TVNZ political editor Maiki Sherman and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon; AM host Lloyd Burr. Photos: Montage / Today FM
TVNZ reveals number of complaints - and its decision - about Maiki Sherman’s political poll coverage; Host Lloyd Burr leads bold mission to save AM; Top lifestyle magazine saved; NZME’s regional news restructure; Three media trust surveys, three different results; Radio awards winners; Agency’s London move.
TVNZ has revealed it received more than 300 formal complaints about political editor Maiki Sherman’s coverage of a 1 News/Verian poll - and has rejected them all.
The matter is now set to go to the Broadcasting Standards Authority, although any complainants face an uphill battle, judging by a recently released BSA decision on a similar case.
After initially refusing to reveal details, TVNZ has confirmed, under the Official Information Act, that it received 309 formal complaints about Sherman’s piece on the 1 News 6pm bulletin on April 29.
The report was the subject of much media and social media scrutiny and debate. Sherman’s coverage of the poll results - all three parties that make up the coalition Government lost support - was described at the time by Prime Minister Christopher Luxon as “a little frothy and sensationalist”.
Among various adjectives, metaphors and analysis, Sherman variously described a “nightmare” poll for the coalition that would “absolutely rock the entire Parliament”.
She introduced her report with the words: “Political turbulence ahead - buckle up, brace for impact.”
National, Act and NZ First were all down - behind the combined support of Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori - and Sherman described how - “bang!” - Winston Peters’ party, on 4 per cent, would be out of Parliament “in what could be mayday for the coalition”.
As some members of the public pointed out, the next election was still two and a half years away, although Sherman did accurately describe how the poll results were unprecedented for such a fresh Government.
Sherman told Media Insider at the time she was surprised about the level of criticism aimed at her coverage but said she was also listening to feedback and prepared to tweak her presentation style.
At the same time, she said she did not want to “lose my own flair and what I bring to this role”.
A TVNZ spokeswoman told Media Insider this week that none of the 309 complaints were upheld by the broadcaster’s complaints committee because “they do not meet the threshold for breaching BSA standards”.
The spokeswoman added that “the number of complaints TVNZ receives is not necessarily a good measure of whether standards have been breached”.
She referred to a recently released and until now unreported BSA decision on complaints about coverage of an earlier 1 News-Verian poll, in February, when Sherman was deputy political editor.
Two complainants took exception to that piece - they told the BSA they considered it either “biased”, unbalanced, inaccurate or unfair to the coalition Government.
In its ruling, the BSA said: “The focus of this segment was on the results of the poll, and the Deputy Political Editor’s analysis and opinion regarding changes to poll results.
“Viewers expect robust political commentary from reporters in this role, which can at times include strong or provocative language. Sherman’s description of the various political parties and their leadership was consistent with this expectation.”
The authority said Sherman’s statements were “clearly political analysis and opinion, typical of the type of commentary viewers expect from political editors and reporters, and to which the accuracy standard does not apply”.
It said: “We do not consider this broadcast went beyond the level of robust scrutiny and political analysis that can reasonably be expected of political parties and their leaders or gave rise to any unfairness.”
The BSA noted that the complainants’ desire for the poll results to be presented differently, or for different poll results to be reported, was a matter of personal preference and “the broadcaster’s editorial discretion”, not an issue of broadcasting standards.
At least two complainants have referred their concerns about the April 29 report to the BSA.
While TVNZ will be confident of its position, especially given the earlier BSA decision, it is undoubtedly aware of the backlash it received from some quarters.
At a time when trust in media is under scrutiny, the mixing of opinion, analysis and news reporting has been a factor cited as to why some people have lost trust in news organisations.
Sherman told Media Insider last month that she was always listening to her viewers.
“Because I care so deeply about doing a good job and taking the entire audience along with me and securing their trust, I am always open to feedback.
“I’ll be open to tweaking the way that I may present a poll, but not completely. I don’t want to lose my own style and my own flair and what I bring to this role.
“While I’ll take feedback on, genuinely, I’ll be the decider of where it lands at the end of the day.”
AM host Lloyd Burr has been leading a last-ditch mission to save the profitable breakfast show which is due to go off air in exactly four weeks.
