BusinessDesk to deepen coverage of commercial innovation
New Zealand’s independent business news service, BusinessDesk, is to deepen its coverage of commercial innovation with
assistance from Callaghan Innovation.
Callaghan will partially fund a senior journalist’s position on an arms-length basis to allow BusinessDesk to devote
more resource to covering the wide range of emerging New Zealand businesses using science, innovation and knowledge to
build new markets.
“At the core of this agreement is Callaghan Innovation’s acceptance that BusinessDesk offers a uniquely wide reach into
New Zealand and Australian media outlets through its six year-old business wire news service,” say BusinessDesk
principals, Pattrick Smellie and Jonathan Underhill.
BusinessDesk is pleased to have secured Fiona Rotherham, currently managing editor for Fairfax Media’s BusinessDay
service in New Zealand, to lead its increased coverage of the commercialisation of innovation.
“As one of New Zealand’s most respected business journalists and a former editor of Unlimited magazine, which pioneered
coverage in this area, Fiona has a proven track record for following the fortunes of New Zealand’s emerging new
companies.”
For its part, BusinessDesk will continue to apply the same independent news judgement to all stories.
“We are interested in reporting stories of new businesses that have made sales, signed contracts for supply, or are
raising capital from public or private equity sources,” say Smellie and Underhill. “Just inventing something, winning an
award, or claiming a new venture is ground-breaking won’t cut it.
“Likewise, favouring Callaghan in coverage would benefit neither party.
“We welcome Callaghan’s decision to back the proposal we developed to deepen coverage in an important part of the New
Zealand economy, in an age of shrinking newsrooms and the lure of better paid careers elsewhere for experienced
journalists.”
The 18 month arrangement will be reviewed at regular intervals by both parties and may be contested at its conclusion.
Its public notification is intended to ensure the arrangement is transparent to BusinessDesk’s customers and readers.
Coverage will be independently sourced, but BusinessDesk stories that quote Callaghan Innovation will carry a disclosure
about the Callaghan contract.
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