Comments on: How Good is NZ Media Coverage of Education?

By: John MacCormick

John MacCormick — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 07:03:04 +0000

The coverage in NZ is shallow – and the disappearance of Ed Review means the specialist coverage isn’t there for the mainstream media to draw on either.
That makes sources like ED and this blog even more important as a way for overstretched generalist journos to get a perspective other than the usual suspects: VCs etc (give us more money), Unions (give the VCs more money provided they give it to us), students (no, give US more money), parents (give them more money, just not any of mine), and politicians (I’d like to give them more money, but…).
I don’t think it takes dedicated education journos in every paper to give good coverage – but without them, we need more-or-less non-partisan analysis from independent parties.

By: Dave Guerin

Dave Guerin — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 02:51:39 +0000

Curious readers might also check out my original link, which had a lot on the US higher education sector’s responses to the situation. I decided to keep the post short to encourage discussion rather than bringing the points into the open.

By: Dean Carroll

Dean Carroll — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 02:47:37 +0000

I attached from today’s [Sunday's] New York Times Magazine an article on making better teachers; http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/07/magazine/07Teachers-t.html.

The article itself might be of interest to your readers (although it is schools focused) but you will note that the author is a fellow in education reporting at a school of journalism. Whilst obviously the global re-organisation of the media as a result of both the recession and changes in ICT have reduced the size and complexity newsrooms in this country, might a further complicating issue in this country be a lack of specialised training in writing for particular subject areas.

Another factor (within higher education coverage but much less so in the compulsory sector) is the lack of engagement of our university academics as New Zealand’s cherished critic and conscience; a role enshrined in legislation. Almost all of the op-ed pieces around higher education are written by Vice-Chancellors, administrators and staff/student union representatives. Although they have important, informed and [mostly] useful things to say, they are written from a particular perspective; advocacy.

By: Darel

Darel — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 02:36:03 +0000

I think it is accurate to say that the CHCH Press covers institutions, not tertiary education. So there is good space devoted to the University of Canterbury and Christchurch Polytechnic, and less to Lincoln University and other larger institutions.

The topics covered are about the health of the institution, student behaviour, and the occasional controversial issue, but not so much about the long term sustainability of the tertiary education system.

The coverage given to the music school proposal at the Arts Centre is more about heritage values, urban renewal and the conflict between two sets of influential people. There hasn’t been a lot about, for example, whether local government should subsidise this central government function.

The Dom Post Higher Education section (does that section still exist) has some good stories.