Photo: RNZ / Robert Whitaker
Comment - One hundred years ago, New Zealanders had their first chance to connect with a revolutionary form of mass communication - a national radio service.
The New Zealand Radio Broadcasting Company, formed in 1925, laid the foundations for what became RNZ.
It has been a proud century of keeping Kiwis connected, informed and entertained, in good times and bad.
As we mark our 100th birthday, the challenge remains to serve New Zealand audiences with useful information they can trust.
We are marking the milestone with the launch on Sunday of Centenary Scholarships, to be awarded to five of the best journalism students in the country.
The scholarships, worth up to $8000 each, will cover a year's study fees and will be administered by the five main journalism schools. RNZ will also provide mentorship, training and a chance to intern in one RNZ's newsrooms.
The scholarships signal our confidence in the enduring importance of news and current affairs in tumultuous times.
2025 is not an easy time to be a journalist, yet the work we do matters more than ever. The world is swimming in content and opinions. Verified reporting and informed analysis practised by trained journalists working under industry codes help people make sense of all that noise.
Our industry has been radically reshaped since 1925. Newspapers ruled the roost back then. The fledgling radio company was both an upstart and a start-up. Politicians in the 1920s viewed the potential of radio, with its reach and immediate delivery, both with excitement and nervousness - and believed it needed tight regulation.
The 1924-25 Annual Report of the Post and Telegraph Department said the radio company was formed with "a view of establishing a first-class radio broadcasting service". Five-hundred-watt stations were set up in the four main centres, knitting the country together in a completely new way.
The report said the stations "may be used only for matters of educative, informative or entertaining character". In the first year there were only 5000 licence holders across the motu. By 1931 radio listening had grown 12-fold and was enmeshed in the fabric of New Zealand life.
RNZ is proud to have that challenging and pioneering spirit in our DNA.
Today we operate in a sector characterised by strong media freedoms, but also by fragmentation, personalisation and endless choice. The global platforms dominate our attention and data.
In important ways this has been hugely liberating for people, but it has come at a cost to the diversity, breadth and depth of local media.
The ongoing decline in journalism jobs is deeply concerning. Fewer stories are being reported and public trust in core institutions - including the media itself - is declining.
In the past two years two major newsrooms have closed and the range of media choices for New Zealanders has narrowed.
It is not RNZ's job to fix these systemic problems. But as a cornerstone public service, we are responding, adapting and helping where we can, through our coverage, content sharing and through projects like the Local Democracy Reporting service.
We take seriously the responsibility of being publicly funded, non-commercial and independent. We understand this comes with an obligation to provide high-quality trusted news, audio and video to as many New Zealanders as we can.
So, what does the future look like for RNZ?
Our services will be distinctively of New Zealand. We will be increasingly digital, while continuing to do great broadcasting. We will be where people want and need us to be, including through sharing of our content with other outlets.
High-quality work will be our hallmark as we strive to achieve the best standards of accuracy and fairness. When we make mistakes, we will fix them quickly and openly.
We will celebrate and explore our arts and culture and provide information lifelines in times of crisis. We will train our talented staff who will reflect the diverse nation we represent.
Maintaining and building public trust will be our priority by being accountable to the public as citizens in our vibrant democracy.
We will also be impartial and relentlessly independent.
The RNZ Charter gives us a broad remit to "inform, entertain and enlighten" free from interference. That freedom is precious. Public media is an investment in the strength of our democracy and is more relevant than ever.
Here's to the next 100 years.
* Paul Thompson is the chief executive and editor-in-chief of RNZ. He is also the president of the Public Media Alliance, representing public media organisations from around the world.
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