Media Releases
RNZ turns 100 - a proud century of keeping Kiwis connected, informed and entertained
Released at 9:58 am on 13 April 2025
RNZ is marking the milestone of its 100th birthday with the launch today of its Centenary Scholarships – five scholarships worth up to $8000 each to support the journalists of tomorrow.
As well as providing financial support, through funding one year of course fees, RNZ will offer scholarship recipients an internship in an RNZ newsroom, mentoring from a senior journalist and training with RNZ’s Director of Editorial Quality and Training.
RNZ Chief Executive and Editor-in-Chief Paul Thompson said for 100 years RNZ had been at the forefront of public media, there when it matters for New Zealanders and evolving to best serve the community.
“The scholarships reflect RNZ’s ongoing commitment to the craft of journalism and the importance of bringing through the next generation of journalists.”
“It’s not easy to be a journalist in 2025, the word is swimming in content and opinions, yet this makes the work journalists do more important than ever. Verified professional reporting and informed analysis are a tool we can all use to make sense of the noise.”
RNZ in consultation with the Journalism Education Association of New Zealand (JEANZ) has identified the five main journalism courses in New Zealand. A scholarship will be allocated for each.
JEANZ President Greg Treadwell said the Centenary Scholarships were a wonderful initiative from RNZ.
“Journalism educators around the country will welcome the opportunity to be part of celebrating 100 years of public broadcasting and look forward to having the successful applicants in class.
“It’s more than a great opportunity for the students, though. It’s an important affirmation of journalism as a career at a time when it is under extreme pressure financially and politically. Public broadcasting helps hold us together in the face of forces trying to divide us. Here’s to the next 100 years.”
RNZ is also planning to celebrate its birthday with its audience through a podcast that will examine how the public broadcaster has been a place of connection for Kiwis through significant New Zealand events.
RNZ Chief Content Officer Megan Whelan said the series, launching in mid 2025, won’t be your average history lesson.
“For RNZ it’s always been about the story and the people involved so we won’t just be looking at the major events but also some of the moments in New Zealand that could only have happened here. From Marmaggedon to Shrek the Sheep and everything in between, this series will be about the stories that have shaped us as a nation and RNZ’s role in giving the people of Aotearoa a voice.”
Called, RNZ100: A century of stories, the podcast, produced by The Downlow Concept, will be hosted by experienced broadcaster Mike McRoberts who is now Te Ao Māori editor at the National Business Review.
McRoberts said he was honoured to be asked to host given his own connection with RNZ.
“I started my career in journalism as a cadet at RNZ, way back in 1984 and spent my first years in journalism learning my craft from some of the best in the business. A lot has changed in the wider industry since then, but our public broadcaster has been a constant – recording the moments and telling the stories that have shaped New Zealand.”
ENDS
Notes to editors:
The five journalism courses that will receive a scholarship are:
- New Zealand Diploma in Journalism (Level 5) at Wintec – Hamilton City Campus.
- Graduate Diploma in Journalism or Journalism major in Bachelor of Communication –Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury (UC)
- Bachelor of Communication Studies in Journalism, Postgraduate Diploma and Masters – Auckland University of Technology
- Bachelor of Communication – Journalism or Postgraduate Diploma in Journalism and Masters – Massey University, Wellington
- Bachelor of Broadcasting Communications (Journalism) – New Zealand Broadcasting School, Ara Institute of Canterbury
More information about the scholarships can be found here: www.rnz.co.nz/RNZ100Scholarships
