Audience Resonation

A New Way of Defining "News"

On 22 January it was reported that NZME, publisher of the New Zealand Herald, was proposing to cut 14 reporting and other content generation roles and 24 roles in editorial production.

A number of proposals were released including more investment in video news, and a stronger focus on ensuring the newsroom is focused on journalism and other content that resonates with audiences including subscribers. (My emphasis)

Editor-in-chief Murray Kirkness advised that this meant publishing fewer stories and cutting those that did not engage with audiences.

Shayne Currie in his Media Insider column detailed some of the changes within the organization.

“Production journalists – roles that include copy and layout sub-editors and graphic artists – appear to be particularly impacted by the proposals. Staff heard today new technology, including automation tools and operational processes would help streamline production.

The proposals include the formation of 14 “desks”, each with specific coverage or operational responsibilities – for example, live news, national, sport, business, politics and lifestyle. Desks would also be established for Auckland, Wellington and South Island-specific content.

The desks would each be headed by an editor, and have specific targets, such as new subscriptions, page views and video views. Each of the desks would be responsible for providing publish-ready material, reducing the reliance on production journalists.

NZME’s Open Justice reporters – a scheme funded by NZ on Air – and regional publications are not in scope for the restructure, although the Open Justice team would form one of the new desks.”

NZME Chief Executive Michael Boggs is reported as saying that the newsroom’s mission remained the same – to deliver trusted, quality journalism.

The changes in staffing are one thing but the shift in focus is entirely another. Are NZME publications going to publish content that resonates with audiences. Clearly this would seem to be the case, especially given that stories would be cut that did not engage with audiences.

Clearly NZME is able to gauge the popularity of stories especially through its digital offerings by the number of “hits” that a headline gets where readers open the full story. We see this happening on the Herlad website where over a period of hours stories shift position based on popularity and reader hits rather than what would appear to be news-worthiness.

This runs in contrast to an earlier comment by Mr Boggs that:

“As an industry, we need to continue to earn the trust of New Zealanders and at NZME we’re really focused on that — it would be a game-changer to be the most trusted media organisation.”

The problem here is that if a news organization is to be governed in the content it puts out by what its audience wants, is it not then basing the content that it puts before the public based more of “likes” than newsworthiness.

Is this the future of journalism? Is the “news” going to be based on what the public wants to read or hear rather than what the public needs to read or hear. If indeed this is the case it substantially rewrites or reimagines the functions of the Fourth Estate.

When I refer to the Fourth Estate I refer to the press and news media, which plays a critical role in democratic societies. Its primary function is to act as a watchdog, holding governments, institutions, and powerful individuals accountable by providing the public with accurate, unbiased information. Here are its key functions:

Informing the Public: The Fourth Estate provides citizens with news, analysis, and information about local, national, and global events, enabling them to make informed decisions.

Holding Power to Account: It investigates and exposes corruption, abuse of power, and unethical behavior by governments, corporations, and other entities.

Facilitating Public Discourse: By covering diverse perspectives and issues, the media fosters debate and discussion, which is essential for a healthy democracy.

Advocating for Transparency: The Fourth Estate pushes for openness and transparency in government and other institutions, ensuring that the public has access to information.

Acting as a Check on Power: Alongside the three branches of government (executive, legislative, and judicial), the Fourth Estate serves as an additional check on power, ensuring no single entity becomes too dominant.

Amplifying Marginalized Voices: It highlights issues affecting underrepresented or marginalized groups, giving them a platform to be heard.

Promoting Civic Engagement: By informing citizens about their rights, responsibilities, and opportunities to participate in governance, the Fourth Estate encourages active civic engagement.

In essence, the Fourth Estate is a cornerstone of democracy, ensuring that power is exercised transparently and responsibly while empowering citizens with the knowledge they need to participate in society. However, its effectiveness depends on its independence, integrity, and commitment to truth.

