Media Insider: Media Minister Paul Goldsmith on the challenges facing TVNZ, RNZ, NZ on Air and NZ Film Commission; Best TV ads ever; An overused Luxon headline
TVNZ's Hilary Barry and Simon Dallow and RNZ's Corin Dann and Ingrid Hipkiss.
TVNZ's Hilary Barry and Simon Dallow and RNZ's Corin Dann and Ingrid Hipkiss.
In his first in-depth interview, Media and Communications Minister Paul Goldsmith says he will inject the TVNZ board with more commercial expertise
He has urged and expects TVNZ and RNZ to collaborate more strongly – and even move in together - as a new TVNZ document forecasts another $29m loss this year
When newly minted Media and Communications Minister Paul Goldsmith was introduced to the stage at the industry’s recent Voyager Awards ceremony, the crowd was typically muted – virtually silent – for a politician.
“Thank you for that warm applause,” he said, with a wry smile.
A week later, he was in front of the Radio Awards audience, recalling winning a Men at Work album from Radio Hauraki as a youngster. “Thanks for the opportunity to say a few words without being shouted down,” he concluded. “Things are looking up!”
That room cracked up as well.
Eleven weeks after taking over one of the Government’s headache portfolios – following the very public demotion of Melissa Lee – there have been few moments of levity for the stricken media industry.
The closure of Newshub, cutbacks and restructuring at TVNZ, NZME, Stuff, MediaWorks and a range of smaller firms have seen the loss of jobs and platforms as the industry scrambles to overcome economic challenges and work through an existential crisis.
Last week, Goldsmith announced the Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill would be tabled in Parliament – legislation that previously looked like a dead duck. If passed, as now expected by the end of the year with the support of Labour, it will force the likes of Google and Meta to help fund the journalism that drives their business models.
Along with that, the Government has tweaked settings to allow Shortland Street to receive more public funding and a ban will be lifted on TV ads on Sunday mornings and public holidays, including Christmas Day, Good Friday and Easter Sunday.
Shortland Street cast member Michael Galvin (Dr Chris Warner) with Media and Communications Minister Paul Goldsmith.
Goldsmith is no less clear on what he expects to see from the industry – in particular the two state broadcasters.
In his first in-depth interview today, he indicates TVNZ and RNZ are under heavy scrutiny on a number of fronts and he reveals that officials have started work considering a possible merger of screen funding agencies NZ on Air and the New Zealand Film Commission.
He also says the Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill may yet go back through a select committee process, as officials start drawing up an amendment paper to make changes to the draft legislation - in particular the critical new clause which allows the Minister to designate which tech companies are captured by the new law.
TVNZ faces a forecast loss of $29.2m for 2025
TVNZ has already said it expects a loss of $28 million to $33m for its most recent financial year (to June 30, 2024) – it’s now also expecting an additional $29.2m loss for this new financial year, according to its new statement of performance expectations.
The state broadcaster has previously said it is targeting a return to profits - and dividends for the Government - before 2030, as it uses cash reserves to fund a massive digital transformation.
The statement of performance expectations reveals more cost cuts are coming: “TVNZ will continue to review all areas of its business to identify efficiencies and ensure a sustainable business.”
It reveals the state broadcaster now has 617.2 fulltime equivalent employees - down from around 700 a year ago. That number is likely to continue to drop.
Some of TVNZ's frontline hosts (from left): Seven Sharp co-host Hilary Barry, 1 News at 6pm presenter Simon Dallow, Breakfast presenter Jenny-May Clarkson and chief correspondent John Campbell. Photos / TVNZ
“I wouldn’t say we’re comfortable with it,” says Goldsmith, when asked directly about the lack of a dividend for several more years.
“We’ll continue to press for good commercial returns, but we’re realistic about the situation. They’ve got to work their way through a very difficult period. But we’ll keep asking and putting pressure on. The overall instructions are for them to be a commercial entity.”
While he recognised the financial pressures TVNZ was facing, it was not yet clear how much of the revenue challenge was down to industry structural changes versus cyclical economic conditions and the current recession.
“My primary levers are the appointment of the board and the statement of my letter of expectations. Ultimately, they’re independent and they’re expected to behave commercially. We’re extremely conscious of the immense financial pressures they are facing.”
Goldsmith said he would shortly announce a new TVNZ board member – filling a long-time vacancy – to help boost commercial expertise.
“I’ve got somebody in mind but we’re working our way through the process.”
Media and Communications Minister Paul Goldsmith. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Goldsmith has seen that commentary. “Yes... and the opportunity we have is to make some new appointments, which we’ll be doing.”
He said TVNZ chairman Alastair Carruthers “has my confidence” and “the intention at the moment” would be for him to serve his full term.
RNZ-TVNZ merger by stealth?
Goldsmith watched the England-Netherlands Euros football match on TVNZ+ on Thursday morning.
