'RIP woke media': An examination of Voices for Freedom's web radio channel

Thursday, 30 March 2023

Reality Check radio is a media platform by Voices for Freedom.

A new media platform backed by Voices for Freedom promises the death of the “woke” media, while injecting “reality” back into public discussion. National Correspondent Charlie Mitchell has tuned in every day since it began. He explains what he has heard.

A few weeks ago, Aucklanders who looked to the sky might have seen a plane trailing a banner. It read: “Reality Check Radio - RIP woke media”.

They, and others around the country, may have received a leaflet in their mailbox, headed with the words “You’re not alone”; they might have seen a billboard with one of four faces on it or seen those same faces on the back of a bus.

After a short but loud advertising campaign, the media venture by Voices for Freedom (VFF) – Reality Check Radio (RCR) – has launched.

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A media outlet is a natural progression for VFF. It started as a grassroots campaign against public health measures during the pandemic, but as those measures were dropped, VFF evolved into a springboard for various grievances, including climate action, gender issues, disaster-prepping, and even city-planning.

RCR has bold ambitions – an email to VFF comes with an automatic reply describing RCR as “the reckoning the ‘powers that be’ have been dreading” – but it has launched into challenging conditions.

Despite the name, it is not broadcast on terrestrial radio and can only be streamed on its website, limiting its reach. It shares a similar mission statement to The Platform, the reactionary, millionaire-backed outlet with a militant objection to “wokeism” (at least two RCR staff were previously hosts on The Platform).

The more extreme Counterspin Media has started its own radio platform.

I’ve been listening to RCR to get a sense of its place within the so-called truth and freedom movement, which is likely to make up much of its listener base.

It is, in many ways, precisely what one might expect: A safe space for people with contrary views on issues not represented in mainstream media channels.

Since its launch on Monday, March 20, there has yet to be a contentious interview or a magnanimous exploration of what people on the other side think and why they feel that way. The liberated hosts do not have to tiptoe around issues like Covid-19 vaccines; they, understandably, relish speaking uncensored.

But in other ways, the approach is heterodox.

There is little audience engagement, and it plays a lot of music, particularly from the ‘60s and ‘70s; at times, it’s like a red-pilled Solid Gold, where the listener gets bursts of culture war grievance between Nat King Cole and Chaka Khan hits.

Other times, it’s like community radio, where less prominent figures get to expound at length on wellness, wokeism, and the World Economic Forum.

That makes its position in the media ecosystem an interesting one. Unlike its commercial radio competitors – Today FM, which has been axed, and Newstalk ZB, which sands down the edges of its reactionary instincts – it appeals to an audience with nowhere else to go.

What is it?

Police clash with protesters as they remove tents and camping equipment from the occupation site during the parliament protests.

Early this month, conspiracy theory watchers noted the founders of VFF – Claire Deeks, Alia Bland and Libby Johnson – had registered a new company called NZ Media Ventures.

Soon after the company was registered, Reality Check Radio was announced, as were its hosts: Peter Williams (longtime newsreader then host on Magic Talk); Rodney Hide (former ACT party leader and MP); Paul Brennan (long-time RNZ newsreader); and Chantelle Baker (a popular content creator).

The line-up is impressive and slightly unexpected.

VFF is an extension of its founders – women who famously described themselves as “three mums” during Parliament’s occupation. It has typically leaned heavily into wellness and lifestyle content, which function as a pipeline to what can be more radical views.

A radio-style broadcast anchored predominantly by three older men does not immediately speak to that demographic. But for a listener base leery of identity – where virtually identical views are held regardless of age, race, and gender associations – that representation is far less critical.

More interesting is who does not appear on the billboards.

There are 48 hours of new content each week, three of which are set aside for Baker, who has a weekly slot on Friday evening. Rodney Hide has six hours, and Peter Williams has nine hours. Combined, they host just over a third of the content.

Even that is an overstatement; the afternoon slot, hosted by Williams, is mostly music. On Monday, for example, he spoke for 25 minutes of his three-hour show (Williams also hosts a show for the farming lobby group Groundswell).

That leaves the heavy lifting to Paul Brennan, the only host to appear every day and always in the breakfast slot, making him, by default, the network’s voice.

(Regarding funding, the station says it is 100% supported by New Zealanders. It does not run ads but does ask for donations. Because it’s a private company, its finances are not public.)

I contacted Voices for Freedom for comment about the station’s finances. They said: “Reality Check Radio launches funded by Kiwis for Kiwis.

“Thousands of people whose voices were silenced over the past few years have come together to contribute their time and resources to support a new radio station focused on discussing vital issues that never see the light of day in mainstream media. RCR receives a wide range of contributions, reflecting the prevalent sentiment across all societal demographics that something is not right in New Zealand.”

Who else is involved?

Outside the four main hosts, there are 15 hours of content to fill. This falls to members of the expanded VFF universe.

There’s a show about climate change and “green” issues hosted by VFF’s Jaspreet Boparai and former Federated Farmers President Don Nicholson. Two days a week, the afternoon slot is hosted by Tobias Tahi, a content creator who primarily plays alternative music.

The remaining two hosts require some context.

Maree Buscke is a prominent figure in the knitting industry and hosts a show about “woke culture”.

Knitting has been a surprising frontline for Covid-era culture wars in New Zealand. Two of the three VFF founders are also prominent in the community, and their political views have led to clashes with more socially progressive knitters. This has led to Buscke being “cancelled”, prompting her interest in what she calls “critical social justice”.

