State of the media on agenda at EPMU summit
A summit on the state of the New Zealand media, ‘Journalism Matters’, will be held at Parliament next month.
The conference, which takes place on August 11 and 12, is organized by the Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union (EPMU), following staff cuts at TVNZ and APN.
According to EPMU, TVNZ is cutting around 60 news and current affairs staff to save costs while rolling out a 24-hour digital news service. APN News & Media owns nearly half of New Zealand’s newspapers and magazines, and are planning to outsource their layout and subediting work to an Australian company. Up to 70 subeditor positions will be replaced by low wage jobs staffed by people who may have never set foot in the regions being reported on.
The conference includes panel discussions, forums, workshops, speeches and the opportunity to meet journalists from all types of media. Topics will include journalistic ethics, media ownership, commercial pressures and public broadcasting.
Students interested in media studies or journalism are welcome to attend. Student registration is $30 for EPMU members (a year’s EPMU membership is $10).
Visit www.ourmedia.org.nz to download a registration pack.
