Public Interest Journalism Fund closes

Saturday, 22 July 2023

Stuff received some funding for reporting roles, a fact-checking project, and investigative journalism by Stuff Circuit.

A $55m contestable fund for New Zealand journalism has now closed.

The fund was created to support media through the Covid-19 downturn which saw some titles close at the outset of the pandemic. It was administered through NZ On Air until June 30, which will continue to have oversight as some projects continue past the application process.

According to NZ On Air it provided seven rounds of funding, for 73 projects, 219 roles and 22 industry development projects. By the end of April the funding had gone towards more than 60,000 pieces of news content, with more than 134 million views.

The Whole Truth – Te Māramatanga is a fact-checking project from Stuff.

Funding received by Stuff, over several years, included: Up to $249,260 and $103,000 for two Marlborough reporters and a te reo Māori translator, up to $371,406 and $324,200 to investigative team Stuff Circuit, for documentaries, digital and print features, up to $2.7m for 20 community and Pou Tiaki reporting roles, up to $731,000 over two years to retain roles in Marlborough, and up to $591,465 for The Whole Truth, a fact checking project. It’s understood not all of the funds have been drawn down, as some projects remain under production.

While the fund has officially closed for applications, some of the roles and projects are funded to run until 2026.

Raewyn Rasch, head of journalism at NZ On Air, said she was proud of what the fund had achieved in such a short space of time. “But the biggest vote of thanks goes to the hundreds of journalists around the country…providing Aotearoa New Zealand with an incredible level of public interest journalism.”

Vocal critics of the fund included ACT’s David Seymour, who said while outlets “can’t afford to ignore $55m of taxpayer money…the Government is insinuating its way into the very institutions supposed to hold it accountable”.

Joanna Norris, managing director at Stuff Masthead Publishing, said the fund had enabled Stuff to hire some great journalists into the business, and she appreciated the skills they had brought with them.

“Unfortunately the PIJF, as a consequence, was used to criticise, unfairly, the media, with the implication that [funding by the government] was somehow able to influence the media, which is absolutely untrue, and we remain absolutely independent.”