Press Council opens doors to digital media

The New Zealand Press Council, the body which handles complaints against newspapers and magazines and their websites, is offering associate membership status to news and commentary-oriented digital media including bloggers.

The council, set up by the newspaper industry 42 years ago, has changed its constitution to allow new forms of media to join.

Council executive committee chair Rick Neville said the council and its stakeholders had taken this step in recognition of the significant expansion and diversification of media platforms in New Zealand.

Requests will be considered by the executive committee which will assess applicants’ ability to meet membership criteria including those relating to accuracy, fairness, balance, independence and integrity.

These are set out in the council’s Statement of Principles. Applicants will also have to agree to comply with the council’s complaints procedure which requires decisions upholding a complaint to be published by the offending publication or website.

New digital members will be charged a subscription ranging from $100 for a small blog with modest traffic, higher fees for larger blogs and online publishers, and a negotiated fee for commercial corporate content aggregators.

Enquiries should be directed to the Executive Director of the Press Council at info@presscouncil.org.nz. Applications for membership may be lodged using the application form atwww.presscouncil.org.nz.

ENDS

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