Tag: Journalism

Posting profits but what is the future bottom line?

We have become all too familiar with New Zealand media company interim and full year reports oozing red ink, so it was pleasant surprise to see three of them reporting profits last week.

The biggest earner by a large margin was Sky, which announced its net profit had risen two per cent to $41.8 million on revenue that was up a solid nine per cent to $826 million. Over the past three years its share dividend has more than doubled.

Sky’s biggest drawcard is its sports offering and it added icing to the profit announcement by disclosing that it has secured rights to English Premier League matches. It also has long-term contracts with rugby, cricket, league and the Olympics.

Then NZME waded in with a post-tax half-yearly profit of $6.6 million that reversed a $400,000 loss for the same period last year. Radio was its standout performer, with operating revenue growing eight per cent to $61.8 million, significantly ahead of its publishing revenue.

Finally, TVNZ reported a profit of $16.3 million and an end-of-year dividend of $2.2 million. In total the state-owned company contributed close to $4 million to the government coffers in 2026.

Less pleasant was the realisation of how TVNZ and NZME achieved their profits. Continue reading “Posting profits but what is the future bottom line?” →

Comedian’s press conference gatecrash no laughing matter

Guy Williams’ gatecrashing of the ACT leader David Seymour’s press conference at Waitangi was not funny, not justified, and not acceptable.

It debased the role of bona fide journalists and, worse, it was signal to every grandstander and malcontent that stand-up press conferences represent an ideal soapbox that is there for the taking.

In spite of his self-description as a “volunteer journalist”, Williams is not a journalist. He is a comedian and presenter. The closest he gets to the news is in lampooning current events. In short, he had no place there.

At Waitangi, David Seymour – rightly the focus of attention over his divisive Treaty Principles Bill – was holding an outdoors press conference with a large gathering of journalists when Williams interjected.

Microphone in hand and no doubt being videoed for his New Zealand Today show, Williams threw vitriol rather than questions at the ACT leader. He accused Seymour of spreading misinformation and “spinning shit” before obliquely casting doubt on the honesty of modern politicians. The only question Williams actually appeared to ask was whether Seymour was joking when he said he was improving the mana of the Treaty.

Seymour made light of the encounter and – smile on face – counterpunched with his opinion of Williams’ comedic skills.

It could all have been dismissed as a bit of silliness on the part of an entertainer looking to get a rise out of a politician. On the surface, that is exactly what it was. I have no doubt the footage, complete with Williams’ additional tuppence worth, will wind up in his show.

However, there is a deeper issue arising from the comedian’s antics: He violated an environment in which journalists collectively hold power to account by questioning those that hold that power. Continue reading “Comedian’s press conference gatecrash no laughing matter” →

Brace yourself: This could be crunch year for NZ news media

Buckle up because 2025 is going to be a rough ride for news media.

It has started inauspiciously with NZME’s announcement of 38 job losses at the New Zealand Herald and NewstalkZB, the full impact of which has yet to be seen. That followed the closure of 11 of the company’s community newspapers at the end of last year, plus the loss of 11 roles in its regional newsrooms last July.

We began the year with the effects of TVNZ’s cuts, announced last November, starting to appear. Familiar faces on its sports team reappeared on Sky and Trackside over the summer break, and yesterday Breakfast was back with a reduced lineup but no reduction in forgettable chitchat. The state-owned broadcaster has lost almost 130 staff since 2023. The latest tranche took out 50 jobs and adverse effects on its newsgathering are inevitable.

In December Whakaata Māori cut 27 roles and ended its news programme. Jobs have also gone at Stuff, although musical chairs have made it difficult to determine exactly how many have gone. Earlier, of course, TV3’s American owners walked away from their responsibility to provide its own news service.

What more, you ask, could be lost when news services have been cut to the bone? The answer: A lot. Our commercial news media are in a worrying financial state. Continue reading “Brace yourself: This could be crunch year for NZ news media” →

No news is not good news

The University of Auckland alumni magazine Ingenio has published a commentary I wrote as part of my campaign to increase public awareness of the consequences of allowing journalism in this country to deteriorate to the point where it is effectively dead. You can read the commentary here.