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PUBLIC INTEREST JOURNALISM – EMERGENCY RESILIENCE
FUNDING
RECOMMENDATION
That the Staff Investment Committee
approves emergency resilience funding of up to:
•
$12,324 to Gisborne Herald
•
$21,429 to Hawkes Bay App
rmation Act
•
$29,663 to Te Reo Irirangi o Ngāti Kahungunu / Radio Kahungunu
•
$30,000 to Te Reo Irirangi o Ngāti Porou /Radio Ngāti Porou
.
•
$19,500 to BayBuzz
Five applications recommended for total funding of up to $112,916
OVERVIEW
1.
Cyclone Gabrielle hit New Zealand on 8 February 2023, bringing unprecedented and life-threatening flooding
to the East Coast and damaging winds and rain in other parts of the country. 11 people died and communities
across the East Coast were devastated and left without power, mobile communications, internet, or road
access. The impacts are expected to take some years to recover from.
2.
The Public Interest Journalism Fund (PIJF) had eight funding recipients impacted by Cyclone Gabrielle. All found
they were prevented from delivering critical public interest journalism (PIJ) during and in the immediate wake
of the disaster due to a lack of emergency infrastructure including power and communications. Some have
also struggled with the increased demands for public information and accountability during the ongoing
recovery phase.
3.
The affected PIJF recipients were:
•
Gisborne Herald
under the Official
•
BayBuzz
•
Hawkes Bay App
•
Napier Courier (NZME)
•
Hastings Leader (NZME)
•
Radio Ngāti Porou
•
Radio Kahungunu
•
Te Hiku Media
4.
To ensure PIJF recipients can maintain delivery of PIJ as contracted, and as vitally needed by impacted regional
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audiences, the PIJF invited the affected media organisations to apply for an exceptional request for additional
one-off funding to cover fixed costs including capital costs that support emergency resilience.
STAFF INVESTMENT COMMITTEE MEETING |20 APRIL 2023|
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5.
Capital expenditure has generally not been funded by the PIJF to ensure the funding was focused on its three
pillars: roles, projects, and industry development. However, this type of funding was considered in the design
of the PIJF, and the Cabinet paper does allow for the PIJF to provide ‘necessary infrastructure support’.
6.
While the Fund has closed its final general contestable round, a limited amount of funding has been returned
from PIJF projects coming in under budget. Some of these funds will be re-directed to assist affected PIJF
recipients for this one-off and exceptional funding.
7.
On 14 March 2023, staff emailed all affected recipients and invited them to apply for
one-off additional
funding. They were asked to provide a detailed list of requirements, the costs of these requirements (including
quotes) and an explanation as to how these items/services will ensure resilience in the ongoing reporting of
the current disaster and in case of future civil defence events.
8.
Applicants were required to provide their applications by no later than 5pm Friday 7 April 2023.
9.
Five applications were received and were reviewed by staff on Thursday 13 April 2023. The majority applied
for less than $30,000 and staff determined this to be an equitable level to cap funding. This cap is in line with
the emergency resilience funding in round Tahi being offered to Access Stations from the Capital Platforms
fund.
10. This paper recommends funding of up to
$112,916 be approved across five applicants.
GENERAL ASSESSMENT & STAFF OPINION
Synopsis
11. The following five applicants are seeking to improve their resilience and ability to provide critical public
interest journalism both during and in the wake of a Civil Defence emergency.
Gisborne Herald
$
requested
Key personnel
Title/s
Relevant Past Work
Current PIJF Funding
Kaupapa Māori Editor
Contract ends April 2025
er the Official Information Act
Equipment requested
u
Total
$
General Assessment
12. The Gisborne Herald is an independent regional newspaper based in Gisborne and receives PIJF funding for
one role, a Kaupapa Māori Editor.
13.
told staff that power and fibre outages meant the paper was unable to print for one day
following the cyclone and then had to borrow equipment to get limited print capability. This was at a time
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when due to cell tower outages, delivery of printed papers was one of the few ways to reach communities
with critical information such as the desperate need to conserve water supplies in Gisborne.
STAFF INVESTMENT COMMITTEE MEETING |20 APRIL 2023|
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14. Jeremy says
“The council also lent us a StarLink that afternoon which enabled us to build a network of
computers and staff around the internet connection, so we could email stories, share images and piece
together pages – and also restart some national and international news coverage.
t
Staff Opinion
16. Staff accept the ability of the Gisborne Herald to provide critical public interest journalism and maintain its
commitment to its PIJF funding during and in the wake of Cyclone Gabrielle was impacted by a lack of basic
equipment.
