Hosted by the Engineering Printing and Manufacturing Union, the Journalism Matters summit in Wellington, will include topics such as the state of the New Zealand media, commercial pressures on journalism and the impact of the consolidation of media ownership, plus the rapidly increasing move to staff reduction across New Zealand's media.
EPMU Print and Media Industry Council convener Brent Edwards says the summit is critical for the future of the industry in New Zealand.
"Over the last few years we've seen commercial pressures and cost-cutting lead to a decline in the quality of New Zealand's news. This summit is a chance for journalists to take a step back and think about what we can do to promote quality journalism.
"This is a conference predominantly for working journalists, those actually involved in gathering, writing and editing of news. That's something we haven't seen for a long time and we believe anyone who cares about the future of New Zealand journalism should be there."
EPMU national secretary Andrew Little says the EPMU has called the summit because as the main union for journalists in New Zealand it has a major stake in the industry and its future.
"We owe it to our journalist members to consider the future of New Zealand's news and the one thing that they and many others in their craft are talking about is how the current situation will impact on the quality of their work further down the track."
The Journalism Matters summit will be held in Parliament's Grand Hall and Legislative Chamber on August 11 and 12.
