The fight for fair pay for NZ news
Co-director of JMAD, Dr Merja Myllylahti, says the News Publishers Assocation's application to the Commerce Commission to collectively bargain with global giants Facebook and Google follows on from the Australian 'bargaining code' and seeks to give NZ publishers fair payment.
Included in the application are NZME, Stuff, Allied Press, Gisborne Herald, Ashburton Guardian, Greymouth Star, Wairarapa Times-Age, Westport News, Whakatane Beacon and Wairoa Star. The Spinoff has indicated interest, but some other independents such as Newsroom and Business Desk were not mentioned. This does not mean that they would not join collective bargaining if the ComCom approves the application.
Business Desk has since said they won't be involved as it has already agreed deals with Google to feature on the Showcase platform.
"We've seen platform giants reward established outlets at the expense of local news outlets around the world. This negotiation will help ensure NZ news publishers are fairly paid for their work on stories relevant to New Zealand."
Dr Myllylahti's research on the role of attention and platform payments is significant.
She investigates the attention economy 'trap', the monetisation of attention, reviews how platform payments are shaping digital news revenue and the overall impact of Google and Facebook on the New Zealand media market.