Statement From The Magazine Publishers Association

Magazines are an essential part of the New Zealand media – and need to be included in Government discussions around the future of the industry.

That’s the call from the Magazine Publishers Association, the industry body for magazines, who argues it is not being consulted on wider media issues vital to the industry

Magazines are the only media, apart from some community newspapers, to be banned during the Level 4 lockdown. The dire impact that’s had on the industry is only too obvious – with hundreds of job losses and a host of important titles closing in the past two weeks.

Over 70 per cent of New Zealanders read magazines, and the public conversation that results from analysis beyond the run-of-the-mill daily news cycle is essential to our society and democracy.

Today that is in jeopardy as the Government has failed to fully engage with publishers and the MPA, and a voice from magazine media was conspicuously left out of the opposition’s Epidemic Response Committee hearing yesterday.

The Magazine Publishers Association supports many of the initiatives discussed at the Epidemic Response Committee—moving government advertising to local media, extending the NZ on Air remit to include long-form journalism, and making subscriptions tax-deductible.

The MPA also expects that magazines are considered alongside all other media for any government support that may be forthcoming. Magazines are as important to the social, cultural and economic wellbeing of New Zealand as any other media, and subject to the same market forces including the collapse of advertising revenue. The Government should not pick favorites, discriminate against the periodical print format, or bail out only the largest players.

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