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November 12, 2009

Media sharks miss out on a great bite

When I first came to New Zealand from the rough tabloid environment that rules the UK, I found the news reporting here rather charming. It was polite, sometimes bordering on the reverential and always, always, tied firmly to local affairs.  Even my sons remember the five minute slot awarded to a child's lost goldfish on the main TV news.

These days I find I am bemused by the mainstream media's news priorities, particularly on the broadcast side. Take yesterday. Great story on a shark at Kelly Tarlton's that performed an 'emergency c-section' on a female, releasing four baby sharks into the tank.  Alright, so it isn't earth shattering stuff, nor is it likely to change the world.  But it is interesting, diverting and, for New Zealand, most definitely of local interest. Was it covered on broadcast media here? No. Other mainstream? Barely.  Does this matter? In the great scheme of things, probably not. But I'd guarantee that online sources, NZPA and others reaped great rewards from their coverage of this diverting tale as the intrigued and curious searched for pictures of the newly-released newborns.  The world's a pretty grim place at the moment and to hear of a shark doing a good deed - well, it's a hopeful kind of thing. My unscientific poll today, covering about 350-ish fellow Kiwis indicated that at least 75% were wanting to know more and frustrated by the lack of coverage.

At present, the mainstream news agenda here seems over-punctuated by news from the US, but not the wider world. The focus is on the shallow, not the deep (yes, I know this shark tale is somewhat shallow, but they do live in the deep), the mundane rather than the extraordinary. Which is a shame, because with just 4.5m people to cater for, mainstream media has a potential for influence here greater than in many other places. Given that social media has revolutionised the news environment and given that all mainstream media outlets are in decline, one would have thought those in charge might capitalise on such potential advantage. Evidently not.

Shake it up guys - we expect more. Get your teeth into the news we want to hear and you might just be amazed at what you unleash.

Posted at 04:26 PM in bit of a laugh, Comment, Communication, Current Affairs, journalism, media, New Zealand | Permalink

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Media sharks miss out on a great bite

When I first came to New Zealand from the rough tabloid environment that rules the UK, I found the news reporting here rather charming. It was polite, sometimes bordering on the reverential and always, always, tied firmly to local affairs.  Even my sons remember the five minute slot awarded to a child's lost goldfish on the main TV news.

These days I find I am bemused by the mainstream media's news priorities, particularly on the broadcast side. Take yesterday. Great story on a shark at Kelly Tarlton's that performed an 'emergency c-section' on a female, releasing four baby sharks into the tank.  Alright, so it isn't earth shattering stuff, nor is it likely to change the world.  But it is interesting, diverting and, for New Zealand, most definitely of local interest. Was it covered on broadcast media here? No. Other mainstream? Barely.  Does this matter? In the great scheme of things, probably not. But I'd guarantee that online sources, NZPA and others reaped great rewards from their coverage of this diverting tale as the intrigued and curious searched for pictures of the newly-released newborns.  The world's a pretty grim place at the moment and to hear of a shark doing a good deed - well, it's a hopeful kind of thing. My unscientific poll today, covering about 350-ish fellow Kiwis indicated that at least 75% were wanting to know more and frustrated by the lack of coverage.

At present, the mainstream news agenda here seems over-punctuated by news from the US, but not the wider world. The focus is on the shallow, not the deep (yes, I know this shark tale is somewhat shallow, but they do live in the deep), the mundane rather than the extraordinary. Which is a shame, because with just 4.5m people to cater for, mainstream media has a potential for influence here greater than in many other places. Given that social media has revolutionised the news environment and given that all mainstream media outlets are in decline, one would have thought those in charge might capitalise on such potential advantage. Evidently not.

Shake it up guys - we expect more. Get your teeth into the news we want to hear and you might just be amazed at what you unleash.

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