From Courtroom to Newsroom For Power Lawyer Crump
Philip Crump has combined his legal and media knowledge, comboined with a fair dose of business and political savvy, to become one of the most powerful voices in New Zealand’s increasingly fractured media scene.
Sitting as a powerful voice on the NZME editorial board, Crump can quote both the Companies Act and the latest newsroom meme, and still have time to pen a sharp Substack column, Cranmer’s Substack, but will increasingly help shape news delivery in the newish-look NZME board.
The former Russell McVeagh lawyer who then spent more than two decades working in some of the world’s top law firms, including Shearman & Sterling, Kirkland & Ellis, and DLA Piper.
He was a partner at Kirkland & Ellis by 2007 and later led DLA Piper’s Leveraged Finance team in London. (Pictured with Lord Jonathan Sumption).
He presently serves on the NZ On Air Board and the Waitangi Tribunal, and has said he will recuse himself from NZ On Air decisions on journalism funding.
Former editor of the short-lived subscriber news service ZB Plus, Crump’s role on the new editorial board at NZME gives him a powerful role helping to shape the way news is delivered at a time where distrust of mainstream media (MSM) has whithered on the media vine.
And Crump is not afraid to ruffle a few well-tailored feathers along the way. He argues that fresh perspectives are overdue if NZME wants to stay relevant and regain public trust.
The use of editorial boards has been criticized by some commentators as being something that could lead to greater bias and politicisation of news – as if that is something new in our media.
In fact, as newly-installed NZME chairman Stephen Joyce pointed out at the NZME shareholder meeting, editorial boards are nothing new and are well established in many of the world’s leading newspapers.
Crump’s pitch is essentially for less gatekeeping, more curating. He’s called for the New Zealand Herald to ditch the velvet rope and let in a broader range of voices.
Crump is quick to swat away claims of hidden agendas, insisting this isn’t about turning the Herald into anyone’s personal soapbox, but rather to help restore editorial leadership.
Crump’s legal chops show in his governance crusade. He’s not shy about telling the current board it’s time for a refresh, pointing out that some directors have clocked more years than might be regarded as useful in today’s tough, fractured and competitive media environment
He has called for NZME to shift from being a gatekeeper to a curator of content, arguing that this evolution is essential to improving quality and rebuilding public trust in the media.
The challenges of sustaining journalism in a small market like New Zealand, where the shift from print to digital demands new approaches to revenue and engagement requires not only a safe pair of hands, but also by embedding editorial voices in strategic decision-making.
For lawyers watching from the sidelines, Crump may be proof that you can take the lawyer out of the courtroom, but you can’t take the advocacy out of the lawyer. And as NZME faces its next act, Crump’s blend of legal savvy and newsroom know-how might just be the plot twist the Fourth Estate needs to survive and – who knows? – even prosper in New Zealand’s small and increasingly challenging media marketplace.
