AGENDA ITEM 2.11
PUBLIC INTEREST JOURNALISM FUND: ROLES
FUNDING DECISIONS
RECOMMENDATION
That the Staff Investment Committee
approves up to:
• $128,784 to Radio Ngāti Porou Charitable Trust for Nga Kopara – two roles for one year
• $207,461 to The National Pacific Radio Trust for News roles – two roles for one year
• $186,992 to Indian Newslink for Non-content roles – two roles for one year
.
• $55,854 to Migrant News for Migrant Communities – one role for one year
• $388,700 to Hawke’s Bay App for Content Producing Roles – two roles for two years
• $101,400 to Inland App Company for Local Democracy Reporter – one role for two years
• $20,316 to Metro Media Group Limited for Sub-editor – one part-time role for one year
• $85,600 to Consumer NZ Incorporated for Community-based Reporting – one role for one year
and
declines funding of:
•
Eight applications recommended for total funding of up to $1,175,107
BACKGROUND
under the Official Information Act
1. In January 2021 Cabinet agreed to draw down $55 million over three years (2021 - 2023) from the tagged
contingency set aside by Cabinet for broadcasting initiatives. This funding is administered by NZ On Air to
support the production of public interest journalism including Māori and Iwi journalism that is relevant to and
valued by New Zealanders.
2.
General Guidelines for the PIJF were published in April 2021. The principles set out in
the Cabinet paper have
informed the design of the Public Interest Journalism Fund (PIJF). NZ On Air collaborated with Te Māngai Pāho
on the design and delivery of the fund. The
General Guidelines were updated in March 2022.
Released
3. The PIJF supports journalistic capability across three funding pillars: Projects, Roles, and Industry Development.
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OVERVIEW
4.
The fifth round of the PIJF sought applications across all three pillars of the fund. NZ On Air earmarked $5m
for this funding round and received 39 applications with a total funding request of $6,814,069.
5.
Building on funding already distributed in the previous four rounds, the
Round 5 criteria focused on funding
that supports the sustainability, capability and capacity of public interest journalism in Aotearoa.
6.
Given the constrained pūtea, prior allocations and expected demand, media entities were able to make
separate applications under each of the three pillars but the total number of proposals per applicant were
limited to:
• 1 Industry Development application
• 1 Project application
• Maximum of 2 Roles (across both Targeted and Content Creation role categories)
7.
This SIC paper assesses Roles with recommended funding of up to $1,175,107 from a total ask of $3,073,704.
8.
The two types of journalism roles eligible for application in this round are:
a.
Content Creation– A role that produces content within an agreed PIJ reporting subject scope
(aligned to the General Guidelines) for up to two years.
b.
Targeted– A Role that either enhances the quality of public interest journalism (e.g., Craft roles such
as Editors), enhances the sustainability of public interest journalism (e.g., Audience engagement
experts), or enhances organisational cultural capability (e.g., Kaupapa Māori Editor). Contracts for
up to one year.
9.
The assessment panel for Round 5 included:
a.
b.
c.
d. Raewyn Rasch (Ngāi Tahu) - NZ On Air Head of Journalism. Former General Manager Māori and
Pacific programmes at TVNZ, executive producer of Seven Sharp, producer of Fair Go and Marae
Investigates, TV and radio journalist.
e. Gabriel Thomas, Journalism Manager, NZ On Air. Former executive producer of The Nation and
Firstline, producer Newshub Live at 6.
under the Official Information Act
f. Dr Fairooz Samy, Journalism Funding Advisor, NZ On Air. Recently graduated from Victoria
University of Wellington with a PhD in Media Studies.
g. Due to an increased number of Chinese media applications,
, was
commissioned to assess Chinese media applications only. He reported back verbally to staff and his
comments were shared with the assessment panel to further inform their decision making.
Released
GENERAL ASSESSMENT & STAFF OPINION
Ngā Kopara
Ngāti Porou Charitable Trust
$128,724
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Key personnel
Title/s
Relevant Past Work
Synopsis
11. Radio Ngāti Porou is applying to fund two roles for one year. The roles wil make up the "Ngā Kopara" project,
which aims to create audio visual online content from Radio Ngāti Porou's daily radio content and share that
content on various digital and social platforms.
General Assessment 12. Radio Ngāti Porou is based in Ruatoria and broadcasts to an area with a population of almost 44-thousand
people, about 20-thousand of whom are Māori.
