Public media should put people, place and planet before profit - report

Broadcasting, Communications, and Digital Media Minister Clare Curran says Radio NZ and NZ On Air will have more money from 2018. Photo / Supplied

A public media charter needs to be established to ensure content that has a greater focus on current affairs and for success to be measured in terms of "people, place and planet before profit", a new report says.

Broadcasting Minister Clare Curran says she will consider the call for a charter - likely to be controversial, given the furore over TVNZ's charter - as an option to achieve a quality public media sector.

The People's Commission on Public Broadcasting and Media was delivered to Curran in Parliament yesterday. The report is based on a panel of six experts that held nationwide meetings this year and heard from more than 500 people.

The panel members are journalist Bill Ralston, columnist and musician Lizzy Marvelly, economist Shamubeel Eaqub, producer Mark Jennings, producer and director Kay Ellmers, and investor Lance Wiggs.

In the report's foreword, former Prime Minister Helen Clark said the media landscape had become too reliant on commercial imperatives.

"New Zealand has arrived at a point where, in essence, it relies on commercial media to deliver almost all its public service broadcasting outcomes. That is unsatisfactory."

The report produced 10 guiding principles, including a diversity of perspectives in freely accessible content, sustainable funding adjusted for inflation and population, and measuring success in terms of "people, place and planet before profit".

It makes six recommendations:

• Immediate funding boost for New Zealand On Air and RNZ, and every year in line with inflation.

• New Zealand On Air mandated to fund more news, current affairs and citizenship education material.

• Media literacy and critical analysis included as a core component of the New Zealand curriculum.

• An independent review to ensure adherence to the 10 principles from all taxpayer-funded media including TVNZ, New Zealand On Air, Creative New Zealand, RNZ and the New Zealand Film Commission.

• Government funding for ongoing professional development in public service media.

• A charter to ensure that all taxpayer-funded public interest media fulfils certain standards and objectives in line with the 10 principles.

TVNZ used to have a charter to ensure a wide variety of New Zealand-made content. It was introduced under Helen Clark in 2003, but abolished in 2011 to free the network of having both commercial and public service obligations.

NZ On Air is now guided by investment principles promoting local, diverse and easily accessible content - but the report's recommended charter would apply to all public media content, not just NZ On Air.

​Curran welcomed the report, and said she would consider all its recommendations as part of her objective to achieve quality public media.

She said the Government was working on boosting funding to NZ On Air and Radio New Zealand.

"We want to transform RNZ into a truly multi-platform provider dedicated to quality New Zealand programming and journalism, and want NZ On Air to be able to better support independent commercial producers and commercial networks to make content that's valued by people."

Jennings said the public meetings had shown overwhelming support for public service media.

"It is now seen as perhaps the last bastion of independent, quality news and current affairs, in a media world that is collapsing under a deluge of click-bait and the impact of failing financial models."

The report cost $22,200 and was funded by small donations from almost 1000 individuals in the ActionStation community, and a $5000 contribution from Better Public Media Trust.