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Media in New England
New England has a small media industry, with public and private stations operating on radio, television and the internet. There are five major media operators in New England. They are ITRN Broadcasting, New England Broadcasting, New England Publishing, News Talk Radio and Radio Television New England. Each has a slightly different focus, but fundamentally they all aim to provide excellent news and entertainment services to the nation.
By law, these outlets must remain fully independent of one another. Ownership restrictions prohibit ownership across any more than two media streams (i.e. radio, television, &c). This allows for some form of diversity and a theoretically independent media as well. There are also bans on foreign ownership, which is capped at 25% of any outlet.
Overview
The media of New England is divided into four sectors.
Sectors
Television - There are three television networks across the country. Commercial television in New England is divided into four network markets, and all stations carry the name of the market and their network. RTNE does not follow this system, and instead has two television stations that broadcast to the entire nation. There is also a single satellite subscription television service, known as Galaxy Television. Galaxy provides fifty channels of news, sport, movie and documentaries, usually on syndication from the US and Europe.
Radio - There are four radio networks in Newe England. Three of these are commercial services, that operate on the same market and network system used by commercial television. Again, like television, RTNE uses it's own system, with four national networks standing alongside a four regional stations that together make up RTNE Radio. Community and information radio is a small, but significant industry that caters to niche groups and interests, and acts as the principal training ground for journalists, technicians and presenters in both radio and television.
Newspapers & Magazines - New England has a powerful print media industry. All towns have at least one paper, which is usually printed on daily or weekly basis. While many local papers tend to be conservative, the outlook of a newspaper depends on the general public mood of the community in which it is based. There is one national newspaper, the New Englander, which is printed daily and has a circulatiuon of 275,000 copies a day. The New Englander is a broadly prgressive paper that appeals to a more affulent and socially conscioius demographic. Magazines for almost any hobby or social group can be found. In recent years, the trend has been for online magazines, which brings down costs of printing.
Internet - The internet is a major source of news and information for many people. Today, New England has a number of small and medium sized internet based companies that provide news and entertainment. Relaxed copyright laws have allowed a number of local music acts to provide albums to the online music radio and download site www.music.co.nw. Aside from it's print interest, the New Englander maitains a strong online presence. The paper has captuted a large market through classified and rental advertisments, and provides the best up to the minute news, business and entertainment through it's online site.
Ownership
When New England became independent in 2012, almost all of New England's media outlets were owned by three Australian media corporations. The incoming United Party government did not believe that New England would benefit from having it's media outlets owned by the nation from which it had just become independent. From an ideological perspective, neither the government or opposition believed that the incumbent owners of the media sector could best represent the interests of New England when it did not suit the much more powerful agenda of Australia.
In 2012, parliament passed the Media (Ownership Restriction) Act. The act forced the oweners of any New England newspaper, radio or tv station to form a company in New England that was seperatly managed from it's Australian operations. Any company that resisted would be nationalised. After a large outcry, all the media owners complied in early 2013, but continued to voice their opposition to the changes. Public opinion, however, was on the side of the government.
In 2015, after the National Party came to office, the parliament passed the Media Ownership (Amendment) Act. This act forced all media outlets to be sold off by the Australian companies and forbade ownership form other foreign nations to exceed 49%. The act also forbade any person from owning shares in more than two media outlets. The float and restructuring of the media industry, with restrictions on cross-media ownership led to the formation of five media companies, a situation that persists to the present.
