Turbulent Television

Abstract

A small country can provide particularly revealing case studies in the dynamics of media systems and the impact of new technologies. New Zealand television has been through dramatic changes, shifting from a public service to a commercial orientation, then struggling to reconstruct a minimal level of public service. New technology creates problems for a small country as well as opportunities, and investment in digitalization has helped a multinational pay television company to position itself as the powerbroker of New Zealand’s television future. This article is written from the point of view of a media activist working inside the system. He records his experience as a member of New Zealand on Air, a public funding body established by the government, as it sought to intervene creatively within the complex field of forces generated by political, economic, and technological changes.