13. The radio station is a mix of music and talk, focused on local issues. Radio Ngāti Porou describes itself as a key
source, and sometimes the only source, of local information for its iwi community, and sees this information
as important public interest journalism for the niche audience. The organisation also appears to be involved
in many local projects like encouraging te reo classes and it is currently running a series of ‘meet the candidate
hui’ ahead of the local elections.
14. Ngāti Porou Charitable Trust has been broadcasting since 1987 and now also has a website and social media
channels. The radio service receives government funding, but these digital-focused roles would be
incremental. The digital side of the operation does not receive funding and the applicant says the sustainability
of providing a digital service has been difficult because of this.
15. The Digital Content Designer and Digital Producer would be focused on improving online content, as the
organisation increases its focus on digital platforms where it believes it can reach a wider audience.
16. Between them, the two roles wil produce at least three posts a day based on existing radio content, one
including video from the studio, one bilingual and one in te reo. They will also create at least two posts per
week - one video and one audio - focused on encouraging listeners to use te reo, and one post per week
profiling a local business, kaupapa or person.
17.
Staff Opinion
18. The assessors described Radio Ngāti Porou as a “highly credible and trusted community media outlet,
committed to the revitalisation of te reo Māori and the development of their community”.
19. Staff sees repurposing iwi radio content and repacking it to create enhanced and incremental content outputs
both broadens its audience reach and is a good way to enhance current TMP funded content. The proposed
under the Official Information Act
roles would improve Radio Ngāti Porou’s sustainability, by reaching a wider audience with more content, and
thus contribute to the Māori media journalism sector in general.
20.
21. These roles will help Radio Ngāti Porou bring its content to a wider audience, a positive for the community
and for Māori media.
Funding is recommended for up to $128,724 for two roles for one year,
News Roles
The National Pacific Radio Trust
Requested
Released
Key personnel
Title/s
Relevant Past Work
Synopsis
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22. The National Pacific Radio Trust (Pacific Media Network) is applying for two targeted roles for one year – a
Chief of Staff and a newsreader.
General Assessment 23. The initial application from Pacific Media Network (PMN) for this round was for a newsreader and three cadets,
enlisted from the Te Rito cohort. However, due to timeframes and fairness, we are expecting the Te Rito media
partners to apply for funding to further employ these cadets in the next round.
24. The proposal described the PMN newsroom
, and says reporters are too busy to do all
the stories they would like to do. They produce stories for bulletins from 6am to 6pm and don’t have a
dedicated COS or sub-editor.
The COS role would coordinate the team and sub-edit stories, as
well as provide critical leadership and advice.
25. The need for a dedicated newsreader appears to be because that role is currently being filled by people who
have other jobs to focus on – programme hosts and a senior journalist. The aim is to have a newsreader focus
solely on newsreading, to free others up for their own primary work. There is also a desire to have a journalist
reading the news, as opposed to a presenter. They have approached
and
to
discuss this job, but don’t have anyone committed to the role.
26. In discussions with staff, PMN has expressed the importance of having credible, specialist newsreaders to
ensure it can build a trusted brand with audiences. They commented that the best stories in the world wil be
less credible with audiences, if they are read by inexperienced or unskil ed newsreaders.
27. The PMN proposal speaks about an organisation in a phase of growth and change, expanding to focus more
on digital channels and attempting to reach a younger audience.
28. The revised budget for the two roles requests $207,461. This includes salaries for one year, overheads and
some travel and training costs.
29. PMN received PIJF funding in 2022 for three other roles – a Wellington/political reporter, a current affairs
producer, and a digital video editor and these are ongoing.
under the Official Information Act
Staff Opinion
31. Staff believes that PMN is providing a trusted and valuable news service to a Pasifika audience. One assessor
noted,
“Pasifika voices and perspectives are rare in the overall media sector of Aotearoa. The platforms are
proven, and the voices are trusted.”
32. The benefits of a dedicated COS role seem very clear
Having someone with the time and journalistic experience to run the newsroom wil no doubt increase the
quality of the output. It is also a great benefit to this application that they have already identified someone for
Released
the role, given the difficulties some organisations have had hiring in recent times.
33. While a newsreading position could be argued to be a less vital public interest journalism role than others
funded under the PIJF, assessors felt PMN provided a strong rationale and staff saw the addition of a dedicated
newsreader as important for the maturity and credibility of PMN as a news platform. It would also free other
staff up to focus on their own news roles thereby enhancing the overall quality of PIJ being delivered by PMN.