17. Staff believes the requested equipment will ensure the paper can operate better under emergency situations
in the future.
18. The type of equipment and costs requested are reasonable, however staff contacted the editor to discuss
whether the Starlink package quoted at $520 was available and would in fact be suitable. Staff suggested the
$4200 unit (as quoted by Noel Leeming) would be better as it is a high-performance unit for business purposes
and designed to be more resilient to extreme environments. Jeremy asked to revise the request for the high-
performance unit.
ficial Informati
20. Funding is recommended up to $12,324
Hawkes Bay App
Engage Video
$
requested
Key personnel
Title/s
Relevant Past Work
er th
Current PIJF Funded roles Contributing Editor
Contract ends 1 February 2025
Video Journalist
un
Equipment requested
Released
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Total
General Assessment
21. The Hawkes Bay App, operated by Engage Video, is based in Napier and has two PIJF funded roles.
22. During Cyclone Gabrielle its team was dispersed between Hastings and Napier and unable to get to equipment
due to bridge washouts. It says getting raw or edited footage onto the platform was a big hurdle.
23.
has requested a range of equipment. A Starlink and generators will give the App the ability
to operate under emergency conditions. The LiveU unit is used to enable live broadcast /streaming of video
from any location. The request list also includes audio equipment and a smartphone gimbal.
Staff Opinion
24. The Hawkes Bay App has developed a strong public interest journalism offering since the funded roles were
provided just before the Cyclone hit.
icial Information Act
25. While the rationale for the Starlink request was clear,
26. The request for an emergency generator likewise seemed reasonable
. Staff contacted the applicant for further information and were told that a major
impact of the cyclone was that staff members were isolated without the ability to communicate.
“We would
require the gear to ensure that if the team members are separated again in an emergency, we would have the
gear accessible to be able to continue producing content remotely, contact the team and keep all the regular
content creation processes flowing, or creating alternative processes.”
27. Staff accepts ensuring staff can operate remotely for such a small operation as The Hawkes Bay App is
important to its resilience and given the generator costs are within the overall cap, believe the rationale for
under th
two based with staff and one based in the office is reasonable.
28. While not required to keep The Hawkes Bay App operational, the LiveU equipment will enable The Hawkes
Bay App to provide live video giving their viewers the most up to date information and visuals of any unfolding
situation. Staff felt this capacity would be invaluable in an emergency.
29. The Hawkes Bay App says, due to staff being cut off and isolated during the cyclone, they were unable to
access equipment and relied on their smartphones. Staff accepts that while smartphones provide excellent
video and wild sound, they require external microphones to be used for interview situations.
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A range of microphones for Smartphones are available for under $100 and staff would suggest they
could be employed.
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30.
31. If the following items are not funded, the budget would be reduced by $7,335.
ct
32. Staff believes The Hawkes Bay App has demonstrated it can provide strong public interest journalism and
ensuring resilience for the remainder of its PIJF contracts will support the Hawkes Bay Community.
Funding is
recommended up to $21,429
Te Reo Irirangi o Ngāti Kahungunu
$29,663
Key personnel
Title/s
Relevant Past Work
formati
Current PIJF Funded roles Digital Content Creator / Producer
Contracts end September 2024
Equipment requested
Starlink
Total
$29,663
General Assessment
33. Te Reo Irirangi o Ngāti Kahungunu / Radio Kahungunu is an established iwi radio station based in Hastings and
receives PIJF funding for two roles, - a Digital Content Creator and Producer.
34. The station was severely affected by the Cyclone and told staff “We were able to remain on air for nearly eight
hours after we had lost power (limited to our studio only), however we spent a much longer period without
power and were therefore unable to continue to broadcast for another two days.” This means at the time the
station’s Māori audience needed them most, Te Reo Irirangi o Ngāti Kahungunu / Radio Kahungunu was not
able to provide critical public interest journalism.
35. Te Reo Irirangi o Ngāti Kahungunu / Radio Kahungunu has applied for a large generator capable of powering
under the Officia
the entire station for three days. They have also applied for one Starlink
Staff Opinion
36. Te Reo Irirangi o Ngāti Kahungunu / Radio Kahungunu is a key part of Ngāti Kahungunu and provides strong
engagement for local Māori communities.
37. While the costs and size of the generator are larger than other applicants, Staff accepts the rationale that a
power system that can provide three days of resilience enabling the station to remain on air is reasonable.
The station is paying the installation costs estimated at $5000.00 and the total costs remain within the
established cap.
