “with RNZ staffers fearing TVNZ could destroy their noncommercial, public interest mandate, ” writes Te Ao Maori News.
The competition in the journalistic landscape also demonstrates New Zealand’s respect for media pluralism and editorial independence.
RSF’s New Zealand index report states that the country’s leading news website, Stuff, “now faces competition from other online news sites including The Spinoff and The Newsroom,” while The New Zealand Herald press is currently having the biggest circulation.
Emphasizing the perspective of high degree of press freedom and diversity, RSF also sheds light on the issue that Maori-language media is not given much of a dominance.
“The nation’s bicultural dimension, however, is not completely reflected in the media, still dominated by the English-language press,” shares the non-profit organization.
But, to support the financial situation of media outlets and job losses in the sector during the Covid-19 crisis, the government announced a $55m Public Interest Journalism Fund (PIJF).
Despite the financial support provided by the New Zealand’s government, in February 2022 the country’s reporters faced violence and intimidation from protesters against the pandemic’s obligatory vaccination measures.
“They’ve had gear smashed, been punched and belted with umbrellas,” writes Mark Stevens, the head of Stuff. “Many reporters have been harassed, both in person and online, including one threatened with their home being burned down.”
With the comprising 93% of the population using internet, journalists also experienced increased online insults. “You’re marked for death” and “Your days are numbered” were some of the online threat messages.
“There is a danger that journalists will no longer be able to calmly cover these protests, opening the way to a flood of misinformation,” said Daniel Bastard the head of the RSF’s Asia-Pacific desk.
###
Georgi Nichev is double-majoring in Journalism and Business Administration at the American University in Bulgaria. His research findings shed light on the degree of journalistic freedom linked to politics, legal frameworks, safety measures, and economic and socio-cultural context.
