BSA to go
The Herald reports:
The Government will disestablish the Broadcasting Standards Authority after deeming the media regulator’s role “doesn’t make sense” amid an evolving industry.
Media and Communications Minister Paul Goldsmith today confirmed the Government had agreed a process to wind down the BSA and “investigate self-regulation options”.
The Government had been considering the future of the authority, first established in 1989, after it determined it had jurisdiction over online broadcaster The Platform.
“The BSA regime was designed for a broadcasting environment that is rapidly disappearing,” Goldsmith said.
“Today, audiences move seamlessly between traditional broadcasting, on‑demand services, podcasts and online platforms – yet only a small portion of that content is subject to the BSA’s regulatory oversight. It doesn’t make sense.”
This is an excellent decision. Congrats Paul Goldsmith.
There has been a principled case for abolishing the BSA for many years – articulated above by Paul Goldsmith. We already have a media self-regulator in the Media Council. The BSA can disappear and complaints against broadcasters (the vast majority are also members of the Media Counci) will go to them. So I have supported BSA abolition for a long time. I prefer media regulation to be done by industry, not by a government appointed entity.
But also the BSA has acted appallingly in their attempt to unilaterally declare they can hear complaints against The Platform. They have not acted in good faith. And bad behaviour should have consequences, and now there has been one.
I do feel sorry for the BSA staff who will lose their job in due course. But they should blame the BSA board members who signed off on such a bad faith decision.