NZME community newspapers closure: Loss of papers a risk to democracy, Jeanz says

New Zealand Journalism Education Association incoming president Greg Treadwell.

Solutions must be found for communities which have lost their local news service and whose local democracy is at real risk, said the incoming president of the New Zealand Journalism Education Association (Jeanz).

Auckland University of Technology senior lecturer Dr Greg Treadwell said recent closures of Aotearoa New Zealand news organisations, including dozens of local papers over the past few years, will hurt community resilience when, in the face of climate change, it’s never been needed more.

“It’s simply not tenable in a democracy to leave these communities without verified local news and information,” said Treadwell.

“Not only will democracy suffer as unverified information, including harmful disinformation, circulates in its place, but community identity and the resilience that comes with that identity will be lost.”

Solutions had yet to be found but organisations such as the American Journalism Project were working on it, he said.

Community news hubs, run by a mix of professional and citizen journalists, were one possibility but how to fund them was the real issue, he said.

Treadwell’s comments came after the association’s annual conference, which was themed, Local Matters: Community and Journalism.

AUT researcher Dr Merja Myllyahti told the conference direct funding of journalism by the state had proved controversial in Aotearoa New Zealand, while in the US it was now supported by tax credits for those who hired journalists, credit vouchers to buy news subscriptions, and state-funded journalism fellowships.

“Additionally, California has partnered with tech companies to pay $250 million over five years to support local news media news and their AI programmes,” Myllylahti said.

Professor Susan Forde, of Queensland’s Griffith University, whose research centres on community and alternative media, gave the opening keynote address.

The closing keynote address was by Professor Juliane Lischka, of the University of Hamburg, whose recent research looked at how evolving technologies, including AI, were influencing employers’ expectations of journalism graduates.

Treadwell worked as a reporter, photographer and newspaper editor before he joined Auckland University of Technology in 2005.

He completed a PhD on the loss of freedom of information experienced by public-interest journalists in Aotearoa New Zealand. His teaching specialities include public affairs journalism, investigative journalism, media law and ethics, and news photography. His research focus is on public-interest journalism, trust in news and journalism education.

The newly elected Jeanz executive is: Dr Greg Treadwell, AUT, president; Dr Akhteruz Zaman, Massey University, deputy president; Dr Teresa Housel, Massey, secretary; Dr Cathy Strong, Massey, treasurer.