“I use their digital platform [TVNZ+] and it’s very good. They’re doing everything they can and they’re going to invest more in the digital platform.
“We’ve indicated that we want to ensure that when they do that, they’re having ongoing conversations with RNZ and also the Māori news providers [Whakaata Māori].
“We’re hoping that they continue to work closely ... I think there’s a real opportunity there.”
He said the Government “clearly” did not want RNZ to be funding a separate, similarly expensive digital platform.
He said there did not necessarily have to be just one digital platform for all three broadcasters “but that those other two agencies are able to certainly learn from and potentially access [and] make use of that digital platform”.
Goldsmith is also keen to see RNZ move into TVNZ’s headquarters building in Victoria St in central Auckland. RNZ’s lease on its existing building in nearby Cook St expires next April.
“I know conversations have been had ... ultimately it’s between those two boards to work something out but I think there’s a huge opportunity there.
“There’s a whole range of opportunities when you’re in the same building for collaboration and that could evolve over time.”
TVNZ's central Auckland headquarters. Photo / Chris Skelton
He rejected the notion this might be a merger by stealth.
“Fundamentally, they have two different guiding pieces of legislation,” said Goldsmith. “RNZ is a public service broadcaster, it’s non-commercial and it has a different ethos to TVNZ. We, as a Government, have no intention of changing those two fundamentally different roles.
“I think they work perfectly well at the moment, notwithstanding the pressure that TVNZ is under.”
Opportunities “possibly” could be cooperation on big news stories and savings on some administrative overheads.
“The point is TVNZ, particularly, is under enormous cost pressure so the extent to which they can collaborate with another Government entity... presumably offers some opportunities.”
RNZ audience scrutiny
Amongst a range of local and international media habits, Goldsmith listens to RNZ’s Morning Report each day.
I ask him his impressions of the show.
“I think you’d be hard-pressed to find a politician who thinks that they’re not hard done by – I think that’s kind of a universal reaction. As politicians, we are always frustrated,” he says.
“I remember once saying to Guyon Espiner that I always listen – and I only need five minutes, it gets me angry for the day and it gets me motivated, which he didn’t appreciate.”
RNZ Morning Report hosts Corin Dann and Ingrid Hipkiss. Photos / RNZ
On RNZ generally, he says there is “always room for improvement”.
“There’s been some slippage in their [radio] audience, and so that’s something that they need to be focused on.
“But of course, they have been very successful in growing their app-based [digital audience] and developing a lot of podcasts... [They] have a very good platform there, so their reach has expanded, but some of the radio audiences haven’t.
“My clear directions and through board appointments will be to keep encouraging them to be focused on growing their audience [and] being effective across all platforms.”
NZFC/NZ on Air merger work
Officials have started work to consider merging screen funding agencies NZ on Air and the New Zealand Film Commission, Goldsmith revealed.
Many in the production industry cannot understand how the country can sustain two funding agencies when audience habits have converged – it can often be just as easy to watch new movies on an iPhone, laptop, or at home as it is in a cinema.
Hunt for the Wilderpeople, starring Julian Dennison, was NZ's last big box-office hit - in 2016.
The Ministry for Culture and Heritage has been asked to do some initial scoping work. “There’s definitely a discussion to be had. There’s a live element of work there,” Goldsmith says.
There was no timeframe, but it was likely a project that would be looked at more closely next year.
“I’m certainly open to that proposal but I’m not pushing it at the moment, simply because I personally think there should always be a reasonably higher threshold before you make structural changes.
“The disruption, costs and complications of changes is always high and mergers don’t often achieve the benefits that are set out... so I need real convincing before I pull the trigger on that.”
A new Film Commission chair would be appointed as planned this year.
Earlier, Goldsmith announced that Alastair Carruthers (also the TVNZ chair) had agreed that he would step down as NZFC chair.
“They [NZ on Air and the NZFC] both have their specific roles at the moment, and I accept that there is an increasing overlap between those two roles, although there are differences as well.
“What I’m not yet convinced – but I’m willing to entertain – is whether a physical merger is going to achieve the benefits to outweigh all the disruption that goes with any such mergers as part of that work.”
Shorty’s lifesaving injection of public support
Goldsmith acknowledges that changes being made to allow Shortland Street to receive the 40% domestic screen production rebate won’t – in all likelihood – help any other production.
That, along with an additional $3m NZ on Air grant, means TVNZ’s costs for Shortland Street have fallen dramatically - and the show will survive to screen three nights a week from next year.
Is it fair that $3m of NZ on Air has also been granted* to TVNZ and South Pacific Pictures? There’s a fair bit of anger within the production and broader media industry about TVNZ receiving a form of “corporate welfare”.
Goldsmith defends the support for Shortland Street, given its influence in building talent across the production sector.
