TVNZ talks with NZ On Air over funding for Sunday, Fair Go; The Platform co-founder targets “cancel culture hypocrisy”; Warriors marketing boss on how the club made its fan base a family; A potential shake-up at NZ Post could spell the end of rural Saturday paper deliveries; Times Media creditors
Media Insider: TVNZ talks funding with NZ On Air, Rich Lister blasts ‘cancel culture hypocrisy’; rural Saturday paper delivery at risk
Warriors marketing success, The Platform backer hits out, Media Minister yet to share paper, top media exec's new gig.
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This could scupper plans to save the shows given the spokesperson said the fee could be up to $55,000 per hour.
“Given both programmes run year-round, the license fee costs would be too high for us to move forward.”
A TVNZ staffer spoken to by Media Insider questioned whether crushing costs was the only thing the broadcaster cared about if it was unwilling to chip in on that fee.
As the proposed restructure hangs over the newsroom, the staffer said TVNZ workers have been “up and down”.
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“It feels like TVNZ is in such a rush that maybe they have just made up their minds before hearing all the feedback. That would suck.”
Multiple TVNZ newsroom sources have confirmed they expect to hear the results of the consultation on Tuesday.
NZ On Air said in a statement that applications for this round of contestable funding close on April 24.
“We do not discuss any live or potential applications.”
NZ On Air’s funding strategy document also has a “no duplication” principle, which means the agency invests in content the market alone cannot support.
This could make securing NZ On Air funding a hard sell as both shows are still profitable.
Chief executive Cameron Harland said the agency was in talks with Warner Bros Discovery, TVNZ and production companies to understand the implications of proposed changes at the broadcasters.
“We are concerned about what the cuts could mean, not just for staff and news outputs, but also investment in content outcomes for audiences.”
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Farming out paper deliveries?
Starting off the weekend with a cup of tea and the Saturday paper. It’s a simple pleasure that’s endured despite huge changes to traditional media, and one that offers respite to screen-strained eyes.
But for some avid readers, the ritual may soon be lost to time.
Media Insider hears some rural posties have been told Saturday deliveries will cease in their areas from the middle of this year.
New Zealand Post has refused to comment on the situation, except to say there will be an announcement regarding rural deliveries next week. It is currently “confidential”, it told Media Insider in a statement.
Ashburton Guardian co-owner and managing editor Daryl Holden told Media Insider that most newspapers rely heavily on NZ Post’s delivery services for rural distribution of the key Saturday edition, which is traditionally the biggest and most important one for advertisers.
“New Zealand Post’s expected decision to cease mail and package delivery rurally means subscribers to those Saturday papers up and down the country may now face delays in receiving their favoured read, possibly having to wait until Monday for delivery.”
The Ashburton Guardian was working through options to best serve rural customers, but finding another delivery provider was not one of them, he said.
“The cost involved to travel big kilometres rurally makes it uneconomical. Luckily, we do provide a full electronic version online of all of our editions, but we also understand that some of our customers may simply prefer print.”
NZME, the publisher of several Kiwi mastheads including the Herald, said it had not received confirmation of the change from NZ Post. If it did occur, NZME said in a statement that it would do all it could to ensure those communities continue receiving relevant news.
AgriHQ chief executive and publisher Dean Williamson told Media Insider the move would be “annoying to farmers” because there were some good Saturday newspapers.
However, in today’s hyper-connected world, Williamson said people could get their news online.
“With the massive reduction in both media and then physical mail in recent times, it seems impractical to expect delivery every day of the week in the way we’ve enjoyed in the past.”
Although Williamson’s publications aren’t delivered on Saturdays, he said his father will miss the weekend newspapers if the move went ahead.
“He gets both the Whanganui Chronicle and the Manawatū Standard because he loves doing the puzzles, he’s 96 and he loves it. So he will miss it, but maybe the opportunity is to put two puzzle pages in on a Friday and retain the subscription.”
News of the potential rollback comes a week after NZ Post announced there would be “significant job losses” as it moves to deliver mail alongside courier parcels.
NZME subscribers can access digital copies of papers at nzherald.co.nz/e-editions/
The Platform co-founder targets ‘cancel culture hypocrisy’
Rich lister Wayne Wright describes himself as the hands-off funder of The Platform, fronted by editor and broadcaster Sean Plunket.
