Kiwi journalist Dan Wootton speaks about his Harry and Meghan coverage ahead of this weekend's coronation.
Exclusive coronation interview: The high-flying Kiwi star labelled a ‘sad little man’ by Prince Harry; Stuff job cuts proposal; the ad rep and the legal fight; Duncan Garner’s lifeline as another radio station closes; key question answered over appointment of new TVNZ CEO
He’s become a household name and one of the most recognised faces in the ultra-competitive UK media. Johnny Depp took him on, and lost. From his parents’ home in Wellington, he broke one of the biggest Royal stories in history – ‘Megxit’, the news that Meghan and Harry wanted to cut ties with the palace and Britain. And Prince Harry himself lined him up in his book, Spare, describing him as a “sad little man”.
Right now, it’s close to midnight in the UK – four days out from King Charles’ coronation – and Dan Wootton is speaking to Media Insider from a London taxi, still buzzing as he heads home after a huge night on his eponymous TV show in the UK.
“Today was absolutely crazy,” says Wootton, 40, the Lower Hutt-born former Dominion Post reporter and writer.
His GB News TV show, Dan Wootton Tonight, screens from 9pm-11pm. But tonight he was rushed to the studio an hour earlier after that timeslot’s usual host, Conservative MP Jacob Rees Mogg, was evacuated from his makeshift facility at the palace when a man hurled shotgun cartridges into the grounds, leading to a massive police operation and a controlled explosion.
“We did ad-free from 8pm to 9pm and we were the first to break the story because we were actually there. Then we were broadcasting live when the controlled explosion went off at Buckingham Palace. It was quite a change of pace … a much more dramatic night than usual.”
Wootton’s rise in the UK has been equally dramatic - and not without controversy.
He is an outspoken critic of Harry and Meghan, this week taking aim at the “Duchess of Delusion” on both his TV show and in his Daily Mail column – accusing her of attempting to undermine Charles’ coronation with several PR moves in the US, including a new look, a big-screen appearance at a sports event, and a Hollywood agency announcement.
“Meghan is orchestrating a whole load of PR stunts to try to insert herself into the discussion about the coronation,” says Wootton. “I’ve covered her for a long time, so I know her strategy. She has a very particular PR strategy.”
While Wootton’s television show covers a broad range of topics, this week it’s coronation heavy – the previous night he had regular contributor, Meghan’s estranged sister Samantha Markle on the show, and this evening another controversial figure, former Fox TV host Megyn Kelly, with allegations that Meghan had drawn up a ‘mood board’ during her first marriage, plotting a way to get into the Royal family.
Wootton’s show champions “no spin, no bias, no censorship”. In a media market the size of the UK – where even ‘mainstream’ platforms are much more politically positioned – GB News is certainly a conservative channel.
Wootton himself campaigned against lockdowns in the UK, firstly when he was at Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp’s Talk Radio, before he shifted across to GB News.
“It was just like an extraordinary year. Everyone knows 2020 was not a normal year, no matter where you stood. The whole issue was incredible because people in the UK were desperate for someone who was going to challenge some of the official narrative around lockdowns. News UK were very brave that they allowed us to do that.
“And I think we’ve been proven right.”
He also railed against the Jacinda Ardern government’s closure of the New Zealand borders. Being locked out of his own country for so long and kept away from family was horrible and traumatic, he says.
Before Covid, before lockdowns, and when life was so much less polarised - it was January 2020 - Wootton broke ‘Megxit’ on the front page of The Sun: the extraordinary news that Harry and Meghan wanted out of the Royal Family and were planning a future overseas. One of the scoops of the decade, less than 10 days in.
“It was one of the biggest stories of my career,” says Wootton. “What made it so very memorable about it for me was the fact that I was at home in Wellington, because it was the Christmas break. I was just at my parents’ house on holiday.”
He won’t name his sources, obviously, but when he was tipped off, even on holiday “you can’t ignore a story like that”.
