With small NZ media publications losing advertising to overseas online media, journalists need funding.

"Fair Digital News Bargaining" (FDNB) claims to help journalists get their rights to funding from google and facebook. The basis of the FDNB is a contract jointly agreed on by the NZ government, journalists, and (overseas) media platforms. 

The contract is likely to contain the same politically biased conditions as the funding system it replaces (the public interest journalism fund), i.e. it would compel publication of political views on various topics. For example, the previous funding system required journalists to publish a particular political view on the method to be used in race relations.

Government paying the media directly or indirectly (by unfair FDNB) is a problem. There is the temptation for news organisations to be loyal to the hand that feeds them. Another problem is that the new FDNB funding requires respecting overseas editorial views, reducing the variety of news content. How can the next government repair this corruption? Reinstate the public interest journalism fund. Change the directives to promoting unity in NZ. Have the changes agreed upon by both sides of parliament, and the public.

Andrew Clow, Tauranga.