News

The OUSA Executive has asked the Planet Media Review Panel to revisit the majority of its findings, including recommendations that Critic and Radio 1 be immediately absorbed under the OUSA umbrella.
At a meeting just over a week ago, the Executive officially considered the recommendations following their release.

 
A large majority were sent back to the panel to be revisited, including the immediate dissolution of Planet Media. Recommendations regarding Radio 1 were largely accepted, most notably the recommendation that Radio 1 become responsible for organising all music events on campus including Orientation and Re-Orientation. More research and planning will be undertaken before this recommendation is finalised.

 
Former Critic editors have had an overwhelming response to the recommendations, including the proposal that Critic have a set of guidelines drawn up to guide the editor in publication and content decisions. Holly Walker, Critic editor in 2005, has expressed concern that “producing new guidelines for publication would risk undermining Critic’s important editorial independence from OUSA.”
 

2002-3 editor Patrick Crewdson, now the Head of News at the Dominion Post, echoes this sentiment. “Critic's independence and editorial integrity would be compromised by greater integration with OUSA. Tempting as it must be for the executive with VSM looming, using Critic as a propaganda vehicle to support OUSA is bound to backfire,” Crewdson says.
 

Hamish McKenzie, 2004 Critic editor, says that of all the options laid out he would “vote for Critic to go it alone rather than become a pawn of OUSA.” He urges Critic to “hold tight” to the charter protecting editorial independence, and “keep reminding OUSA that they only fund 10% of the operation. The value they get for that small amount of funding is already immense.”

 
Former Salient editor Jackson James Wood agrees with the former Critic editors. “Rolling Planet Media into OUSA is a very bad idea. Sure, rationalise resources but keep Planet Media independent,” Wood says.

 
Planet Media managers were invited to the Exec meeting where the changes were discussed. Current and former editors Julia Hollingsworth and Ben Thomson spoke to the Executive about the informal support network that already exists among past editors, and the recommendation that a mentor be appointed for the Critic editor was also rejected.

 
The recommendations were made on the premise of the following statement received in the submission period of the review; “Planet Media Dunedin Limited should work proactively with OUSA to create a culture where OUSA membership is seen as desirable and natural.” The panel made the recommendations regarding Planet Media with “an unsure climate of VSM” in mind, and believes that all the recommendations are in the “best interest of PMDL and OUSA, taking the association forward seeking sustainability.” 
 

The convener of the Planet Media Review Panel, current OUSA Events Manager Vanessa Reddy, did not wish to comment on the findings or recommendations of the panel.