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34. Staff believes these two roles can make a big difference to an organisation that is striving to increase the
quality and reach of a valued news product to a target NZ On Air audience.
Funding is recommended for up
to $207,461 for two roles for one year
Non-Content Roles
Indian Newslink
Requested
Key personnel
Title/s
Relevant Past Work
Synopsis
35. Indian Newslink is applying for two targeted roles – a Digital Graphic Designer and an Audience Engagement
Expert, for one year – to build on the content created by its previously PIJF funded content roles.
General Assessment 36. Indian Newslink was established in 1999. It publishes a newspaper and has a website that includes an e-version
of the newspaper, and additional stories. The content includes stories from its own newsroom, plus RNZ
content, as part of a content sharing agreement.
37. Indian Newslink was approved funding in the last round for two content roles – a reporter in Hamilton and a
reporter in Wellington to increase their coverage in the regions. They have recruited these roles and are in the
process of contracting. The newsroom currently produces an average of six stories a day, which is expected to
rise to 10 stories a day with the two new reporters.
38. The proposed Graphic Designer role aims to improve the design and layout of the website and add graphic
elements to online and in print stories.
39. The Audience Engagement role would work though social media channels to connect with a wider audience
within Indian Newslink communities, in particular a younger audience. Indian Newslink currently has a
Facebook page which is updated regularly, but no other social media channels.
Staff Opinion
40. The Asian community is underserved by news media in New Zealand, and this is an established and wel -
respected provider. It has a demonstrated commitment to public interest journalism, and this is reflected in
the newspaper and website content.
41. There is hope that these roles – particularly the Audience Engagement one – will grow audience acquisition
and support the sustainability of Indian Newslink by boosting its visibility and discoverability.
under the Official Information Act
42. There was some concern that the organisation doesn’t appear to have a wider digital strategy to place these
roles within, but it may be that without having the right staff in place previously, it didn’t have the expertise
to create this. The creation of such a strategy should be a required outcome within the drawdown schedule
of the contract.
43.
These roles would
be a useful addition to a newsroom that’s producing good public interest journalism for an underserved
Released
audience.
Funding is recommended for up to $186,992 for two roles for one year
Migrant Communities
Migrant News
Requested
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Key personnel Title/s
Relevant Past Work
Synopsis
44.
General Assessment 45. Migrant News is applying on behalf of four titles who commonly share content and cover intersecting
audiences – Migrant News, Filipino News, Pinoy NZ Life, and Asian News. All are online news sites, plus Migrant
News and Filipino News have print versions and Facebook pages.
46.
47. Each role is expected to produce one news item per week, which would run across the four outlets.
48. The budget is reasonable, with low overheads and travel costs included.
Staff Opinion
49. Supporting the ethnic news sector is an important focus for the PIJF, and this group of titles reaches an
important and underserved niche audience within that sector.
50. The topics already covered – which focus on the experiences of migrants coming to New Zealand, information
new migrants need, and the stories of migrants living here – were seen by the assessors as essential stories
for audiences. One assessor noted,
“I see this as a valuable contribution to social cohesion at a time when it’s
really needed.”
51.
52. The case for a reporter was clear however, with a small staff trying to produce more original content than it
has been able to do in the past.
53. The stated outputs for the reporter of one story per week are lower than we would expect for mainstream
media outlets. But given the smal scale of this operation, the fact that the content will be purely original and
therefore take more work, and that the reporter wil be junior, staff believes it is acceptable. Staff will point
out to the applicant that the target is a minimum and going over and above it would be encouraged.
54.
under the Official Information Act
This role will provide increased targeted content to an underrepresented audience who are not being well
served by mainstream media. The outlet has the links to that audience and knows its content needs.
Funding
is recommended for up to $55,854 for one role for one year
Content Producing Roles
Hawkes Bay App
$388,700
Key personnel
Title/s
Relevant Past Work
Released
Synopsis
55. Hawke’s Bay App is applying for two content producing roles for two years – a Contributing Editor/Presenter
and a Video Journalist.
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General Assessment 56. Hawke’s Bay App is a local-focused news outlet. It launched in 2018 and has so far had more than 30,000
downloads and produced thousands of articles. It also posts on its website and social media channels.
57.
