Extreme Makeover: The Recurring Motif of New Zealand Broadcasting Policy

Abstract

Broadcasting policy in New Zealand has been described as ‘political football’ (Gregory, 1985: 98). Predating the Lange Labour government's radical deregulation of 1989, this metaphor reflects routine restructuring and political disregard for the potential cultural and social merits of state-owned broadcasting. Pragmatic change, masquerading as reform, has left the public increasingly underserved: from the ‘Clayton's’ solution of the monopoly era, non-commercial days, to the radical transformation into a ‘cash cow’ in the 1990s, to the Clark Labour government's CROC — a chartered public service broadcaster with a continuing remit to be profitable. This article explores, for an international audience, the combination of factors — historical predisposition, economics and political ideology — that has denied the New Zealand public a mainstream, non-commercial television service and, with reference to the changing nature of broadcasting, discusses the continuing importance of such a model.