Several Newshub sources told Media Insider that Burr - who co-hosts AM with Melissa Chan-Green - has met with both Warner Bros Discovery and Stuff executives to try to keep the show on air.
The show has a loyal band of sponsors and advertisers and is understood to still be profitable but doesn’t fit in with Warner Bros Discovery’s new approach to funding.
The company has clearly said it is moving away from fully funding new shows and will only consider local productions that are produced and largely funded by outside partners (it could still help part-fund some of these).
A senior Newshub source said it was an “open secret” within the organisation that Burr had been leading a rescue mission.
They said the show “washed its face” in terms of financials; another source indicated profits of around $1 million a year.
AM has a small, dedicated team so salary and people costs will be relatively low, but it is supported by the resources and content of Newshub’s wider newsroom. That, of course, is also closing on July 5.
On the other hand, AM also provides a lot of content - including regular interviews with the Prime Minister and other guests - for Newshub’s website and other platforms. It often sets the daily agenda for the news organisation.
AM has also enjoyed healthy ratings - it has been in a tight battle with TVNZ’s Breakfast. For example, AM reached 192,000 viewers for its first show in 2024 compared with Breakfast’s 216,000 viewers.
It is understood Burr has also met with Stuff, the digital publishing company that will take over the production of TV3′s 6pm news bulletin from Saturday, July 6.
It is understood Stuff executives did not want to take on the responsibility of another show at the start of the day - it already has its hands full organising the new bulletin amid tight balance sheet margins and some frayed tempers.
Burr did not wish to comment.
He has had a hectic and unsettling 14 months - losing his role, along with dozens of others, at Today FM in late March 2023, before moving to Newshub’s press gallery and then eventually being appointed host of AM to replace Ryan Bridge.
A Warner Bros Discovery spokesman said: “We have had conversations with Lloyd and we discussed ideas he had about continuing with AM. We let him know that unfortunately, WBD NZ would be unable to make it work within our new business model.
“As per our restructure announcement, we will not be fully funding shows, but are very open to considering any content that does have a commercial model that works for all of us.”
With four weeks to go, is the door still ajar for a production company to help retain a profitable show?
Stuff will initially broadcast the new-look 6pm bulletin from Newshub’s existing studios in Auckland’s Eden Terrace before moving to purpose-built studios in its Ponsonby offices by October. It is understood the new set relies heavily on whizz-bang virtual reality technology.
The first bulletin will appear on Saturday, July 6 - just four weeks and one day away. It will be one of the biggest and most scrutinised media moves of 2024.
There has been some speculation as to whether Sam Hayes would host the debut bulletin on that Saturday, given she has been hired as the weekday presenter. I understand she is expected to be there on opening night, given the importance of the bulletin. First impressions, and all that.
It will be an undoubtedly emotional 24 hours for Hayes in that she will host the final Newshub bulletin on Friday, before needing to lift again for a totally new bulletin, 24 hours later.
Media Insider understands Stuff has hired a number of studio camera operators on short-term contracts for the early weeks of the bulletin, with no clear indication whether they will be retained once production moves to Ponsonby.
It is understood Stuff has also hired two Newshub field camera operators - one in Auckland and one in Wellington. This gives an indication of the level of camera work expected to be provided by existing Stuff visual journalists and other reporters.
Stuff’s Tova O’Brien has, by all accounts, been leading a well-attended and appreciated in-house training session for reporters in recent weeks.
Great news for magazine fans - high-end glossy title NZ Life & Leisure has been saved.
South Island-based publishers Sarah Perriam-Lampp and Lucinda Diack say they have bought the masthead and will publish their first issue late next month, early August - the 116th edition in the magazine’s history.
Former owner and editor Kate Coughlan, who launched the title in 2005 and placed it in hibernation in recent weeks, said she was delighted. “NZ Life & Leisure stands for the best of our country and its people and with Lucinda and Sarah it passes into excellent hands. They prize the authenticity of well-told and beautifully presented unique New Zealand stories.”
Perriam-Lampp and Diack, from CountryWide Media, publish the South Island-based lifestyle title latitude which will merge with NZ Life & Leisure and two agribusiness magazines NZ Dairy Exporter and Country-Wide.