“I did all the work on it for about a week from my parents’ house … there were a lot of late nights, early morning phone calls and everything.”
In his book, Spare, published last year, Prince Harry took aim at Wootton, without naming him. He described him as a “sad little man” over the Megxit scoop.
Harry wrote that Wootton was “likely working in concert with the Palace, whose courtiers were determined to get ahead of us and spin the story”.
Harry asked the Queen for permission to release his own statement, to beat Wootton. “We soon realised it wasn’t possible; we didn’t have time to get our statement out there first. We opened a bottle of wine. Proceed, sad little man, proceed. He did.”
Harry wrote: “Why him? Why, of all people, the showbiz guy? Because lately he’d refashioned himself into some sort of quasi-royal correspondent, largely on the strength of his secret relationship with one particularly close friend of Willy’s [Prince William] comms secretary – who fed him trivial [and mostly fake] gossip.”
Except, Megxit wasn’t fake.
“I was warned it [Harry’s criticism] was coming and that he was going to refer to me in the book,” says Wootton, who adds the royals had plenty of time to comment and prepare for the story. “He didn’t name me, he just used his nicknames for people. It’s got to be water off a duck’s back for me.
“I’d be very hypocritical if I was upset in any way. He obviously has every right to express his opinion on me just like I have every right to express my opinion.”
Wootton says since Meghan and Harry’s departure to the US, there have been fewer leaks from the various royal camps. They’ve returned to a “more traditional” approach.
He says the relationship between the Royal family and the media is not straightforward.
“It never has been straightforward, but this idea that Harry and Meghan have put out there that there are palaces or courtiers calling a journalist like me to just give a news story is just so far from the truth. You work really hard to get those stories.”
Wootton’s love of journalism stretches back to when he was a teenager in Wellington, where he wrote for The Evening Post and Tearaway magazine while he was still at Naenae College.
Later, he became a full-time reporter and writer at The Dominion Post. He headed to the UK at the age of 21, working initially on trade publications before taking on senior writing and editing roles across the next two decades at News of the World, the Daily Mail and The Sun. Now back at The Mail, he has extended his skills to broadcasting and his show beams around the world, thanks to YouTube and social media.
In 2020, Wootton and The Sun were sued for defamation by actor Johnny Depp over an article that said the Hollywood A-list star had assaulted his then-partner Amber Heard. The case made international headlines – Depp lost, although he later went on to successfully sue Heard in a US court.
At the time of his court victory in November 2020, Wootton said: “Today is not about Johnny Depp. In fact, I’d be happy never to hear the bloke’s name again. I certainly won’t be talking about him anymore, even though I do hope he is able to get the help he so obviously needs.
“Today is about @realamberheard. Thank you, Amber, for your bravery. Thank you for giving traumatic evidence in the face of the most toxic and unfair abuse of your character. Thank you for being prepared to take on the Hollywood machine.”
Wootton will be working through the coronation weekend, including writing for the Daily Mail. He knows all eyes will be on the King – and Harry.
“People say they don’t want to overshadow King Charles, which I totally understand, but I think there’s going to be a heck of a lot of interest about what Harry does. Who he speaks to and who he doesn’t. So I can’t lie, we’re going be doing a lot of people-watching of Harry.”
Wootton was uncertain whether the coronation would receive as much frenzied coverage as the “truly extraordinary” funeral of the Queen.
But it was now after midnight as he talked in the taxi and the streets were closed for rehearsals - and he checked himself.
“My prediction is that come Saturday it’s going to be at fever pitch. Pomp and ceremony on steroids.”
Once the domain of high-profile stars - such as television hosts and radio broadcasters - restraint-of-trade clauses appear to be now more widespread in the media industry, no matter an employee’s seniority or their access to confidential or sensitive information.
The restraints are designed to prevent someone leaving a business and immediately joining a competitor, armed with – for example – top client lists, financial information, or other confidential strategic work.
