BWB Text: The Broken Estate

"It is easy to look at the extremity of `post truth' politics in the US and conclude that we must be doing something ok in New Zealand. But in many ways, the foundations of our media system are in worse shape." In the age of Trump, fake news and celebrity headlines, it is easy to despair about the future of journalism. The New Zealand and global media are in a state of crisis - the old economic models for print journalism are no longer viable, public funding has been neglected for decades, and the numbers of journalists employed by major news organisations are in freefall. New Zealander Mel Bunce is a young lecturer at the acclaimed Department of Journalism at City, University of London. In what she describes as both a critique and a love letter, Bunce discusses the state of journalism in New Zealand and the solutions needed to ensure its future. Her fresh analysis draws on the latest international research and interviews with leading journalists.