But when Plunket made derogatory comments about children with Down Syndrome, it spurred one upset mother to complain directly to the moneyman. That email went to the Wright Foundation (an organisation that aims to advance education and promote family wellbeing) and then made its way to Wright himself.
The mother, whose child has chromosomal abnormalities, received more feedback on her complaint than she expected.
She contacted the foundation over what she described as “appalling” views expressed on The Platform last Monday, in a segment where Plunket told listeners Māui dolphins were like the “Down Syndrome kids of marine mammals”.
“They’re cross-bred and they deserve to die.
“Not Downs people, don’t start that, I’d be in big trouble,” he said of the dolphins, which had caused a day of SailGP racing to be called off.
In response to the complaint, Wright emailed the mother to say he wouldn’t be bullied into “cancel culture hypocrisy” and New Zealand had developed a culture where opposing views could not be tolerated.
Although Wright said he and Plunket did not always agree, neither the complainant nor anyone else had the right to dictate what he should be comfortable with saying.
“The real test of your outrage will be in how you accept the unconditional apology of a man that knows he was in the wrong and admits it. Do you have the strength and character to forgive him?
“Personally I don’t really care but I hope you keep listening to the show.”
Two days after the initial broadcast an apology came, in Plunket’s own words, “largely in response to unfortunately, I think, a kind of pile-on cyber attack by some people who don’t get on with me”.
He said his comments may not have been taken in the “humorous way” they were intended, and in hindsight, his words weren’t “that funny”.
“Using a group of people who face unique challenges to make a joke isn’t actually very cool, so I’m just going to take that on the chin. It was a dumb thing to do. It was insensitive.”
Wright told Media Insider his email “said it all” in terms of his position. “Forthright, candid? Yeah maybe, but I think straight talking with people really gets the message across”.
“I saw the video of him and his comments and I thought it was a little bit weak but you know, Sean has a right to his opinions and he is the editor and the buck stops with him really at The Platform.”
He emphasised Plunket’s on-air apology, which Wright said he did not ask him to make.
Plunket told Media Insider there were “very clear delineations” of editorial responsibility, and other parts of the Wrights’ businesses had nothing to do with The Platform.
“Wayne doesn’t tell me what to do, that’s part of the deal, that is why The Platform can truly be independent.”
In light of this independence, Media Insider asked Plunket why Wright sent the email.
“He felt the need to respond, and as much as he doesn’t have to do with the decisions I make, I’m not the boss of him.”
Warriors marketing manager lifts lid on team’s cult fandom
As a reluctant Aucklander and a late Wahs backer myself, there’s a question burning a hole through my handbag. It’s a query that even Google doesn’t have an answer to. Something logic and reason seem to defy. All I want to know, deep down, is what’s driving our apparently unstoppable infatuation with the New Zealand Warriors?
To find out, I trekked out to the Mothership (Mt Smart) in near-peak Wednesday afternoon traffic to sit turf-side with the club’s big marketing boss, Glenn Harris (no relation).
Like myself, the marketing and business development general manager is admittedly not a “day one” fan. But after upping his devotion in 2008, and spending the last four years with the club, he now lives and breathes the “Up the Wahs” mantra.
Harris told Media Insider although there have always been the die-hards - those with the unwavering belief that this is our year - the undeniable growth in the team’s popularity has been a fairly new phenomenon.
Since he started, Harris said the organisation had looked to create a clear narrative around the Warriors, focusing on the brand’s storytelling.
“More on the ‘why’ of what we do rather than the ‘what’. I mean, yes, we’re a football team, but we’re also a sports entertainment brand.
“We celebrate our fans, we make them the star of the show.”
This means allowing the faithful to dictate where they want their Warriors journey to go.
In his view, the clearest illustration of this has been the adoption of the phrase “Up the Wahs”, and how the club has embraced it.
“Up the Wahs never came from us. It came from the fans. All we did was clear the way, such that it could be something that unified them around a shared challenge of spirit, a belief that this was our year.”
The exact date the phrase was coined is still up for debate, but Harris said the slogan took off en masse last year.
“From the NBA through to Formula 1, from schoolyards and flights. It’s sort of touched every corner of the world and became more than just a catch cry, it became a global saying of unity between fans who love supporting challengers.”