But a new legal decision may help set a precedent, and send a warning shot across the bow of employers about just how many staff they think they can restrain - and how enforceable a restraint might be.
The Employment Relations Authority has come down strongly against MediaWorks after it tried to seek an injunction to enforce a restraint against one of its former outdoor billboard advertising salespeople, Dae Chun, who resigned to join competitor Go Media.
In a 23-page decision, the authority variously described MediaWorks’ argument and evidence as weak, vague and inadequate.
Chun resigned from MediaWorks and joined Go Media in February. By the time MediaWorks had filed action, looking for an injunction to stop him from working there for a set period, he had been with Go Media for nine weeks. MediaWorks feared Chun would take critical commercial information with him - but this could not be substantiated, in the authority’s view.
“The fact that Mr Chun had contact and familiarity with customers/clients (and decision-makers) was insufficient by itself to create a legitimate proprietary interest,” said the authority.
“What is needed is some real sway or influence with the client/customers, and there was no evidence of that.”
It added: “The evidence suggested that clients/customers were drawn to the [advertising] offer that they believed best met their needs, not that decisions were made based on who the MediaWorks Outdoor employee was who had offered the services.”
Another factor the authority took into account was personal circumstances.
“Mr Chun is in his ninth week of work for Go Media. He is the sole income earner in his family. Mr Chun is financially responsible for a wife and young baby and for paying two mortgages. He needs his income.
“The potential harm to Mr Chun and his family of issuing the injunction against him appeared to be greater than the potential harm to the Applicant of not issuing the injunction.”
Go Media general manager Simon Teagle told Media Insider: “Our defence of the matter has been stressful, time-consuming, costly and unnecessary.
“It was particularly stressful for Dae, who never dreamed his first two months at Go Media would be marred with such controversy. Dae is pleased to be liberated and Go Media is happy to have defended Dae, no matter the outcome.
“Hopefully the determination will set a precedent for media industry salespeople who wish to work at a competitor. In the absence of a substantive claim, restraints are illegal and unenforceable.”
MediaWorks did not wish to comment.
In the week that it launched three new websites with paywalls - amid much fanfare including a special Beehive event - Stuff is understood to be proposing to lay off half of a 32-strong team of production journalists.
It is understood the company has proposed laying off 16 print producers - sub-editors in old-school parlance - following the introduction of a new IT system called Naviga.
In a statement last night, a Stuff spokeswoman said: “Over the coming months Stuff is updating and replacing large parts of its technology stack, including new tools for our editorial and commercial teams. These will further enhance our ability to publish engaging local and national journalism and provide smart advertising options for our commercial partners.
“Some changes to internal processes will result from the new, modern media technology. We are consulting with staff on the impact of this technology on roles and responsibilities. This process is confidential to these staff.”
It is not a particularly happy time for media, with cutbacks and closures affecting just about every major business (apart from Government-funded RNZ). MediaWorks closed Today FM on the last day of March; Property Press is printing its final editions this week after 45 years and NZME - the owner of the NZ Herald and a raft of radio stations including Newstalk ZB - has told investors it is keeping a tight control on costs (this includes editorial contributor cutbacks).
Meanwhile, Stuff is refusing to reveal specific subscriber numbers for its new paywalled sites - The Post, The Press and The Waikato Times - after the first six days. The sites are separate from the Stuff mothership website, which remains free.
“We’re very pleased with the launch of our beautiful new sites ...” the Stuff spokeswoman said. “The response from subscribers, existing and new, has been brilliant. As an independent, New Zealand-owned news media company, we won’t be sharing commercially sensitive numbers at this time.”
The Post was launched at a function at the Beehive on Thursday last week; I’ve received mixed reports about it all. A dildo was thrown across the room. The brilliant Karen O’Leary was MC.
Having to ask Stuff’s PR boss why a dildo was thrown at their paywall launch does not constitute a journalistic highlight for me, and it’s probably not high on her list either.
