The NZ Muscle Story Isn't Just About Supplements. It's About the Changing Shape of Media.

As communications professionals there are two main reasons why the NZ Muscle story is of interest. The first is interesting indeed, the second more concerning.

The first is the breaking of the story, the second is what the story states.

Coming from media backgrounds - we are always watching the changing shape of media and consumption - and initially, as word of #Musclegate broke, we pondered -

Is this really the future of investigative journalism? :-/ Consumers seemed to be receiving it as such.

It was Monday morning - and, having received some alerts over the weekend via Instagram and other social media channels, we found ourselves watching a 44 minute "doco" made by a group of content creators on YouTube - literally investigating, to quite extensive levels, producing and breaking a story with some explosive claims regarding NZ Muscle.

Those who watched were full of praise for the level of work that had obviously gone into the piece - and it was driving all kinds of talk online - but had not been widely picked up by broader media.

We noted that it would surely be - within the day. Rova (Mediaworks entertainment platform) then shared the video - but no news platform or publisher who would be considered traditional news media did - and, for the time, the story lived on Reddit threads, YouTube, social media commentary (including those making and sharing content to distance themselves) and was building significantly. 125,000 You Tube views and counting over the weekend. (271,000 a couple of days later).

Historically, major investigations required the resources, reach and credibility of established media organisations - and it is through these channels that they are broken. Some of our finest journalists (Mel Reid, Paula Penfold et al have been behind the breaking of huge stories - and no doubt will continue to be).

But today, because the barriers of media production and distribution have collapsed, individuals and creators can just break stories themselves. And they do.

In this case, the creators seem pretty certain their claims are correct.

Traditional media would, understandably, undertake extensive verification, legal review and consideration of defamation risk before publication. There would be a huge amount on the line if not 100% correct - journalistic integrity, most importantly - trust. The main driver of media consumption. Or it was once.

Traditional #media would, of course, also need to approach with the neutrality required of credible journalism. Comments in Reddit threads suggested that the creators may also be competitors - which highlights an interesting contrast with traditional #journalism - where editorial independence, disclosure of conflicts and neutrality are expected standards. Historically, breaking stories re competitors would be done a little more behind the scenes that this - shoulder tapping journalists, lobbying and so on. Today - you can grab a camera and launch a YouTube channel. What a time to be alive.

That said, this is quite possibly the future of breaking stories. So we best get ready for it.

Certainly - there are upsides with the barriers removed. Today, almost anyone with enough determination can investigate, publish and reach hundreds of thousands of people. This means more scrutiny ( a good thing?), fewer gatekeepers - and stories that might not have found their way through traditional media can now emerge.

But, it creates new questions - who determines standards, particularly in the absence of the BSA, who verifies evidence and who is accountable if claims are wrong?

The public might not be mad about how the story has broken - but plenty are mad about the deception from what has been considered New Zealand's leading supplement brand. And rightly so.

Because, the second point of interest, as mentioned, we find far more concerning.

The consequences of this story are far reaching - and not just for the supplement takers / muscle builders of the world - but the #marketing, retail industries - even #sports brand and #sponsorships. Most importantly - to the NZ Made brand and consumer trust - which, if undermined, has serious implications for many in business - and indeed, consumers themselves. It impacts those trying to make an honest living and facing eroded trust through no fault of their own.

Consumers make decisions based on trust shortcuts - NZ Made, locally owned, premium quality, endorsed by athletes and celebs. If, as a result of this story, consumers begin questioning whether those signals can be trusted, the implications extend far beyond one supplement company.

More to come. (RNZ, NZ Herald, Stuff have now covered the story - with lead story on THREE's News bulletin tonight)