Fred99:

 

MikeB4:

 

Rikkitic:

 

I do not understand the objections to this idea. Having the government fund a broadcaster does not have to inevitably mean unwarranted political interference in the programming. There are ways to defend against that. Other countries, most notably the Netherlands, manage it quite well. Why are we so hopeless that we can't do that too?

 

The argument for government-funded public service broadcasting in the first place is the same as the argument for public transport, drinking water, libraries, and other essential services. The capitalist free enterprise competitive market model works well for many things, but it doesn't work well for some things. Not every value can be reduced to dollars and cents. With free enterprise broadcasting, you get the kind of lowest common denominator crap that currently pollutes our airwaves. Quality content is unfortunately not economic in this environment and cannot compete with the rubbish. To survive it needs to be supported by other means. It is accepted that people pay taxes to pay for essential services provided by the government that would not be economic otherwise. My argument is just that public broadcasting should be included as one of these essential services. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Providing water and waste water are utilities and a government function but can be and should be contracted. TV, Radio stations, transport are businesses and not a core function of government.

 

Remember you may not like the current media offerings but you are NOT all, the market research etc these organisations do will show what the majority wants. 

 

 

 

 

I couldn't disagree more.  Water and waste services are prime examples of things which could be privatised, in the same way electricity and telecommunications have been.  Even prison services.

 

You're just picking what you do/don't want to define as core government services/business based on your political bias.

 

My political bias - combined with observation - is that the private model for sole provision of all news services is an abject failure. As the newspapers have devolved into magazine gossip merchants and providers of advertorial services for business interests, there's been nothing to fill the void, except perhaps renewed interest in Radio NZ - by the few of us left apparently - who actually do want to read or hear real local news.  The alternative seems to be screaming shock-jocks interspersed by advertisements for quack remedies made out of shark fins or magnets - to fix what else is wrong with us once we've made ourselves happier by bashing everybody we don't agree with. 

 

TV is dead/dying, NZ is too small to run a "BBC", but there is a definite need for a state broadcaster in some form.

 

 

 

Market research is also utter BS in that context.  Newspapers / Media isn't toilet paper, where customer feedback about softness should influence what you produce.

 

A curiosity - the wastewater treatment plant at Moa Point in Wellington, presumably a local government asset, was designed and commissioned by AWG Ltd, a privatised former government owned water & wastewater business in the East of England, headquartered near Cambridge. Following privatisation, they took their expertise all over the world on projects like that.