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38. Funding is recommended up to $29,663
Radio Ngāti Porou
$
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Key personnel
Title/s
Relevant Past Work
Current PIJF Funded roles Ngā Kopara Project staff X2 / Journalist
Contracts end September 2024
Equipment requested
Total
General Assessment
39. Radio Ngāti Porou is an established iwi radio station of 17 years based in Ruatoria. It has three funded PIJF
roles; two providing content to The Ngā Kopara Project which aims to maximise the social media reach of the
station building on its radio base and one recently employed Te Rito graduate journalist.
40. Radio Ngāti Porou is the only radio broadcaster north of Gisborne in Te Tairawhiti, an area that faced some of
the worst destruction and continues to face ongoing disruption from the Cyclone. The area has faced six major
storms since 2017.
41. In the wake of Cyclone Gabrielle, the station had five staff including the three PIJF employees unable to get to
work due to road closures. The fragility of the roading network will remain for some time and staff ability to
work remotely is compromised.
42. Ngāti Porou is requesting three generators, three Starlinks and two remote broadcasting kits along with
Starlink subscriptions.
Staff Opinion
43. Staff recognises Radio Ngāti Porou is delivering crucial public interest journalism not only to its local
community but to the more than 90% of Ngāti Porou who live away from Te Tairawhiti.
44. It’s also noted that Radio Ngāti Porou is the most isolated of the five applicants and staff understands at the
height of the disaster they were off air due to power outages and unable to provide critical civil defence
information.
45. While staff accepts that ensuring staff across the isolated Te Tairawhiti motu can operate remotely given the
ongoing roading issues and continuing effects of flooding, this application is the most expensive of all five
under the Official Information Act
applications
.
46.
staff are
comfortable that the equipment requested is in line with emergency resilience, but the quantity cannot be
approved within the constraints of this fund.
47. Staff believe Ngāti Porou are best placed to decide which equipment will best serve its needs within the
funding cap.
Funding is recommended up to $30,000 subject to a revised application and budget.
BayBuzz
$
Key personnel
Title/s
Relevant Past Work
Releas
Current PIJF Funded roles Local accountability reporter (2 part time roles) Contract end August 2024
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Request
3 months
6 months
n Act
Totals
General Assessment
48.
BayBuzz, based in Havelock North, is a bi-monthly quality magazine providing longform current affairs
journalism along with web content, two weekly newsletters, a newsbrief and a fortnightly radio programme.
It has two part-time PIJF funded journalists to provide local accountability reporting that focuses on local
government and regional issues.
49. With a current affairs focus,
says BayBuzz is looking to ensure the recovery effort is
‘
matched in scope by the ‘re-think’ that will need to occur around ‘lessons learnt’ and hard decisions required
to properly prepare for a future that’s more resilient to severe weather events, climate change and other
potential natural disasters.’
50. While the publication says its already delving into these issues in its print and online platforms, its greatest
need in the wake of the Cyclone is dealing with the huge amount of public information being generated around
the recovery, providing this greater volume of content online and meeting the needs of the community to get
the latest information quickly.
51. BayBuzz currently employs a part-time online manager but is requesting funding for up to six months to make
the role full time to cope with the increased online demands.
52. The application also includes a range of additional costs that would support the role and increased
dissemination of content online including an App, Facebook boosting and Mailchimp delivery.
Staff Opinion
53. BayBuzz is the only applicant to request role funding rather than capital expenditure, however staff accepts
under the Official Informa
the nature of its longform journalism has been impacted by the post recovery needs of the community for
greater and more immediate online content.
54. While this application doesn’t seek to deal with the immediate effects of a disaster to power supplies or
communications etc, staff believes there is a valid argument that in-depth coverage of issues in a post recovery
phase will be critical to Hawkes Bay Communities.
55. Three months on from the Cyclone, the issues facing the Hawkes Bay community remain fraught and
distressing and staff believe strong public interest journalism will be supported by ensuring BayBuzz can
increase its online output while allowing the current PIJF roles to delve deeper in their longform stories.
56.
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It could also be argued that this role could set up systems that ensure BayBuzz is better positioned to provide
critical information to its community in future civil defence emergencies.
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57. The applicant gave two options to consider - 3 month or 6 month funding. As the 6 month option goes beyond
the $30,000 cap, staff recommend the 3 month option being funded.
58. Staff believe the current need for information is still high and increasing the online manager’s role for three
months would assist meeting this need. For this reason,
funding is recommended up to $19,500
under the Official Information Act
Released
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Document Outline
