BSA Pānui - Moving forward with digital bargaining
Number 137
Kia ora koutou

I trust this finds you well.

You may have seen that draft legislation has just been introduced to Parliament to progress the Government’s proposed framework to support commercial bargaining over the use of, and payment for, news media content online.

By facilitating commercial agreements between online platforms and news outlets for the use of media content online, the proposed framework seeks to help underpin a strong and sustainable media sector – and one which retains its reputation for trust and independence.

This will help maintain New Zealanders’ access to a diverse range of quality news media – a vital underpinning of a healthy democracy and a cohesive society, and essential in countering mis- and disinformation.

Once the Bill is referred to a select committee, the committee will likely call for public submissions (likely to occur in early 2024).

Undoubtedly, many of you will be making submissions on behalf of your organisations. As the organisation expected to be charged with administering and monitoring the proposed bargaining framework, we are also keen to engage with you, to understand your views, and help ensure these are taken into consideration.

We thank those media organisations who took part in our workshops to canvas views and concerns on these proposals earlier this year.

As promised, we fed these views through to officials leading work on the proposals and it’s pleasing to see some of this feedback reflected in the draft legislation.

Thanks also to the media organisation representatives who have signed up to be part of our digital bargaining working group. If others are keen to be involved, we’d love to hear from you.

Now that the Bill is public, we expect to be in touch to initiate workshops with this group.

As much as we’re able to as the legislation progresses, we are committed to engaging with affected media and other stakeholders with a view to seeing the Bill's vision become a reality.

Aside from any more formal or scheduled engagement, we’re always open to hearing any views or concerns you may have about the evolving environment around the likes of digital bargaining and regulatory reform.

If you have something to share, please don’t hesitate to be in touch.

Ngā mihi nui
Helen Cruse
Acting Chief Executive

FEATURED DECISIONS

FREE-TO-AIR TV

Rolston and Discovery NZ Ltd - 2023-024 (26 July 2023) open_in_new

The Authority has declined to determine a complaint an item on Newshub Live at 6pm breached the accuracy and balance standards, for including a statement linking the Auckland Anniversary floods to climate change. The complainant considered the broadcast should not have contained reference to climate change, and that climate change should not be presented as fact. Given the Authority has previously found the existence of climate change caused by humans is not a controversial issue of public importance for the purpose of the balance standard, and the accuracy standard is only concerned with material statements of fact, the Authority considered it appropriate to decline to determine the complaint.

Declined to Determine (section 11(b) of the Broadcasting Act 1989, in all the circumstances the complaint should not be determined): Accuracy, Balance

RADIO

Gaier and NZME Radio Ltd - 2023-031 (26 July 2023) open_in_new

The Authority has not upheld a complaint that a replay of a broadcast of Brad and Laura on The Hits breached the promotion of illegal or serious antisocial behaviour standard by presenting the action of running over ‘carpark savers’ as humorous. The show discussed the issue of people standing in carparks to save them for other people, and featured interaction with listeners in response to this, which included the suggestion of running over people saving carparks. Overall the Authority did not consider the likely impact of this programme would be to encourage the audience to actually run over ‘carpark savers.’ The audience would have understood the hosts’ reaction of giving a caller who made this suggestion a prize was merely an appreciative response to their joke, which was clearly hyperbole and intended to be humorous.

Not Upheld: Promotion of Illegal or Antisocial Behaviour

LATEST DECISIONS

NEWS AND RESEARCH

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