58. The proposal highlights the problem of not enough local news being produced for what is a significant regional
population. The PIJF has funded several roles in Hawke’s Bay – a Local Focus reporter and an Open Justice
reporter, as well as roles at Bay Buzz and Te Reo o Ngāti Kahungunu – but sees there is still room for more
local reporting.
59. The Hawke’s Bay App currently has one full time and two part time staff. The proposal says it has increased
the number of PIJ stories it is producing, and it is keen to do more original journalism. To that end it is
proposing two new content roles.
60. The contributing editor/presenter wil set up and conduct interviews, and write stories, but they will also offer
editorial oversight for the team. The applicant has already identified someone for this role -
who is a very experienced local journalist, with significant contacts in the region.
61. Hawke’s Bay App has considerable contacts with video companies and expertise, and it plans to increase its
original video news content. The Video Journalist would film and edit, with an aim of increasing video
engagement rates across the app, website, and social media channels.
62. The two roles between them would produce two video interviews, three written stories and five video stories
every week.
63. The budget includes significant platform contribution comprising video equipment and studio space.
64. The application included a large number of letters of support, including one from the Napier Mayor, who says
Hawke’s Bay App plays a vital role in the community.
Staff Opinion 65. There was unanimous support for this application from assessors, who thought it was a strong proposition
from an enthusiastic and viable local media platform with the ability to deliver quality PIJ to its community.
66. The letters of support show how wel -respected this team already is, and that there is a need in the community
for more of their coverage.
under the Official Information Act
68. Overall, this is seen as a platform that has a strong audience and a commitment to PIJ and needs these
journalists to take the content to the next level.
Funding is recommended for up to $388,700 for two roles
for two years
Released
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Local Democracy Reporter
Inland App Company
$101,400
Key personnel
Title/s
Relevant Past Work
Synopsis
69. The Central App is applying to continue its reporting role funded in Round 2 of the PIJF, with increased hours,
for two years.
General Assessment 70. Central App is a local news outlet focused on Central Otago, with output on a phone app, website, and social
media channels. They have had more than 42,000 downloads and the app is opened an average 39,000 times
per week by 12,000 unique users.
71. Central App was approved funding for a reporter to focus on local government reporting, for one year, in 2021.
That contract ends in October 2022.
72. Central App says the funded role has been very successful and it is keen to continue for another two years.
The applicant would also like to extend the number of hours per week from 10 to 15, to increase outputs. The
reporter would produce at least four stories per week.
73. The proposal says having this funded role has al owed Central App to establish a media presence at local
government and community board meetings which would otherwise have not been covered by any media.
But it says with only 10 funded hours per week, it has had to mainly focus on the Central Otago District Council,
at the expense of other smaller meetings. Clear increased outcomes are provided in the proposal.
75. The proposal highlights the impact of the role with a changed relationship with local government. There is
now an expectation of media coverage, and local politicians now communicate better with the media, leading
to more transparency for local readers.
76.
its current budget is used to cover
community interest stories as opposed to local democracy ones, but it remains committed to providing both.
77. The daily rate in the budget remains the same as last year, and all overhead costs are included, making it very
reasonable for the outputs.
under the Official Information Act
Staff Opinion
78. Assessors described this as an example of PIJF funding being used wel to produce results for local and isolated
communities.
79. It was noted that this funded role has contributed to the app's downloads increasing, and the local council
becoming more engaged with local journalism.
80. The stories currently being provided by the reporter were praised for being fair and not politically biased, and
the panel is very happy to support hyper-local news.
Released
81. This role is seen as a success by the applicant and staff, and assessors were happy to see it continued.
Funding
is recommended for up to $101,400 for one part-time role for two years,
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Sub-Editor
Metro Media Group Limited
$20,316
Key personnel
Title/s
Relevant Past Work
Synopsis
82. Metro magazine is applying for incremental hours for its existing sub-editor to work for 60 hours per quarterly
issue, for one year.
General Assessment 83. Metro is a current affairs magazine focused on Auckland. It has been published since 1981, and after closing
temporarily because of the effects of COVID-19 and the shutdowns, it has resumed publishing under new
ownership. It is now a quarterly magazine, and there is increased focus on the website and social media
channels.
84. Metro has a small team of three full-time staff
and one part-time te ao
Māori editor (funded by the PIJF).
85.
86. Metro says being able to significantly increase sub-editing hours will increase the team’s overall capacity to
produce quality journalism and improve the sustainability of the outlet. It will also help Metro maintain trust
with the audience, furthering the reach and impact of its public interest journalism. The proposal points out
that a long-lead print magazine has the most need for a sub-editor, as any mistakes can’t be corrected in the
way they can online.
