The Herald editors ignore the question

The Herald did a Q+A with top editors and readers. This is a good thing and is to be commended. A lot of it was around impartiality and Government funding.

It is true that some people often see a media outlet as left leaning and others as right leaning. A poll Curia did in 202 found CR voters thought the Herald leaned left by a net 12% while CL voters thought the Herald leaned right by a net 38%.

With regards to the Government funding, I don’t think that this means the Herald (or others) won’t criticise the Government. However it does create an incentive for media organisations to be more favourable towards parties that will continue funding them, as opposed to those who won’t.

But the real issue, as I have blogged on previously, is the Treaty partnership obligations. A reader asked:

Una G: To get the fund you must “show a clear and obvious commitment or intent for commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi, including a commitment to te reo Māori.” Is that why so many media outlets are changing the name of our country and English named cities like Auckland? And secondly is that why you refuse to represent the concerns of many who are critical of the Government’s interpretation of the Treaty…?

This is the key aspect. The Government has a political view of the Treaty as being about partnership. This is highly contested. However media organisations must follow this view, in order to get access to the $55 million. And the Herald’s answer skirts this:

We were well on this path before the $55 million fund was devised – but it has certainly helped us – for example – in finding and funding 25 wonderful new cadets who might not otherwise have followed the traditional tertiary education path that’s normally required to be a journalist. Regardless, the fund in no way dictates or guides the topics we or the cadets cover. And of course we accept opinions and report views from very many people, representing diverse schools of thought and experience.

Yes they were on this path where they agree with the Government, prior to the fund. But that is not the issue. The issue is any media organisation that disagrees with the Government’s view that the Treaty is a partnership is ineligible for funding.