Mainstream news media are turning on themselves

The media is turning on itself, and that was especially noticeable last week when Newstalk ZB’s Heather de Plessis-Allan went ballistic about TVNZ’s coverage of the hikoi to Parliament.

Last week I suggested that the US election result was possibly a mortal blow to the mainstream media. That despite their significant bias and sometimes downright lying in their coverage which I showed you in the episode, Trump still won. But more significantly, the media lost – they lost trust and credibility.

But now it’s the media turning on itself – and that was especially noticeable last week when Newstalk ZB’s Heather de Plessis-Allan - who used to be a reporter on 1News (!) – went ballistic about the bias of TVNZ’s coverage of the hikoi to Parliament. And she had a number of reasons for making that call.

Now before we hear her missive, let me show you two things so you’ll fully understand what Heather is referring to.

Firstly, the NZ Herald reported

One of TVNZ’s most senior executives – and the person considered most likely to fill the broadcaster’s proposed new supercharged news and content executive position – has taken annual leave this week to attend and support the North Island hīkoi.

TVNZ chief content officer Nevak Rogers’ presence in a personal capacity at the hīkoi - as well as several posts on her Instagram social media account - has caused consternation among some staff, but TVNZ has defended her position.

Just three months ago, the state broadcaster was championing the importance of the impartiality of its newsroom, releasing an editorial policy to enhance its “transparency” and “inspiring trust in news”.

Yep – she was even posting comments on Instagram as she ‘hikoied’ across the Harbour Bridge.

… “How appropriate is it ... that the exec who could be heading up the news and content teams is posting from the hīkoi with her kids?” said one TVNZ source.

“[I] understand it’s her kaupapa and her personal right to be there but posting it seems a bit over the line given that responsibility and influence she may have in the future, heading up the TVNZ newsroom - it just seems at odds with everything I’ve ever seen from TV execs and certainly news heads trying to preserve that exterior of neutrality.”

Another source said: “Not a good look”.

So this is the news boss of 1News promoting a clear political stance.

So much for impartiality and inspiring trust in the news.

But then just to prove that it had filtered down, there was this interview from Breakfast on One (I’m not sure why anybody is expecting balance and fairness on that programme) but David Seymour obviously was and called them out for it.

Have a watch.

30.3K views. More than 130 reports on X. The vast majority of reposts/comments opposing the media and in favour of the Bill. A similar clip had more than 185,000 views on YouTube and as with my post, the comments weren’t about which side of the debate people were on. It was about the bias of the media and its coverage.

We may not be in agreement on the Treaty bill, but we are in agreement that the media are bias and are letting down viewers in providing both sides of the debate.

And just one more example

Once again on TVNZ and on Breakfast.

Have a watch. If this reporter was interviewing me about my views on abortion, marriage, euthanasia, or abusing children with puberty blockers, you can guarantee that the questions would be aggressive, challenging, demanding evidence, pushing back with counter arguments. You would expect that. I don’t think I’ve ever had a patsy interview on mainstream media – ever!

But have a watch of this. See if you can figure out where the reporter stands on the issue.

OK that was a lovely lovefest.

You know I’ve never had an interviewer on TVNZ or any other media ask me to sing a song with them. Or be told how significant I was and how significant the work of Family First is.

Generally you expect the media to be the 4^th estate – and ask some hard questions – to challenge.

Whatever the issue.

This McBLOG is not specifically about the hikoi as such. It’s about media coverage of what are clearly contentious issues where there is a variety of opinions amongst the public.

So now you have the background – let’s go back to Newstalk ZB’s Heather du Plessis-Allan and her missive at TVNZ – a well-deserved missive.

Good luck to TVNZ.  

Good luck to TVNZ trying to convince anyone that they are unbiased, given what's just happened with them in the last week.  

I just played you the clip of the Breakfast reporter singing with the organiser of the Hikoi - which I think any right-minded person would interpret as an endorsement of the Hikoi.  

I think this should earn her some serious trouble if TVNZ takes perceptions of bias seriously.  

What is much more serious for them is that the woman who was tipped to become the top news boss has just been outed today for taking personal leave to go on the Hikoi.  

The reason we know this is because she loves a social media post, and she's put it up on her Instagram. So just flaunted it for everyone to see.  

If you are a news boss, or about to become the news boss, you should be smart enough to keep that private emphasis on private - especially if your organisation is trying to pretend that it's unbiased, which is what TVNZ is trying to do.  

Very hard at the moment in the face of falling public trust in media.  

Just a few weeks ago, TVNZ self-published its editorial guidelines for journalists.  

The point of that was to tell us that they take impartiality seriously and that they are impartial.  

Well, that's just been massively undone by finding out that the woman who will be in charge of all of the journalists actually doesn't really like the current government at all.  

So, good luck.  

You can corral those journalists into a neutral space, all you like.  

But if the lady who is their boss has views so strong about the current government that she wants to go on a protest against them, I think you've got a problem with perception of bias.  

Now, the important thing here about TVNZ to understand is that it pretends it's impartial, right?  

It is not, that is the important thing here. 

Nobody would mind if the editor of The Spinoff turned up at the Hikoi because The Spinoff wears its colours on its sleeve.  

We know what they're about and that they own it. They’re just are completely honest about it.  

TVNZ though was trying to convince us that they are neutral.  

The other important thing here is that TVNZ is the publicly owned broadcaster on television, right?  

So that also means there are standards that we expect from them that are different to what everybody else is subjected to.  

Now, TVNZ in order to convince us that they are impartial and that they demand impartiality from the people who work within the newsroom and in the editorial team, they would have to a not give that woman the news job and I doubt that's going to happen.  

They would have to discipline that woman and discipline the reporter for what happened on television and then make that public.  

Do you think that's going to happen?  

No, me neither.  

So good luck to TVNZ trying to convince us from here on that they're impartial. 

Ouch! When the media are turning on their own, this is not going to be pretty.

But Heather is spot on.

Yep – good luck to TVNZ.

Ironically the number of presenters on Breakfast is being halved because of the self-destruction of the news media.

But more importantly, best wishes to the excellent staff and reporters who are having to find new careers because the likes of the Breakfast presenters and 1News editorial staff can’t figure out that viewers are sick of being told what to think, rather than being respected and simply presented both sides so that they can make the decision for themselves.

Of course let me just put a little note in here to conclude. Newstalk ZB is not off the hook. Their newsroom is no better than TVNZ’s.

Remember their coverage of Trump in the lead up to the election?

Trump showed some humanity by halting a political rally so that sick people could be tended to – twice – and then turned it into a fun event of music and signing Trump caps.

But the media mockers pounced on it – and totally tried to fool you. Including Newstalk ZB.

Newstalk ZB

You can hear the sarcasm in the voice, can’t you.

Their written version said

Trump’s impromptu dance performance at Pennsylvania town hall raises questions, mockery

And one other example. This time the taxpayer funded Radio NZ.

Mihingarangi Forbes is a co-host of RNZ's Saturday Mornings and hosts the RNZ podcast Mata which has received close to a million dollars in additional funding from NZ on Air.

She has joined the hīkoi, posing for photos with protest leaders and using official RNZ social media channels to post in support.

Question – you’re paying for coverage of political issues like this. Is this the coverage you want or deserve?

No news media outlet is off the hook. They’re all being called out.

The real question is – how will they respond?

Will they acknowledge your concerns and change their ways and build their trust and credibility, or will they simply ignore you and keep pushing their own narrative.

Sadly, I think it will be the latter.