They said NZ Life & Leisure’s “many thousands” of subscribers would receive their full entitlement of magazine subscriptions as would latitude subscribers who would now receive a NZ Life & Leisure in future.
“We are thrilled to be able to continue publishing this very loved national icon, what I see as the Country Calendar of print, and excited at the opportunity to grow it within our multi-media portfolio,” said the pair in a statement.
“The business model of print is one that requires careful attention to the cost structures and we are ensuring our new cover price and advertising rates reflect the rise in production costs, however we are able to benefit from the economies of scale of our nationwide team and expand into new markets with our strategy.”
As Media Insider reported yesterday, a new round of proposed restructuring is under way at NZ Herald publisher NZME.
Up to 12 roles are set to be removed from NZME’s North Island regional newsrooms, with the resources and budget proposed to be reallocated to beef up other areas of the company’s news operation - including the Wellington and Christchurch newsrooms, and the digital video, business and political reporting teams.
NZME says the proposal is cost-neutral and that it sees strong opportunities for digital growth in these other areas.
That of course does not lessen the uncertainty and sadness in the affected regional newsrooms, with between 10-12 roles proposed to be removed.
NZME and NZ Herald editor-in-chief Murray Kirkness said: “The proposed changes would ensure we continue to serve regional online audiences while ensuring newsrooms have the resources and freedom to deliver excellent local content for print subscribers.
“We are proposing to remove 10-12 current roles, some of which are currently vacant, and we will then reinvest into new editorial roles across the country. This is not about saving money but reinvesting in other editorial areas.”
Three separate surveys on trust in New Zealand media have thrown up three vastly different results.
An academic survey by AUT earlier this year revealed just 33 per cent of respondents trust the media; a public sector-commissioned survey shows trust at 57 per cent and a News Publishers Association survey, released this week, shows trust at 80 per cent.
Much of these differences can be attributed to the methodologies of the surveys - they’ve all been conducted by reputable polling companies but have posed slightly different questions and have been taken at different times over the past 12 months.
I suspect the real answer lies somewhere in between them all.
All media executives and leaders that I speak to know they have work to do to build trust and engagement with audiences - we live in polarised times, and the media’s performance is under heavy scrutiny.
AUT is sceptical about the NPA survey findings, just as some industry leaders have been sceptical of the AUT results.
That was summed up this week by The Spinoff’s Duncan Greive in his fascinating interview with Act leader David Seymour.
“Every major media organisation reported on AUT’s research, even though it was ultimately against their collective interests. I personally have methodological issues with the survey – to me, trust in news media only matters for the audience of specific organisations,” wrote Greive.
“The Spinoff is likely untrusted by ZB listeners; The Spinoff’s audience is unlikely to trust ZB. It doesn’t matter. What matters is whether audiences have a news brand that they trust, not whether they trust brands they seldom consume.”
I went back to the lecturers who oversee the AUT trust survey this week, in light of the NPA findings. They came back with a forthright response yesterday.
“Measuring news trust and understanding news trust is complex, and we are only starting to understand some elements of it,” said Dr Merja Myllylahti and Dr Greg Treadwell.
“In terms of trust in news, it is important to identify patterns and trends in audience behaviour and the reasons behind news consumption and trust. Our research aims to do that with both longitudinal and qualitative data.”
They say it is clear to them that trust in news in Western markets, including New Zealand, has continuously fallen since 2015.
“The fall in self-reported levels of trust in news is the real issue, and many in the New Zealand news industry share that opinion. Our survey is about people’s perceptions.
“In this context, the results of the News Publishers Association (NPA) survey are surprising and differ wildly from our survey.”
It says the NPA survey’s 80 per cent trust level puts New Zealand well ahead of the likes of top-rating Finland in the international Reuters survey.
They say that’s “highly unlikely”.
“While the NPA result and the comparisons it invites are interesting, we’re confident in both the accuracy and the meaningfulness of our research.
“We acknowledge that methodologies and purposes of surveys vary. Our survey is academic and not commercial in nature, and while the survey is carried out by a survey company, the data is analysed by us independently.
