Plans to completely close Newshub, along with TVNZ’s big losses and a slump in revenue, have rocked the media.
Now an announcement on Thursday about the future of news at the state-owned broadcaster has its journalists braced for more bad news. But neither they nor the minister know quite what is coming.
The Auckland Central TVNZ office. Photo: RNZ / Michelle Tiang
When media minister Melissa Lee appeared on RNZ’s Checkpoint on Wednesday, it was to be interviewed for the first time about Newshub’s shock news last Wednesday.
But there had also been rumours of announcements expected at TVNZ this Friday.
Lisa Owen asked Lee - a shareholding minister at TVNZ - if she was concerned the state-owned broadcaster was planning cuts or redundancies in news.
She said these were operational matters to be addressed by TVNZ itself. But she also confirmed TVNZ had updated her last Friday “about what the latest financial result might mean for the company.”
By the time the media minister was on NewstalkZB’s Drive show just over one hour later, the story had changed.
TVNZ news staff had been told to “watch their inboxes” tomorrow for news about the future of news at TVNZ.
“I have no idea. I don't know that there is an announcement,” Lee told Newstalk ZB, when asked if cuts in news were planned.
“I’ve had a busy day with meetings and I don’t have the details,” she said.
When pressed she told Newstalk ZB: “They did not tell me they were cutting staff on news”
Under the ‘no surprises’ policy, it would be a big surprise if she had not been informed of a matter about which she would certainly be grilled subsequently in Parliament, not to mention by the media.
In November, Newshub reported she was not happy that she wasn't given a heads-up about the controversial resignation of NZ On Air board member.
Coincidentally TVNZ presenter Jack Tame was next up on ZB as a panel guest yesterday.
“Honestly I don’t know,” he said when asked if news jobs or programmes were on the line
“Our CEO has been frank about the likelihood of cuts at TVNZ but I don’t know if they will be at news or at programming or both. But anyone who saw our results last week - or Newshub’s situation - knows it is perilous in the TV business now,” Tame said.
TVNZ top brass signaled tough choices ahead
His boss was telling MPs that in no uncertain terms just last month. TVNZ’s COO Brent McAnulty told a Select Committee hearing on the Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill (a means of getting Google and Facebook to pay local news publishers for content) the legacy of decades of investment in local newsrooms” must be protected.
TVNZ executive editor of news Phil O’Sullivan said last month 270 news and current affairs staff produced around 240 news stories a day and the cost of local news coverage was extensive.
“The health of local media is vitally important. When 90 cents of every (digital advertising) dollar goes offshore we know there’s a problem to fix,” he told Parliament’s Economic Development Select Committee.
“This is a fight for survival for us. More and more journalists are leaving our profession. There will be less oversight of people in power and coverage of stories of importance. It’s very serious,” he said.
TVNZ’s 2023 Annual Report says it had 735 full-time employees.327 earned more than $100k a year.
In September 2023 TVNZ announced it was planning significant cuts to content production, programmes and operational spending in response to reduced spending on advertising.
Future projects were placed under review and pay rises for top-earning staff were scrapped at the state-owned broadcaster.
Recruitment for vacant roles was “paused” until 2024 and TVNZ would fill some other vacant roles and defer the starting dates for some roles.
Acting chief executive Brent McAnulty said senior executives have identified “all the possible cost savings opportunities we have” in recent weeks.
“Content budgets have been reduced, both for local production and international content. There have been some really tough calls to make here, but we need to live within our means,” McAnulty told staff.
“All projects are being reviewed to decide whether they should continue, be paused, or be canceled for this financial year,” his memo said.
TVNZ currently has a tender out for what it says is an essential overhaul of its digital technology. The Briefing to the Incoming Minister of Media and Communications said this was a $100m project.
TVNZ’s most recent Statement of Intent (PDF) said alignment of revenues and costs was under “increasing pressure”.
“We’ll adopt a dynamic approach to the allocation of business resources between investing to sustain our core TV business and accelerating the growth of our future online business. The stronger the commercial performance of our core business, the more actively we’ll be able to invest in shaping our future,” the document says.
TVNZ cut 90 jobs in mid-2020 during first national Covid-19 lockdown.
McAnulty assured TVNZ staff in September 2023 TVNZ still had strong share of television audience and revenue and its online platform TVNZ+ has an “impressive growth trajectory.”
