Dr Merja Myllylahti, project manager of Journalism, Media and Democracy research center (JMAD) based at AUT

Do you think the regulators understand the challenges of modern media?

The final determination of the Nzme/fairfax merger clearly shows that the Commerce Commission understands the digital challenges of the two companies. It correctly notes that the applicants “like all news media, are in a transition phase. The growth in digital revenues is currently not replacing falling print revenues and they are seeking to transition to a more sustainable business model”.

However, I think we need to ask if anyone understands the real challenges of the modern digital media and how to respond to those challenges. Do publishers themselves know where we are heading? I doubt it. It seems that no-one really knows how the news media looks in the future, and how they make money and sustain journalistic operations.

I recently attended an international media conference in San Diego and one of the key messages there was that news publishers need to stop blaming Facebook and Google for all their problems, and start to find solutions. For example, in Norway, news publisher VG has invested in a separate video company which now produces more advertising revenue than its print products.