Tag: radio ratings

More to a name than meets the eye

The local media equivalent of China Watchers will be keeping a close eye on who takes the job of chief executive at Stuff.

The position becomes vacant with the move by Laura Maxwell to take over News Corp’s Queensland operations.

The role of CEO in a one of our main media companies is significant in its own right but the next appointment could well have additional impact.

It may point to the future direction in which owner Sinead Boucher wishes to see the company go.

If the appointment is internal, the signal it sends will likely be ‘steady as she goes’. However, the identity of an external appointment could give clues to a strategic shift.

Stuff’s ultimate owner is Kenepuru Holdings, whose sole shareholder is Boucher. As a private company, Stuff does not have the same disclosure requirements as a listed company like NZME. Hence, we only know about Stuff’s plans if Boucher chooses to make a public comment.

However, if the new CEO is an external appointment, that person’s background may be a strong indicator of where Boucher wishes to take the company. Depending on that background, it may also indicate where the owner’s thinking may be going in terms of capital structure and business sectors. Continue reading “More to a name than meets the eye” →

Radio ratings recipe: Sliced, diced and spiced.

Today’s cookery class is about preparation or, more precisely, how to slice and dice.

The ingredients for this lesson are two major radio operators, 3.7 million people aged over 10, and one audience survey company. The recipe can be found in the GfK New Zealand Commercial Radio Second Survey 2022.

The real attraction of this recipe is that it can be cooked so many different ways and that makes it a favourite with the radio networks. The secret lies in the way you chop up the ingredients.

The best way to demonstrate the versatility of this recipe is to take you through the way it was cooked following the latest delivery of ingredients last week. Continue reading “Radio ratings recipe: Sliced, diced and spiced.” →

Tragic improvements to terrorism protocols

It is a tragic fact that new media protocols for dealing with acts of terrorism in New Zealand have benefitted from experience.

The protocols were negotiated by the Media Freedom Committee and officials led by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. They are an updated version of protocols first negotiated in 2004 and implemented the following year.

The updated version is clearly informed by the events in Christchurch in 2019. The preamble begins by saying that the mosque attacks “removed any doubt that New Zealand’s remoteness provided us with immunity from terrorism”.

That is hardly surprising, of course, but perceptions of terrorism have long been coloured by its most recent manifestations. Continue reading “Tragic improvements to terrorism protocols” →

Radio rating recipes for success

Let’s get cooking. Take one set of commercial radio ratings. Slice and dice. Mix ingredients. Bake in a hot oven.

It produces winners every time. Note the plural. It’s there because both major commercial radio operators claim they baked the best cake in the second GfK commercial ratings survey of the year.

NZME crowed that Newstalk ZB “has continued its upward trajectory while retaining its position as New Zealand’s number one network”. Meanwhile MediaWorks claimed The Breeze was the top music station and had “the most listeners of all commercial radio stations”.

Who was right? Well, they both were. Continue reading “Radio rating recipes for success” →