87. As well as proof reading copy for the magazine and digital channels, the sub-editor would fact-check work and
do additional research where necessary.
88. The Public Interest Journalism Fund has previously funded sub-editors for Newsroom, The Spinoff and 95bFM.
Staff Opinion
89. All assessors were immediately supportive of this application, citing a relatively small budget request for a role
that is critical for magazine/print journalism.
90. One assessor noted the existing sub-editor who would be retained for these extra hours is experienced and
respected.
under the Official Information Act
91. Metro has shown itself to be innovative and creative and is worth supporting as long as it can show reasonable
results.
92. Because the hours are low, the overheads are comparatively high, but the overall budget is very reasonable
for the outcomes.
93. This is a cost-effective way to improve the quality of public interest journalism content already being produced,
with a talented practitioner supporting a proven team.
Funding is recommended for up to $20,316 for one
role for one year Me.
Released
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Community-based Reporting
Consumer NZ Incorporated
Requested $
Key personnel
Title/s
Relevant Past Work
Synopsis
General Assessment 95. Consumer NZ is a non-profit organisation which produces Consumer magazine and features content on its
website. Consumer has been known particularly for its product reviews but is branching out and now carries
a lot more investigative content, both in the magazine and on its digital channels.
96. Consumer received funding until 1986 from the Ministry of Consumer Affairs. In 1989 it became an
incorporated society and since then it has predominantly been funded by magazine subscriptions.
97. The cost of living has become a key issue for all news media in New Zealand and Consumer sees itself as well
placed to produce stories that help readers to cope with financial difficulties. The applicant describes itself as
“an advocacy group with a media arm rather than a news media company”. While this could put Consumer
and its content outside of what some would consider public interest journalism, it has a clear intention to
provide content that does meet the PIJF’s definition, by explaining complex institutions or issues.
98. The proposed Community-based reporter would cover consumer issues with a focus on non-Pākehā and lower
socio-economic groups. They would work with other advocacy groups to look into consumption habits of those
groups in particular. Story examples given in the proposal include
The applicant already has someone
identified for this role, a Māori journalist who is currently on a contract doing research work for Consumer and
has an interest in the issues.
under the Official Information Act
101. While Consumer does publish some content behind a paywal and for a subscriber magazine, it also publishes
freely available content on its website, and as per all Public Interest Journalism Fund contracts, any content
produced by funded roles would have to be freely available on the website.
Staff Opinion
102.
there was a lot of support for Consumer’s intention to move away from product reviews and towards
Released
more public interest journalism content, in particular with the community-based reporter role.
103. Assessors felt this role could connect with s36(c) audiences, and that it would broaden the voices within
Consumer’s content. The story ideas provided were praised by the panel and the fact that Consumer already
has someone identified for this role is a plus.
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104. There was still some concern about how Consumer will reconcile this new direction with its subscription
model, the fact its readership is generally affluent, and how discoverable the funded content wil be on a
website that has traditional y been paywalled. But staff is satisfied that Consumer is also aware of these issues
and will work to mitigate them.
106. This is a well-respected organisation looking to take a more public interest journalism approach with a specific
role that could have a great impact.
Funding is recommended for up to $85,600 for the Community-based
reporter role for one year
ANNEX A: PIJF APPLICATIONS SUBMITTED THIS ROUND
Project Name
Company
$ Requested $ Recomm
Result
Nga Kopara
Radio Ngāti Porou
128,784
128,784
Approved – Panel recommends
Charitable Trust
funding approval
News roles
The National Pacific 323,354
207,461
Approved – Panel recommends
Radio Trust
funding approval
Non-content roles
Indian Newslink
194,192
186,992
Approved – Panel recommends
funding approval
Migrant Communities
Migrant News
190,424
55,854
Approved – Panel recommends
funding approval
Content Producing Roles
Hawke’s Bay App
388,700
388,700
Approved – Panel recommends
funding approval
Local Democracy Reporter
Inland App
101,400
101,400
Approved – Panel recommends
Company
funding approval
Sub-editor
Metro Media
20,316
20,316
Approved – Panel recommends
Group Limited
funding approval
Community-based reporting
Consumer NZ
178,128
85,600
Approved – Panel recommends
Incorporated
funding approval
under the Official Information Act
Released
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Document Outline