But she had the decency to reply: “This was simply a funny moment that happened during the course of the launch event. MC Karen O’Leary was musing about the time when a protestor threw a dildo at Steven Joyce. She made her point by throwing one into the crowd and … it eventually came back to her.”
It’s not just the big companies facing a tough time. Independent Christchurch music station Pulzar FM is closing after 24 years.
The closure of the dance station, set up in 1999 by Andrew Poulsen and Jason Akehurst, comes after the expansion of George FM in the Garden City. George FM recently took over the vacated Today FM frequency.
“We have a little bit of news, and it’s not good news … Pulzar FM will be wrapping up for good,” Breakfast host Mike Nicholas said on social media. “We are going to do it justice. We are going to have some fun.”
Pulzar has had a colourful history, starting out on a low-powered frequency but going off air for 18 months, between November 2007 and April 2009. It returned with a full FM frequency from there, but then encountered financial difficulties after the Canterbury quakes in 2010 and 2011, and was off-air for almost another full year, until October 2012.
The station will finish next Friday, May 12.
As we revealed last week - and confirmed last night - former Today FM host Duncan Garner has been thrown a lifeline by MediaWorks. He will host a new daily podcast, Duncan Garner, Editor in Chief.
News of the new podcast leaked out early on social media, after promotional and marketing material was loaded up on MediaWorks’ podcast network.
“I’ll keep this brief but I’m the new editor-in-chief, as in the boss,” says Garner in a short promotional piece.
“Three decades on TV and radio and newspapers, I made all the bosses look good. I’ve been hired and fired and hired and let go and come back, but not now, I’m in charge.
“My way, my words, my show and thanks for this, you’ve already invited me to a swingers’ party. Now, the editor-in-chief says I must go. So, yeah, I’ll do that. It’s in the name of research, this podcast.
“There’s no rules, there’s no boundaries. I want to talk to you, your stories, your battles, your victories, make me laugh. Nothing’s off the table. Nothing’s taboo.”
Media Insider has been told on good authority that at least two other former Today FM hosts - Mark Richardson and Leah Panapa - have also been offered podcasts. Earlier we reported that Lloyd Burr and Pauline Gillespie were also being lined up, although it remains to be seen whether they will take up any offers.
MediaWorks has been contacted for comment.
NZ Herald Lifestyle and Entertainment editor Jenni Mortimer is in London for the Coronation. Follow all her coverage this weekend, live on nzherald.co.nz
TVNZ announced this week that its head of legal and corporate affairs, Brent McAnulty, would be acting CEO from July 1, following the departure of Simon Power.
It answers a critical question, first raised in Media Insider two weeks ago, over who will appoint the new permanent CEO.
The current TVNZ board members’ terms all expire on June 30, the same day that Power departs.
It is widely believed the board is facing an overhaul. Broadcasting Minister Willie Jackson wants to see real change at the state-owned enterprise with a stronger commitment to public service broadcasting driven from the top.
There was a possibility the existing board might appoint the new CEO - a problematic scenario if the new boss doesn’t fit with the new board or the minister’s vision.
Former NZ First MP Tracey Martin is widely considered to be a frontrunner to be the new chair of TVNZ; she gets on well with Jackson and is known to share similar views around a strong public broadcasting mantra.
Perhaps the call-up is about to come. She posted this on LinkedIn this week:
Pleasure to welcome Prime Minister of New Zealand @chrishipkins to Windsor this afternoon
— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) May 2, 2023
🇬🇧🤝🇳🇿 pic.twitter.com/YYWijgqlTb
* Editor-at-Large Shayne Currie is one of New Zealand’s most experienced senior journalists and media leaders. He has held executive and senior editorial roles at NZME including Managing Editor, NZ Herald Editor and Herald on Sunday Editor and has a small shareholding in NZME.
The proposed job cuts are the equivalent of almost 10% of TVNZ's workforce.