“The research findings are also being backed up with qualitative in-depth research we are currently conducting.”
The NPA’s research shows that 93 per cent of New Zealanders check the news at least once a day.
“Much is made of declining trust in media as measured in other studies, but this shows that New Zealanders have a connection to their local newsrooms, they understand how important it is to have journalists on the ground reporting about their community – in good times and bad – and they want to see that work reflected in search and social media,” said NPA public affairs director Andrew Holden.
The NPA is using the new research to highlight the value of news to Kiwis and to push its case that Google, Meta and other global tech companies who benefit from it should be required to pay a fair price for that content.
“It is a further reason for the Government to proceed with the Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill, which is intended to bring tech companies to the negotiating table,” said Holden.
Once again, the radio industry shows how awards shows should be run - start at 5pm, finish by 6.35pm, and party until the early hours.
There’s likely a few dusty heads and hangovers in the studios, production booths, offices and newsrooms of our radio companies this morning.
The annual NZ Radio and Podcast Awards ceremony was fun, spirited - and fast.
NZME stations and talent had a huge night, winning seven of the 10 premier awards. And Newstalk ZB led the charge for NZME, winning Station of the Year (metropolitan) and a heap of other awards.
ZB nighttime host Marcus Lush won best talk presenter (non-breakfast or drive) for the eighth consecutive time. He shared the award with RNZ’s Kim Hill this year, and they collected their awards together on stage.
That’s an incredible run from Lush - up there with the Boston Celtics who were NBA champions for eight straight years, from 1959 to 1966. No other professional American sports team has beaten that.
FOR THE FULL AWARDS STORY AND FULL LIST OF WINNERS, SEE HERE
Amongst all the horrible news impacting the New Zealand media sector right now, it’s nice to report some good news.
This week, that comes courtesy of marketing powerhouses Wendy Thompson and Melanie Spencer, co-founders of Thompson Spencer.
The Auckland-based business is expanding globally, opening a new London office.
“We’ve always known that marketing - particularly on social - never sleeps, which is why we have long had social media campaigns and community managers rostered 24 hours a day to cover all time zones, gathering insights and growing brands around the world,” says Spencer.
They say they also have a growing global client list and a community management team engaged in conversations around the world.
“Having a strong strategic and account management presence on the ground in the UK just made sense to us - it means we’re physically there for our clients around the clock, ensuring enhanced communication and action. I’m now sounding the klaxon for Kiwi and Aussie brands who are wanting to launch in the Northern Hemisphere.”
The agency’s UK Business Director, Chandni Patel, has moved to London after four years in the Auckland office.
“We were already enormously excited by the future that lies ahead for Thompson Spencer, even more so now that we’re fully operational and meeting with new clients in the UK, as well as seeing the potential for our NZ and Australian clients to break new ground further afield. We can’t wait to make even more extraordinary things happen in the Northern Hemisphere and show off our antipodean spark,” said Thompson.
Thompson Spencer’s stable of NZ brands - Socialites, Magnesium, Thompson Spencer Media, The Social Club, Flying Tiger, and People of Influence - will work alongside the London business.
We stay with Melanie Spencer, for an insight into creative agency land.
While there’s enough industry news in New Zealand to keep Media Insider busy, it’s equally eventful across the Tasman.
From big cuts and editorial changes at the top of Rupert Murdoch’s News Ltd, through to a sex harassment scandal enveloping Nine and financial challenges for a range of media companies, there’s no shortage of material.
Right now, Nine’s chairman, former Australia Treasurer Peter Costello, is in the spotlight, accused of knocking over a News Ltd journalist from The Australian at Canberra Airport yesterday, as the journalist chased him down for answers over the departure of Nine News boss Darren Wick amid revelations of various harassment allegations.
Costello has denied pushing or assaulting the reporter, saying he fell over an advertising placard as he was walking backwards.
Costello and the Nine board - as well as chief executive Mike Sneesby - are under intense pressure over the way they have handled the sex harassment allegations.
Even the Nine-owned masthead Sydney Morning Herald was leading with the airport incident involving their company’s chairman last night.
This morning, The Australian is headlining the story: Costello’s brain snap: aggro in charge at Nine.
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.
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