RNZ, Twitter and Elon Musk w/ Neal Curtis: 19 April, 2023

Radio New Zealand announced earlier this week that it would consider deleting its account on Twitter after a new label has been given to its account. Twitter has labelled the government-funded independent broadcaster a “government-funded media” label. 

RNZ says they receive around forty-eight million dollars in funding each year from the government through New Zealand On Air, but RNZ said in a recent Twitter post that their editorial independence is enshrined in their charter and editorial policy. State media outlets affiliated with the Chinese and Russian governments have also been given the same label as RNZ, but RNZ argues that their editorial independence makes the application of the label on their account misleading.

To hear more about it, and receive some commentary, Andre Fa'aoso spoke to Neal Curtis, a Professor in the Faculty of Arts at the University of Auckland.