Tuesday, 07 May 2024 15:55

No accountability!

Written by The Hound

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OPINION: Readers of this column will know that your old mate has been a long-time critic of $55 million of taxpayers’ money handed out to ‘favoured’ media outlets via the Public Interest Journalism Fund (PIJF) through NZ on Air by the previous government.

He believes this seriously harmed public trust in the media, as evidenced by a recent AUT survey, which showed trust has plummeted by 20 percentage points since 2020.

There are also real questions about proper transparency of exactly how the PIJF money was used.

For instance, not all media outlets who secured funding appear to have made any acknowledgement of NZ on Air or the PIJF for this taxpayer funding in its publications.

Surely there needs to be a proper public audit of the PIJF.

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