Lack of local technology news damages industry

Originally published May 2020. The challenge of sustaining local technology journalism in New Zealand has only intensified since then, with further media consolidation and newsroom cuts.

A week ago Catalyst Cloud launched a low-cost storage service. Or more accurately, its Object Storage service. You can see the full press release at Scoop.

The story didn’t get a run in any reputable New Zealand media.

Contrast this with the extensive coverage Microsoft got the following day when it announced it was opening a New Zealand cloud region.

The Microsoft story was everywhere. It popped up at Stuff, RNZ and Reseller News among others. There were overseas runs at TechCrunch, CRN and Computerworld.

The prime minister even talked about it on TV.

Big run

The point here isn’t about New Zealand media giving the overseas company a bigger run than the local company. Although that could be a story in its own right – see Comparing the stories below.

What the contrast between two stories show is how much damage the lack of local technology news coverage does to New Zealand’s home grown technology sector.

No-one here has the resources to file a story that is, by local standards, somewhat significant.

No one is watching, does anyone care?

We no longer have a native technology press. It's a situation which, presumably, will be worse if Stuff no longer operates as a separate entity. 2026 update: thankfully this did not happen.

The vacuum means local technology companies struggle to build awareness through traditional media channels.

Last month Bauer Media closed its New Zealand operation shutting off Peter Griffin’s excellent regular features in the Listener. The Listener has since been sold and continues publishing.

The most visible remaining NZ technology news title, Reseller News, is run out of Australia, with a part time local reporter. We do not get good service from international news outlets.

Sporadic technology news

The Herald, Stuff, RNZ and Newsroom all have the occasional story, but coverage is mainly sporadic and far from comprehensive.

An exception would be Juha Saarinen's regular Herald columns—though finding other journalists who serve readers rather than industry interests remains challenging.

This web site is also sporadic. At the time of writing, my stories here are posted between paying journalism jobs. That means they can’t always be timely.

There are a handful of specialist outlets, but the big picture is that New Zealand can no longer sustain a commercial tech publishing sector with the resources to cover stories like the Catalyst Cloud storage launch.

Filling the vacuum are many overseas sites. Whatever their merits, they are not going to zoom in on the activities of a local cloud provider.

Comparing the stories

There’s no question the arrival of a New Zealand Microsoft cloud region is the bigger news story. Microsoft is the world’s second largest cloud operator. It has many customers here and there is a pent-up demand for a world-scale cloud operator to open shop in New Zealand.

In contrast, the Catalyst story, is not much more than a feature update.

There are interesting angles to the Catalyst story. The cost of its Object Storage is on a par with costs for world scale cloud operators. It costs three cents a month to store a gigabyte.

The ‘everything stored in New Zealand’ angle is important. But it’s also an important part of Microsoft’s story. And, no doubt, Microsoft could make the same claim about only using renewable energy.

Uphill battle for local technology news

What this illustrates is a company like Catalyst struggles to be heard above the noise.

It must be galling for people at Catalyst and other New Zealand technology companies. They something innovative like introducing low cost cloud storage only to wake the following day and see a rival’s news splashed around the place.

Longer term it is a worry. Wikipedia says:

“If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?” is a philosophical thought experiment that raises questions regarding observation and perception.

Tech companies need that observation and perception. New Zealand’s tech sector no longer has either.

This isn't just bad for technology companies—it's bad for New Zealand. Without local technology journalism, we lose accountability, context and the ability to understand how technology shapes our economy and society. The companies doing innovative work deserve to have their stories told,and New Zealand readers deserve to hear them.

More on journalism and media: 

This post is part of ongoing coverage about journalism business models, digital adaptation and modern reporting:

• Journalists too mean to tech companies.
• Dealing with the pay wall economy.
• Online paywalls vs print: Why readers resist.
• Using journalism tools to save the news industry
• Newspapers missed chances to slow their decline