Journalism Fund Supports Newsroom Cadetships To Boost Workforce

Supporting a pipeline of cadets for workplace training within Aotearoa newsrooms is just one focus of NZ On Air’s latest round of Public Interest Journalism (PIJF) funding.

For this fourth funding round, NZ On Air received a total of 39 applications from 30 different media organisations, with a combined total of just over $4.1m distributed.

Within the round are six successful applications for Role-based funding, six applications for Project funding and three successful media applying for funding of cadetships and Industry Development Funding.

“We have responded to the needs of the sector through each of the funding rounds, and we can see media organisations are crying out for support in workplace development and training,” says Raewyn Rasch (Ngāi Tahu/Kai Tahu), Head of Journalism, NZ On Air. “So it’s really pleasing to see those cadetship proposals coming through.”

Allied Press received funding for a cadet scheme to train and mentor up to five new journalists in all areas of multi-platform journalism, specifically addressing the skills gap and lack of journalists currently being seen in many regional news organisations, particularly the South Island.

Another critical step in supporting the journalism workforce is creating a pipeline of interest from rangatahi in journalism as a career. To assist with this, the PIJF has funded an innovative mentorship programme, T2t Teina 2 Tuākana, which will develop skills within Māori and Pacific high schoolers while creating news content for a traditionally hard-to-reach audience.

South Asian audiences will also benefit from this Round of the PIJF with three south Asian projects receiving funding. This includes two content-producing roles within Indian Newslink, reporting on issues relating to South Asian communities; and a podcast series designed to empower migrant ethnic communities to appropriately respond to mental health issues.

“We continue to focus on the best ways to provide public interest journalism to underserved ethnic communities in NZ media, and we look forward to committing more funds to ethnic media in the remaining funding rounds,” says Rasch.

Returning regional video news for underserved local communities were also successful in round four, including the NZ Herald’s Local Focus and Allied Press’ The South Today news bulletins. Meanwhile, The Spinoff’s Local Elections 2022 coverage also received funding for a proposal of innovative youth-focused election coverage throughout the motu.

NZ On Air works closely with Māori funding agency Te Māngai Pāho on the PIJF, and in response to recent Government budget announcements around support for Māori regional news provision, a portion of funding from Rounds 4 and 5 will be incorporated into a co-fund to be developed between the agencies.

FUNDING DETAILS

Industry Development funding 
Allied Press, Industry Development Fund Cadet Scheme, up to $516,000 – A one year cadet scheme to train, mentor and support up-to five new journalists addressing skills and recruitment gaps that are especially acute in regional and local news organisations.

Indo Kiwi United Trust, Training for Existing Journalists (Professional development), up to $35,300 – training and professional development for the staff of NZ Punjabi News.

North & South Media Limited, Trainee/cadet journalist, up to $68,200 for 1 year – to recruit, mentor and train a cadet journalist interested in a career as a long-form journalism practitioner, building on the training currently offered by The Next Page, a NZ On Air funded programme.

Projects Funding 
Allied Press, The South Today, up to $695,000 – to deliver local video news content to local communities in collaboration with the Allied Press daily and regional community newspaper network across the South Island. 

Apna Networks Ltd, Mental Health, up to $101,897 – a podcast series to empower migrant ethnic communities to appropriately respond to mental health issues.

Cinco Cine Film Productions Ltd, T2t Teina 2 Tuākana, up to $800,000 – a pilot development and content creation programme between Cinco Cine, 15 NZ schools, Whakaata Māori and the Pacific Media Network introducing tamariki and rangatahi to journalism as a viable career.

Metro Media Group Limited, Uneasy Money: How We Pay for Art, up to $39,380 – a series of four long-form feature articles about how the arts get funded, and what the different methods of funding mean for the production and reception of art in Aotearoa.

The Spinoff, Local Elections 2022, up to $160,187 – a dedicated team of writers and contributors to cover the elections throughout the motu.

Very Nice Productions Ltd, Local Focus 2022-2, up to $604,520 – regional video news for Bay of Plenty, Rotorua, Gisborne, Hawke’s Bay, Wairarapa and Whanganui, with accompanying articles.

Targeted Roles Funding 
Te Reo o Ngāti Kahungunu Inc, Ara mai he tētē kura, up to $214,245 for two roles over 1 year – to utilise current radio content and transform it ready for online distribution, so that content is more readily available and accessible to reach a wider audience.

Content Roles Funding 
BayBuzz, Hawke’s Bay Local Accountability Reporting, up to $88,800 for two part-time roles over 1 year –to deepen coverage in three key areas; agribiz-environment, healthcare delivery and public body accountability.

Indian Newslink, Content Producing Roles, up to $362,520 for two roles over two years – to report on issues related to youth in South Asian communities including education, language, culture, heritage, community relations, family violence, suicide prevention, child poverty and the Treaty of Waitangi.

Newsroom NZ Ltd, Video Content Creator, up to $159,340 for one role over two years – a video content creator to work alongside Newsroom’s journalists to visualise public interest stories so they are seen by a wider and more diverse audience.

Crux, Junior/Intermediate Role, up to $139,520 for one role over 2 years – to support provision of strong, public interest journalism in the Southern Lakes and Central Otago districts.

Te Reo Irirangi o Maniapoto, Te Reo Kahika (MFM), up to $160,000 for two roles over 1 year – to support Te Reo Kahika, news service for Rereahu-Maniapoto, sharing tribal news using bilingual local narratives through a range of established on-air and online platforms.
 

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