The final host is Natalie Cutler-Welsh, a former Green Party candidate and Instagram entrepreneur who gave media advice to VFF-aligned candidates running in local elections.

The topic of her show is – broadly – new-age self-improvement and will likely touch upon her interests in wellness and spiritualism.

This can go to unexpected places. On her first show, for example, Cutler-Welsh promoted her appearance at an upcoming event for “starseed children”.

Starseeds are said to be souls from extraterrestrial planets who inhabit human bodies - primarily children - to spread their wisdom, according to a website associated with the event. Some starseed children are said to have more extraterrestrial DNA and “heal instantly”; others can see inter-dimensionally and move things with their minds.

The website lists Cutler-Welsh as a mentor to the starseed children, and she recently interviewed the event’s founder for her video channel.

RCR has said it plans to add more hosts and shows over time.

Like any new media outlet, there is clearly a shortage of guests. Multiple guests have appeared several times, and interviews regularly last up to an hour. Sometimes, hosts interview each other (One of Hide’s first guests was Buscke; One of Buscke’s first guests was Hide).

This may change, as the station picks up momentum.

What is the content like?

The mix of hosts means there’s something for everyone – as long as you expect to remain safely within narrow ideological boundaries.

With the afternoon shows dedicated to music, much of the political content lands in the morning show hosted by Brennan.

Many will know Brennan as a steadfast presence on RNZ. He then joined The Platform, where he expounded on Covid-19 vaccines and other issues, some of which can seem obscure. In a promotional ad for RCR, he highlights three issues of concern to him: The Covid response, racial division and digital currency – “is it programmable, and will it be used to manipulate behaviour?” he asks.

The show’s tone is a mixture of light and informative.

One regular segment is the “normie news”. After a burst of circus music, Brennan opens up the mainstream news websites and mockingly reads the lead stories (even inoffensive weather stories are subject to derision).

His interviews thus far – the most notable being one with NZ First leader Winston Peters – have been affable and non-confrontational, studiously avoiding possible areas of disagreement and sticking to common ground.

A lengthy interview with Dr Matt Shelton, for example, did not touch upon Shelton’s well-publicised belief that Covid vaccines may contain self-assembling nanobots and could make some people magnetic. (Not true.)

Instead, they sympathised with each other about being stigmatised for their beliefs, and agreed the rest of the world would come around.

Based on the content thus far, it is clear what will likely be RCR’s subjects of interest.

Both before and after the disruption at an event hosted by Posie Parker, much of the content concerned gender issues.

In one of his first interviews, Brennan spoke to former NZ Herald columnist Rachel Stewart about drag queen story time events.

During the interview, Brennan pondered if they were “an effort to sexualise children early” and whether there was something “ritualistic” about trans people who have surgery. Referring to a trans person who regretted their transition, Brennan described it as “kind of evil”.

The station has elsewhere devoted hours of content to trans people, from the same perspective; that it reflects an extension of wokeism that seeks to undermine society.

After 10 days of regular listening, RCR seems built to be a safe space, where like-minded people discuss topics that aren’t represented elsewhere.

Listeners might argue this is no different to the mainstream media they oppose. But rather than differentiate from those perceived shortcomings, RCR heightens them.

While the mainstream media is bemoaned for throwing around labels like “anti-vaxxer” and “fascist”, the RCR equivalents of “Marxist” and “woke” fly freely; some hosts are baffled as to why so many people disagree with them while speaking to guests who share the same confusion, the blind leading the blind.

It is undoubtedly cathartic; but it is not, so far, what the station has promised.

Amid the discussions about the sinister intentions of trans people, the delusion of people who support vaccination against Covid-19 and the nefarious intent of people who want to address climate change, promos for the station play on rotation.

The hosts are asked what they want to achieve.

“I think the biggest problem we need to try and solve is how – after all this division and after all this separation – do we end up bringing people together again?” Baker said.

Brennan, in another, said: “[W]e want to hear what people have to say, whatever side you’re on”.

Are people listening?

Listening numbers aren’t public, but the outlet has already drawn criticism from some of its potential audience.

Perhaps the defining characteristic of the so-called truth and freedom movement is factionalism. It has been split into many smaller groups, some of which are hostile to others, for reasons that can seem arbitrary and confusing.

VFF, as one of the largest such groups, is often central to these disputes. More strident figures see it as a corporatised behemoth, unwilling to advocate radical change.

“Big money behind the push to be mediocre without a real challenge to the establishment,” wrote Counterspin’s Kelvyn Alp on Telegram, referring to RCR.

At her court appearance last week, Liz Gunn criticised RCR for not covering her case (Sue Grey, another prominent figure, joined her).

“I have had not one post on Voices for Freedom of support,” Gunn said.

“It really broke my heart – I really want to support the new channel and I thought, let’s see if they turn up today, and they did not.”

Grey added: “Hopefully they’ll redeem themselves and pick up on this story and run with it from now on.” (They have not.)

This may not be a problem. The truth and freedom movement is famously fickle, willing to abruptly turn on its former heroes at the tiniest hint of disloyalty.

But RCR is not for people deep in the rabbit warren; it’s for those who are milling about the entrance, who feel unrepresented by the mainstream media and want to hear their own thoughts and feelings affirmed.

In a time when “reality” is relative, that may be enough to sustain a new media outlet – even if it is not a “reckoning” for media outside the safe space.

This story has been updated to include VFF’s reply.