The heritage interwoven throughout the team’s branding and merchandise is also no accident. It’s a way of acknowledging the legacy of the giants of the past and the players who have spilt blood for the jersey.
For many fans, Harris said the merchandise was a badge of honour, a way they expressed themselves and the team they love.
The Warriors’ success in the branded-goods arena is also linked to the connection people felt with the club, he told Media Insider.
And that connection appears earned.
Be it going into schools, a library programme, hosting groups on-site or running the League in the Libraries competition, he said being in the community and being accessible is something dear to the brand and its identity.
“A lot of people in our organisation probably didn’t sign up for the responsibility that comes with being a brand as successful as we are. But I think everyone in this place has taken onboard that sense of responsibility and duty of care to the community.”
Part of that accessibility is ensuring ticket prices are within reach. The club doesn’t want anyone priced out of the game.
“We know that there are massive pressures on household budgets and discretionary spend like rugby league games is an easy one to park if you’re dealing with rising food costs and fuel costs and all that kind of stuff.
“So what we’re very careful with is making sure that our value proposition is always really good.”
One of these efforts is $10 general admission tickets for 24 hours following a Warriors win, or $20 outside of that period.
The club also leans into user-generated content, which he again explained was because the fans were the stars of the Warriors show.
“They come up with some phenomenal content from Instagram to Facebook and TikTok. There’s always a really cool expression of someone’s experience with the Warriors, whether it might be a chance meeting with the player, whether it’s someone who’s at the game that’s filmed the runout or the fireworks on their phone and shared it.”
One Good Text
In this week’s One Good Text, investigative reporter and visual journalism veteran Paula Penfold shares some wise words for aspiring journalists.
Times Media administrators in talks with ‘interested parties’
Times Media creditors are scheduled to meet at 11am today as the Monday deadline for an offer from any interested buyers creeps closer.
The publisher of the Howick & Pakuranga Times and a range of other titles was placed in voluntary administration two weeks ago after talks fell through with potential purchasers.
Administrator Ben Francis confirmed to Media Insider this week they were in discussion with interested parties, however, any offer needed to be submitted by Monday.
When asked what would happen if no offer came through, Francis said it was confidential.
The listed purpose of the first creditors’ meeting, which will be held over Zoom at 11am, is to decide whether to appoint a creditor’s committee, appoint its members, and whether to replace the administrators.
Former MBM boss’s new gig
Media exec Penelope Brown is picking up the tools again after an extended summer break with her family.
While her time between gigs might not sound like a break to us mere mortals - it included joining the UnLtd NZ Advisory Board, attending a directors’ course and enjoying a plant-based health retreat sans caffeine - Brown assured Media Insider she was rested and ready to return.
She starts as Together’s media managing director on April 9, and will oversee the independent agency’s media practice.
Brown said the team at Together were the “smartest people in the room”, and built media solutions for modern marketing like no other agency.
“The mix of media, customer, Cloud and analytics capabilities, along with the ability to build new technology and data solutions bespoke for NZ businesses, is so exciting,” she told Media Insider.
Managing partner Rufus Chuter said anyone who knew Brown would say she was an incredible leader who had the pick of agencies with which to work.
“We’re delighted that she’s chosen Together to write her next chapter. Her experience, media smarts and all-round excellent human-ness make her a great fit.”
Brown, who’s career in the industry has spanned 20 years, announced her departure from MBM last November after seven years at the agency.
Missing media paper
Keen-eyed Media Insider readers were quick to point out Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s newly announced three-month action plan made no mention of Melissa Lee’s much-anticipated media paper.
For weeks there’s been talk of the supposed paper, and anticipation over what possible solutions could be found to help level the uneven playing field with social media and tech giants.
The Media and Communications Minister’s own office referred to the paper when it cancelled an interview with Media Insider three weeks ago as she had “essentially traversed as much ground as possible right now before the Cabinet process”.
Lee said she had committed to a programme of work that aimed to modernise the media regulatory system to enable media businesses to thrive in the local market.
“My Cabinet paper to support this work programme is currently going through a consultation process and will then go to Cabinet in due course.
“Given this process is under way, I am unable to discuss the process or the details of the paper at this stage. I will have more to announce soon.”
