Tell Melissa Lee not to bail out private media companies

The vast majority of Kiwis oppose taxpayer-funded bailouts of private media companies. With trust in the media falling to an all time low, more bailouts will further erode the public's trust in the fourth estate's independence.

Send an email to the Minister for Media and Communications telling her to not to give in to those calling for private media companies to be 'thrown a lifeline' by Wellington.

All emails using the form below will be sent to Melissa Lee and copied to Labour's broadcasting spokesman Willie Jackson.

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Dear Minister Lee,

I'm writing to urge you not to yield to those advocating for the Government to provide private media companies with a 'lifeline' through direct taxpayer-funded subsidies or changes to media regulations and levies that would achieve the same effect.

Private media businesses should not receive my money unless I choose to give it to them. If media companies offer a service that people value, individuals will be willing to pay for it (or advertisers will want to advertise). Bailouts discourage media from producing engaging and trustworthy content that people want to support.

As you know, trust in media is at an all-time low, with just 33% of people expressing trust in the news in general. The worst action the Government could take is to intervene with taxpayer money to bail them out. Taxpayer funding would further undermine trust and perceptions of independence.

Polling conducted for the Taxpayers' Union shows that 55% of New Zealanders are opposed to taxpayer-funded bailouts, with only 29% in favor.

Let me be unequivocal: I oppose any form of taxpayer support for private media companies, whether direct or indirect. This includes indirect taxpayer funding such as tax rebates, levies, or cross-subsidisation from other media providers – these decisions still burden taxpayers.

During your time in opposition, you strongly opposed Willie Jackson's proposals to tax tech companies to pay for linking to news content. This approach was attempted in Canada and had devastating effects. For instance, all news content was removed from sites such as Facebook and Instagram in response. Media companies are already free to negotiate deals with platforms – creating an effective 'news tax' would will result in reduced access to quality news, not increased access.

I urge you to stand firm and make it unequivocally clear that bailouts for private media are not an option.

Yours sincerely,

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