The documentary dilemma
Media Reform
I would encourage anyone who believes in the importance of long form documentary storytelling or the doco series format to watch this industry 'sitrep' taken from the perspective of a small independent documentary maker in the United States. I note Austin Meyer @austinmeyerfilms has less than 10 thousand subscribers on youtube, I doubt he's making any money posting online, but that's not why he's doing it.
While Austin deals with the international market, there are important lessons here for those watching New Zealand's own homegrown platforms which are taxpayer supported through NZ on Air. Whether freeview or payview, what are we actually seeing and why? what are we actually paying for and why? Are we simply paying millions to subsidise commercially fragile kiwi media platforms or are we paying to ensure a future for kiwi made factual content? These questions are particularly relevant as the government considers new funding models for both film and television. I encourage you to read and submit.
https://www.mch.govt.nz/sites/default/files/2025-02/media-reform-discussion-document.pdf
When dealing with factual programming, what people want to watch is not the same as what people need to know. For me, one is a commercial decision driven by a return on investment measured by viewership, the other is a non commercial decision defined by notions of public service and education. I personally believe that there's an urgent need to protect public service broadcasting in all forms.
The great irony is that storytelling has never been more accessible to a younger generation of creators and yet the hurdles to being seen and heard seem greater than ever. Part of the problem involves industry protections designed to maintain outmoded practices, but the larger issue is simply one of profit. Platforms like TVNZ and NZME are major players locally, whereas by comparison content creators are small and expendable gnats buzzing around begging to be fed. While everyone in New Zealand decries the unfair competition from the supergiants like netlfix and google, we seem to be doing exactly the same thing, admittedly on a much smaller scale, to our own local producers. The big will always eat the small, but should government funding be promoting such behaviour?
Arrgh I hear some say, it's about production quality, yes but with a large dash of please ' don't gild the lilly ', it's about the story and always has been, a first documentary might be shot handheld in uhd and win an academy award or just as likely it may never be seen; that's the power our platforms have. I suspect many kiwi creators would earn more on the dole, than practising their current vocation, but then not all storytelling is about making a quid, for many it's about trying to make a difference. Whatever your politics an informed public is crucial to the future of our democracy.
