The end of NZPA sad but not surprising

Media release from spinitwide.com

The end of NZPA sad but not surprising

The demise of the New Zealand Press Association is sad but should not come as a surprise, the creator of Spin It Wide.com media website said today.

While it is Fairfax's decision to no longer financially support NZPA that has brought about the end to the 132-year-old organisation, it is only part of the story.

The actual catalyst for the decision has been the unrelenting growth and acceptance of the internet as a communications and news deliverer, along with the fact that most of New Zealand’s print media are owned by two companies, both of which are Australian.

It is understandable that those companies have reviewed their need of the association when they each employ more reporters than NZPA and are publishing fewer and fewer articles written by NZPA.

"The NZPA has attempted to meet the challenges as consumers changed the ways in which they keep informed of the news," the owner of media distribution website, Spin It Wide.com, Glenn Inwood, says.

"The writing has been on the wall for the last decade. The internet and the rise in popularity of Stuff and the NZ Herald online, social media websites, as well huge numbers of other news sites have driven NZPA somewhat into irrelevance."

In the day when the country’s newspapers were owned by individual families or companies, the NZPA provided a desired service, ensuring all daily newspapers had access to news from around the country.

The dynamic environment in which New Zealand's media currently operate is not conducive to the raison d'être of the association.

NZPA's foray into selling its products to non-media consumers through the creation of its Newsquest product and MediaCom press release distribution service were not enough to keep it a sustainable business.

The end of NZPA will not mean the end of news content with a New Zealand and independent point of view, as some commentators have suggested. "There are news agencies that employ New Zealand journalists to provide Kiwi content to a global audience, including Reuters, AP, AAP and others, and a huge number of blogs, social media and online news sites that all work to distribute a distinctly New Zealand flavour in their reporting."

Glenn Inwood works as a public relations practitioner and is a former newspaper journalist. Spin It Wide.com provides online press release distribution to Australian and New Zealand news media.

ENDS

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