It seems therefore to be a contradiction in terms given the expectations of a Fourth Estate that NZME is going to focus the stories that it puts out based on “likes” rather than fulfilling public expectations of a Fourth Estate organ in the manner that I have set out above.

If this is going to be the future of journalism – a popularity contest to decide what gets published and what doesn’t – will there ever be a medium or newspaper of record in New Zealand. In the past this may have been fulfilled by publications such as the Dominion or the New Zealand Herald but popularity based journalism would end such a role if indeed we have had a newspaper of record over recent years.

A newspaper of record is a major national newspaper with large circulation whose editorial and news-gathering functions are considered authoritative and independent; they are thus "newspapers of record by reputation" and include some of the oldest and most widely respected newspapers in the world. The number and trend of "newspapers of record by reputation" is related to the state of press freedom and political freedom in a country.

This may be distinguished from a newspaper of public record which is authorized to publish public or legal notices and from an official newspaper of record whose editorial content is directed by the State but lacks editorial independence.

Newspapers of record by reputation comprise newspapers considered to meet high standards of journalism including editorial independence (particularly from the government and from its owners), accountability (mistakes are acknowledged), attention to detail and accuracy, and comprehensiveness and balance of coverage. In addition they are regarded internationally (as well as in their own country/region) by major global outlets.

The term is believed to have originated among librarians who began referring to The New York Times as the "newspaper of record" when it became the first U.S. newspaper in 1913 to publish an index of the subjects it covered.

The New York Times, and other newspapers of its type sought to chronicle events, acting as a record of the day's announcements, schedules, directories, proceedings, transcripts, and appointments. By 2004, The New York Times no longer considered itself a newspaper of record in the original, literal sense.

However, historians relied on The New York Times and similar titles as a reliable archival and historical record of significant past events, and a gauge of societal opinions at the time of printing. The term "newspaper of record" evolved from its original literal sense to that newer meaning.

Examples of newspapers of record are The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia), Le Figaro and Le Monde (France), Der Spiegel (Germany) The Times and the Guardian (UK) and The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times and, despite disavowing the term in the traditional sense, The New York Times.

Clearly if the Herald ever was a newspaper of record, if it is going to follow the path of the popularity of stories as an indicia of what gets published they have forfeited any right or entitlement that they might have had to the title. After all, if journalism is to be trusted (which is what Mr Boggs professes is a goal) would you trust the validity or reliability of news based on a popularity contest?

The fact of the matter is that the concept of mainstream media arose in the 20th century, when reaching a mass audience required infrastructure—a printing press, or a broadcast frequency, or a physical cable into people’s houses—and institutions.

The reality today is that mainstream media is challenged by what Helen Lewis in The Atlantic terms outside media which includes social media, podcasts and “influencers” such as Joe Rogan in the US the size of whose audience would qualify him as “mainstream”.

What is happening is that there is a drift from institutions to individuals. Although many independents and “outsiders” do good and important work there is surrounding them what Lewis calls clamorous sea of partisans who operate under new and different rules. Flaunt your bias, get cozy with your subjects, and don’t harsh their mellow by asking uncomfortable questions.

Fran O’Sullivan in a column in (ironically) the Herald on 25 January 2025 wrote about challenges facing media integrity. She observed that

“[The] reflexive approach by press gallery journalists in particular drives coalition ministers to exasperation. The default position is often to go for the negative first instead of trying to understand what new policy positions involve.”

For this reason the PM prefers X and Tiktok to get his messages out without journalistic bias added.

This indicates the way in which outsiders get a hold and in O’Sullivan’s view

“contributes to a loss of trust in media – particularly among those who have an appreciation for the challenges Governments and businesses face in a fast-changing world.”

But it seems that, rather than developing an independent, reliable, trustworthy news service, NZME seems to prefer stories that resonate with its audiences or, as Graeme Adams put it “clickbait” journalism.

Is this how NZME intends to earn the trust of New Zealanders?

Good luck with that.