Tag: TVNZ

A grunt is worth a thousand words

Like a picture, a grunt can be worth a thousand words. The Minister for Media and Communications needed to do no more than make an annoyed sound to convince the chairman of Television New Zealand that the government was, well, annoyed.

Paul Goldsmith would surely have known that he needed to do no more than grunt when TVNZ board chair Andrew Barclay inexplicably raised a contentious One News item in a call he initiated with the minister. A low, short guttural sound said it all.

When interviewed about the call, Goldsmith pressed ‘play’ and stated: “He brought up the story in question, I did not make any comment, as it would be inappropriate for us to discuss editorial matters.”

It would not only be inappropriate, but it would also be unlawful. Section 28 of the Television New Zealand Act states that no shareholding minister (in this case Goldsmith) may give a direction in respect of the gathering or presentation of news or the preparation or presentation of any current affairs programme or content.

A grunt is not a direction. But it speaks volumes.

By now you’ll know what prompted it. A story, stating gang members now slightly outnumbered police, ran before a piece that might be seen as proof that the government’s ‘tough on crime’ policy was working. The later story said there were fewer victims of violent crime and serious repeat youth offending had fallen.

Police Minister Mark Mitchell did not like that – ‘annoyed’ is probably not strong enough – and took to Facebook to say so. A contrite TVNZ news executive rang Mitchell after seeing the post and a second, more positive story followed.

The post was not a direction. But it spoke volumes. Continue reading “A grunt is worth a thousand words” →

Battle for media thrones: Coming ready or not

Our media are no strangers to doing battle and 2026 is looming as a cross between Game of Thrones and Adolescence.

The GOT analogy is easy: It relates to territory, treasure that is real or imagined, and a touch of fantasy.

Our mainstream media will continue to wage the ongoing war for whatever territory in Westeros (or is it Essos) they can get their hands on. They will send raiding parties to snap up what remains after the Iron Throne of the Seven (transnational) Kingdoms has plundered the treasure house. And, symptomatic of the paranoia borne of years of attrition, they will scan the skies for signs of dragons.

The battle plans for territorial gain have been progressively revealed over past weeks and will be primarily fought out in the once-glittering realms of audio and video.

RNZ has signalled that it will deploy new forces in the fiercely contested territory of breakfast radio. This is a strangely undeclared war: Although the state-owned broadcaster is desperate to reclaim the crown from NewstalkZB’s Mike Hosking, it maintains a fiction that they cannot be directly compared. Yes, one is commercial and the other is not. Yes, they have separate rating surveys. However, at the end of the day their conflict is simple: they are both fighting for as many sets of ears as they can get. Continue reading “Battle for media thrones: Coming ready or not” →

Trump Filter reveals NZ news media need more protection

I am tremendously grateful to the current president of the United States of America for adding even greater validity to the defensive mechanism I have named in his honour – The Trump Filter.

Before I go further, I should also thank Mr Trump for adding the word “tremendous’ to the lexicon of verified facts.

But to return to The Trump Filter.

It is a process I have developed against which I test the robustness of political decisions and, in particular, legislation produced by the New Zealand Government.

The filter applies a simple question: “Could this be misused or abused by a future government or leader, the nature of which we do not yet know?”

I don’t pretend the test is a novel one. It is really no more than an assessment of the ability of constitutional safeguards to do their job on behalf of the public. I do, however, suggest that the actions of Donald Trump provide us with excellent benchmarks against which to view the potential future misuse or trashing of things that this country takes for granted or, in some cases, holds dear.

There were warning signs in Trump’s first term, but his current term as president has created unprecedented assaults on institutions once thought fully protected by the US Constitution and the amendments embodied in the Bill of Rights.

Domestically and internationally, he has ridden roughshod over far more than the length of this commentary can accommodate. However, last week the impact of one of his more vengeful acts prompted me to apply The Trump Filter to the current state of a century-old institution in this country.

Let me address a specific question: “Does New Zealand’s public service media have sufficient safeguards to protect it against a future government or leader, the nature of which we do not yet know?” Continue reading “Trump Filter reveals NZ news media need more protection” →

How crunchy are the Herald NOW numbers?

Let me say at the outset: I like NZME’s video breakfast show Herald Now.

It has the hallmarks of a serious news programme designed to inform me at the start of the day, and the relaxed manner of its host Ryan Bridge belies his skill in asking questions that put interviewees on the spot.

It has the ability to attract newsmakers from the Prime Minister and former judges to sports stars and social workers in Gaza. Its rotating list of panellists spans a useful social spectrum.

Ryan Bridge plays a key role in the show’s success but, even when he is not there, the format retains its appeal. Last week, seasoned television journalist Garth Bray (now with NZME’s BusinessDesk) was a quality stand-in who maintained the same pace and inquisitive style.

So, I was not surprised when NZME crowed that the show has attracted 2.4 million views in July. Well, that was the number from one survey source but it could include double-ups  where the same people watched on different platforms. By another measure, the programme has a million ‘unique viewers’ a month.

Herald Now screens on the Herald’s digital platforms and on YouTube. I watch it through the latter on the tv set in our lounge. And that is what roused my curiosity over the audience statistic proudly announced by NZME. When I logged onto the programme on YouTube one day last week it told me there were 407 other viewers. On another day, the number was about 1400. That suggests that the vast majority view it on the Herald’s platforms.

Fair enough, but what does either Herald Now audience survey number actually tell us? Continue reading “How crunchy are the Herald NOW numbers?” →