Special Issue: Agenda 2020 Imagining the Future of New Zealand Media

Abstract

This edition of MEDIANZ was generated from papers, presentations and discussions at the Agenda 2020: NZ Media Futures Symposium at AUT in April 2017. The Symposium was designed as a forum to encourage debate about the media and its audiences in Aotearoa/New Zealand. This was thematically connected to the electoral cycle and engineered to look beyond it. The 2017 General Election has allowed media academics, workers, owners and audiences an opportunity to re-engage with media policy in New Zealand – an area that has slipped from political debate in recent years. This is critical work, as the way New Zealanders understand the issues that shape our society are heavily influenced by the media that they engage with. In the lead-up to the 2017 general election, we have had an opportunity to scrutinise political parties’ media policies and to see into the future of our critical media infrastructure in a time of change, disruption and challenge. The name Agenda 2020 was adopted to reflect both media power in framing information and the intention of the project – to meet, debate, and develop solutions to the media issues facing Aotearoa/New Zealand.