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Sky’s upbeat while NZME falls short
Comment: Sky TV’s shareholders will be feeling pleased that they railed against and effectively scuttled the company’s plan to take over MediaWorks back in 2022. By focusing strongly on its core...
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Newshub to close down its newsroom, all news shows from June
Media company Newshub is to close its newsroom in New Zealand on June 30, Warner Bros. Discovery has announced, citing a dive in advertising revenue and “combination of negative events”. The news was...
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A plan to rescue Newshub – on a beer budget
It was sometime early in 1989. I’d been reporting for the ABC in Melbourne but had returned home to New Zealand on holiday. I’d heard that TV3 had got a broadcast licence after a long drawn-out...
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Govt to review first TVNZ, then all state-owned enterprises
Opinion: It’s a while ago, but back in 2011 I found myself enmeshed in the so-called Cuppagate row that set the stage for John Key’s return to Government. You may remember. A freelance camera operator...
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The headlines are grim for Newshub
In the early days of TV3 there wasn’t enough money for a sound-proof booth to record voice-overs so reporters would wrap themselves in a curtain. Former reporter turned weather presenter Rose Daly...
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What the small screen did to magazines
There’s nothing like leafing through the pages of a gorgeous, glossy magazine. But those days could soon be over, judging by plummeting readership figures and mass closures. Five years ago, the...
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Now 68 job cuts loom at TVNZ
Update 9 am Thursday: TVNZ has announced 68 job cuts across its business by next month. “Unfortunately, we’re now at the point where we need to reduce the size of our team to bring our costs more in...
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TVNZ – a last bastion of current affairs falls
Updated to include statements from the Sunday and Fair Go teams. Comment: So radical is TVNZ’s proposed cutting of its award-winning – its only – current affairs show Sunday that sceptics wonder if...
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No easy path for redundant reporters
Comment: Comms or PR? That may well be the difficult choice facing Newshub and TVNZ reporters desperate to find replacement jobs as theirs disappear. Having been down that route myself, I feel for...
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One in 71 NZ social media posts is misinformation – study
New Zealanders are regularly exposed to misinformation and disinformation on social media, although the magnitude of such content has waned since the election, a study commissioned by the Department...
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The squeeze on TV news – a view from across the Ditch
Comment: The upheaval in New Zealand’s television newsrooms would not be tolerated on my side of the Tasman. What is happening at TV Three and TVNZ lays bare the difference in our broadcasting...
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MPs’ deep dive into TVNZ ahead of news cuts
A select committee’s forensic examination of TVNZ shows 60 staff at the state broadcaster earned above $200,000 a year, with nine over $400,000, and at least $6 million paid out in performance and...
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Peters sends media minister back to the drawing board
Broadcasting and Communications Minister Melissa Lee has been sent back to the drawing board by Winston Peters after she failed to consult with NZ First before taking proposals to a Cabinet committee....
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TV or not TV?
Update Tuesday p.m: TVNZ confirms it is cancelling Fair Go, Tonight and the Midday news, but will create four roles for coverage of consumer issues for its digital platforms. The fate of Sunday will...
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Who will now investigate the case of Billy Guyton?
Opinion: I was planning to write about the ITV drama Mr Bates vs the Post Office this week. It seemed to offer proof (if any were needed) that how we consume news has changed. It appears that the...
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RNZ’s security shake-up for Chinese news launch
Public broadcaster RNZ overhauled its security protocols – with advice from our spy agencies – ahead of launching a Chinese-language news service, amid fears about potential interference from “bad...
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Stuff takes a big risk on Newshub
The bosses of Stuff and TV3 have been lauding their newly minted deal as a win for democracy and something to celebrate during a grim period for local media. While it is true that a slimmed down news...
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Supreme Court knocks out defamation case between feuding businessmen
Publisher NZME extracted itself from a costly defamation suit over allegations in the waste industry, only to find three courts ruled the story was responsibly told, in the public interest. The...
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Melissa Lee’s media Hail Mary comes up short
Analysis: Melissa Lee has lost the media portfolio and her spot in Cabinet after multiple failed attempts to find solutions for a media industry in crisis. On Wednesday, the Prime Minister announced...
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