On the $3m NZ on Air funding, he says: “The only point I’d make is that against a very strong fiscal tide, we managed to keep the NZ on Air funding at its reasonably high level.”
* NZ on Air has written to me this morning saying my earlier characterisation of the $3 million funding as being “uncontested” is “entirely untrue”. The $3m was subject to NZ on Air’s usual processes and was “robustly examined”. My apologies for describing it as uncontested.
Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill
The Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill is set to be passed by the end of the year - although it may yet have to go back through a select committee process.
An amendment paper is being drafted to make the changes around the ministerial designation process.
The digital tech giants are clearly unhappy with the proposed legislation.
Goldsmith said he had received feedback from both sides of the argument. “I’ll be carrying on conversations with all players ... there’s lots of strong views on either side.”
He adds: “There is a possibility that we could send it back to select committee.
“The problem is, it slows things down, so we’re working our way through that.”
Has Mr Luxon gone to Washington?
Three News says yes.
The NZ Herald says yes.
The Spinoff says yes.
We can safely assume that Mr Luxon has gone to Washington – and that some headline writers are clearly fans of the 1939 movie Mr Smith Goes to Washington.
ZB’s new boss
Newstalk ZB's new head of talk Will Maisey.
Radio stations Newstalk ZB and Gold Sport have a new leader - Will Maisey will join NZME as head of talk later this year.
Maisey is currently the content director for MediaWorks’ The Breeze music station.
The head of talk role was previously filled by Jason Winstanley, who was promoted to NZME chief audio officer more than two years ago.
Maisey has two decades of experience in the radio industry in New Zealand and Australia and has won several NZ Radio Awards including best content director in 2023.
In his new role, Maisey would lead the Newstalk ZB and Gold Sport teams, driving strategy and working closely with assistant head of talk Ed Swift on building audiences with compelling content, said Winstanley.
“Newstalk ZB has been the country’s top-rated commercial radio network for the past 16 years, and we have taken our time in recruiting for head of talk to ensure we found the right person to take the station to the next level,” said Winstanley.
“Having someone of Will’s experience joining us is fantastic. Not only is he creative and innovative, he has provided strategic direction and leadership to teams across multiple radio stations. He also understands the importance of the commercial opportunities in radio and digital audio.”
The association has now released its finalists for the 1980s - for me, there’s one clear winner from that decade, but we won’t know what the wider public has voted for until the association’s 50th birthday celebrations in September.
I’ve selected my winners for each decade in the poll below.
Six of the best - some of Media Insider's favourite ads since the 1970s.
Gabrielle Buxton - then Gabrielle Alder - was the marketing director at Tip Top for a time in the 2000s.
“We made Togs Undies with an incredible creative agency and team. The bummer was, everyone loved the ad but no one could remember the brand in research - Trumpet!
“They were halcyon days and we had so much fun together making new stuff and taking risks together. Some worked, some didn’t but business results boomed. Some of those creatives went on to run huge agencies and roles globally.
“Best years ever.”
Podcast hits
The Spinoff and its editor-at-large Toby Manhire are enjoying some stellar numbers for their Juggernaut podcast, the six-part series focused on the political upheaval before and following the election of the Labour Government in 1984.
Not surprisingly, it’s had more than 71,000 downloads, and has been No 1 on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. It’s a must-listen for history and political nerds.
Meanwhile Ric Salizzo’s new podcast Sports Cafe-ish– featuring Leigh Hart and Marc Ellis – has also rocketed up the podcast charts, featuring at No 1 on the iHeartRadio and Apple charts. This week, Matty Johns features as a special guest - his story about gatecrashing the Melbourne Storm dressing room is one of the funniest I’ve heard in a long time.
One Good Text
This week, we catch up with Newstalk ZB sports host D’Arcy Waldegrave.
One Good Text with D'Arcy Waldegrave.
One Good Text with D'Arcy Waldegrave.
Overview of the industry
Just returning briefly to my interview with Paul Goldsmith.
He says he has seen a lot of experimentation within the media industry.
“I find the media landscape extremely interesting. You can’t be a politician without being a media junkie.”
While the broadcast television industry had seen a “substantial” drop in revenue, commercial radio seemed to be stronger. In digital publishing, he said NZME and Stuff were “innovating and experimenting in a very tough competitive market”.
He’s seen some of the new Stuff-produced 6pm news bulletins on Three.
Laura Tupou fronts the new look Three News. Photo / Three News/Warner Bros Discovery
“It’s going pretty well,” he says, but added that only time would tell its long-term success.
“It’s an industry where – as we’ve seen in recent years in terms of new radio stations being set up – you either get a market or you don’t. It’s pretty binary.”
Later in the interview he said he found the industry – despite all its pressures – a positive one.
“People are working at the very cutting edge of technology and popular culture and trying to figure out a way to make things work. That’s, I think, an enormously stimulating place to be.”
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.
