Staff in talks after surprise posting

By IRENE CHAPPLE

TVNZ's two senior programmers are "in negotiations" with the company after the surprise appointment of Annemarie Duff to the newly created top role of general manager programming.

Duff, 39, has extensive experience in sales and marketing but none in programming.

She is highly regarded in the television industry but her appointment over experienced programming candidates has been met with astonishment.

One commented: "It's either a brave move or an act of sublime foolishness."

However, Stephen Smith, TVNZ assistant chief executive and head of content, said Duff's appointment over six others shortlisted "is no surprise to the people who understand the job".

The new role comes after a restructure at TVNZ that wiped out the previous positions of TV One and TV2 heads of programming, held by Karen Bieleski and Julia Baylis.

The new role is senior to both and one source said it was likely to pay between $200,000 and $300,000.

It is understood Bieleski and Baylis, who have strong programming backgrounds and have been with TVNZ for 12 and 10 years respectively, were shortlisted for the position. Their unsuccessful applications have left them without jobs and "in negotiations" with Smith.

There are four positions vacant in Duff's direct-reporting team of seven but all are junior to the positions previously held by Bieleski and Baylis.

Smith said Duff had a fundamental understanding of the channels' audiences.

Duff and other senior executives are responsible for "tens of millions of dollars" worth of programming, commissioning and marketing.

The restructuring was needed to optimise programming for the two channels and ensure similar genres weren't scheduled at the same time.

The two-pronged programming structure has been in place for several years, and Smith said there was "no question Karen and Julia have done a fantastic job ... but TVNZ faces new challenges".