The coalition government is scrapping the Broadcasting Standards Authority. You know, ‘if you think we’ve breached these standards, please feel free to make a complaint’? That BSA.
What does this mean? Well, the proponents of this happening, like ACT MP Laura McClure say that it’s a “Massive win for free speech.”
It means that, rather than broadcasters (which broadly includes podcasters and streamers, too) being held to the standards of an overseeing entity, the government will explore “greater industry self-regulation”, which Paul Goldsmith says “is the most practical way to level the playing field across platforms, […] provide […] oversight [and] maintain ethical journalistic standards and audience trust.” The intention being that broadcasters will have this regulation occur through membership of the Media Council.
The issue with that, a Radio One volunteer tells me over an exasperated voice note, is that “the Media Council is an opt-in regulatory board. You can just choose not to be part of the Media Council. It basically means you can get away with a lot more, with more legal repercussions [under the BSA] instead of the slap on the wrist that the Media Council gives you. With the BSA gone, it means that the list of 1,500 No-No words for radio, TV, are all gone. It just leaves it in the court of public opinion. It’s very dumb.”
In an election year, the sudden shelving of an authority which serves as one of our only practical defenses against already rampant misinformation and growing hate-speech ought to instill a little bit of suspicion, especially with a large block of NZ citizens living overseas, who may rely on these now self-regulating broadcasters to inform them about policy and the state of things back home.
