The Government's advertising spending was today criticised by New Zealand's media industry - arguing the level of money put into overseas platforms such as Facebook and Google was an "own goal" amid media job losses and rapidly declining revenue.
The Covid-19 select committee today, led by National leader Simon Bridges, heard from the leaders across New Zealand's media, including TVNZ, Stuff, NZ Herald and Mediaworks.
Independent witness, former NZ Herald editor-in-chief Gavin Ellis, said it disturbed him that Government were using platforms such as Facebook at an "exponentially growing rate", with only a fraction of their digital spend going to New Zealand media platforms.
"We are really in an existential crisis here," Mr Ellis said. It comes a day after NZME confirmed it was cutting 200 staff and asked workers to take a 15 per cent pay cut for 12 weeks.
The outlook was bleak already at the beginning of the lockdown, with Bauer Media Group announcing it was closing its New Zealand business, Mediaworks employees asked to take a 15 per cent wage cut and NZME taking Radio Sport off-air.
Presenting to the committee, Broadcasting Minister Kris Faafoi mentioned the issue of the 5G and Covid-19 conspiracy theory , that was seeing an increase in damage to telecommunication towers.
Earlier this week, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she was hesitant to even speak on the issue, despite its spread on social media leading to planned protests, saying that it was "just not true".
"I can't state it clearly enough."
During today's select committee, Stuff's Sinead Boucher said it was social media platforms which enabled fake news such as the 5G conspiracy theory to spread, and the Government was putting its advertising spending into those platforms.
"In the last few weeks, in times of crisis, the need for journalism has never been greater nor the need for the fourth estate," she said.
Ms Boucher added that New Zealand journalism was "an industry committed to ethics, rather than one that is OK with fake news and lies being spread every day".
"News media is exposing lies and debunking myths and presenting accurate and balanced news people can trust."
Facebook announced on March 30 that is would be expanding its third-party fact-checking programme to New Zealand and the Pacific, ensuring that when a piece of content is rated as false, "we will dramatically reduce its distribution on Facebook and Instagram so fewer people see it".
Ms Boucher said it was a "cruel irony" that as the audiences turn to media in droves, the businesses that fund it had "fallen off a cliff".
She suggested measures such as tax breaks based on the number of journalists hired, or the ability for people to claim back for news subscriptions as they would for a charitable donation.
NZ Herald's Shayne Currie suggested looking at moves in France to force Google to negotiate with media over payment plans for media content on its search engine.
TVNZ's Kevin Kenrick told the committee that prior to the Covid-19 outbreak, the "status quo was not sustainable for local media... Covid has just escalated and exposed some of the gaps and weaknesses in the sector".
He pointed out issues such as licence fees for NZOnAir, with the price of local content costing four times the price of overseas content.
"We want to buy local... but are commercially disadvantaged."
On the topic of Government spending through overseas platforms, Mr Kenrick said that he was "confident if you look across all local media, that an advertiser can reach all New Zealanders, really effectively.
"In a situation where you've got an industry on its knees, where you've got a Government spending billions to bail out businesses, the first thing I'd stop doing is scoring own goals.
"Support the business that pay the taxes. that employ New Zealanders."
The Government confirmed packages were on the way to support New Zealand's media in the short and long term.
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