Breakfast has had no fewer than 30 hosts over its 26 years on air. Photos / TVNZ, supplied
TVNZ’s Breakfast is facing more disruption amid softer TV ratings; musical chairs and vacancies at our top media firms; the marketing power of the Football Ferns; Gossip godfather’s tasty new business venture.
In its almost 26 years on New Zealand screens, breakfast television has had a tumultuous ride – personality clashes, presenter outrages, competition that’s come, gone and come again, and rollercoaster ratings.
No fewer than 30 household names have occupied TVNZ’s Breakfast presenting, newsreading or weather roles in that time, including Mike Hosking, Susan Wood, Liz Gunn, Kate Hawkesby, Paul Henry, Ali Mau, Pippa Wetzell, Peter Williams, Toni Street, Sam Wallace, Hayley Holt, Hilary Barry, John Campbell and Kamahl Santamaria.
Big, big names. Most – not all – of whom have gone on to bigger things.
When Breakfast started in 1997, its competition came in the form of traditional media – radio on the actual wireless and newspapers. The NZ Herald website didn’t launch for another year and Stuff two years after that.
Social media hadn’t been invented and life, as a result of that alone, was generally calmer.
Now, of course, the digital attack is coming from all sides. Most people are turning straight to their phones in the mornings – scanning news headlines, watching social videos, or listening to podcasts or streamed radio in the scramble to work, university or school.
Unless viewers are parked up in a hotel room or retired – or there is a major breaking news event such as the Auckland CBD shooting yesterday – Breakfast is not figuring as large in the morning routine as it once might have.
That hypothesis is borne out by latest Breakfast ratings.
It shows average daily audience reach (age 5+) has fallen from 311,500 in the first half of 2022, to 291,600 in the same period this year. Three’s AM show has lifted, from 180,900 in the first half of 2022 to 221,700 this year.
The situation is even starker in the commercially important 25-54 age bracket. Breakfast has gone from an average daily reach of 93,300 in 2022 to 76,700 this year – a drop of almost 18 per cent. AM has lifted slightly, from 60,900 to 71,200 to be only 5500 viewers behind.
TVNZ argues, rightly, that Breakfast can be viewed digitally, streamed live or on-demand on TVNZ+.
A TVNZ spokeswoman provided data to show Breakfast’s average weekly live reach on TVNZ+ is 49,500 accounts.
One TVNZ insider said falling terrestrial TV ratings were not a surprise.
“That’s indicative of linear television generally. It’s an old person’s medium. It’s also been coming off Covid ratings, when people were stuck at home and watching TV in the mornings.”
But the challenges don’t stop there for Breakfast.
It is now facing more disruption with the departure of its executive producer after 15 months in the role.
Sam Robertson has been off work, taking leave recently, and has now resigned.
In an email to staff, obtained by Media Insider, Robertson said Breakfast was a “beast of a show and turning it around every single day takes determination, hard work and sheer grit”.
“To paraphrase Jacinda, I simply don’t have enough gas in the tank to go on.”
Robertson, who was hired by former head of news Paul Yurisich, wouldn’t comment to Media Insider but it is understood he has been considering opportunities outside the media industry. His email says he wants to focus on his family.
Insiders say he has worked long hours in the face of structural and resourcing issues – a merger with RNZ might have seen an injection of resources but, of course, the marriage has been called off.
“It’s an incredibly exhausting role,” said one source.
That’s reflected in the revolving door of EPs – there have been several in recent years, including Jono Williams (who spent almost four and a half years in the role), Miranda Fisher and Robertson, a Kiwi who has an extensive CV in overseas media operations including AP, Sky and Al Jazeera.
Insiders say Robertson has done a good job in bringing the team together and back to an even keel after host Santamaria’s well-publicised resignation in May last year. Following an internal inquiry into that saga – and TVNZ’s hiring processes – Yurisich also quit.
Robertson is understood to have enjoyed working with Yurisich; it wouldn’t be a surprise if his departure also played a factor in the executive producer’s decision to resign.
Meanwhile, the days of surprise and shock on Breakfast – think various controversies involving Paul Henry – have made way for a show that’s solid and somewhat predictable.
It has a line-up of strong broadcasting and production talent, who could each command their own limelight – Jenny-May Clarkson, Matty McLean, Anna Burns-Francis, and Chris Chang in front of camera and the likes of Robertson and Hugh Sundae as producers.
Along with other media, they did a first-class job yesterday fronting the extended Breakfast show in the studio and from near the scene of the Auckland shootings.
In an interview with The Spinoff late last year, Paul Henry described Breakfast as “pretty bad now”.
“F***ing hell… I don’t want to be one of those people who just sits at home complaining, but when they first decided to come back with that laptop set … [what] did they think?” he says.
“Did they think that people wanted to spend breakfast with people who were clearly in Changi bloody airport, or the Hanging Gardens of f***ing Babylon?” he said of the VR studio. “Does anyone watch that and think, ‘Oh, shit, they’ve spent a bit of money on that’.”
For its part, TVNZ says it is “absolutely committed” to Breakfast.
But that comes with a big challenge – growing its digital presence and audience.
“TVNZ’s approach for Breakfast is the same as the approach we’re taking for all programmes. We’re measuring audience across TV and TVNZ+. New Zealanders are watching more TV than ever before, but the way they are watching has changed,” says a spokeswoman.
“TVNZ’s strategy embraces the shift in audience behaviour. Our overriding ambition is to grow our digital audience reach and revenues at a faster pace than the declines in traditional TV. Achieving this will give TVNZ a sustainable future.”
TVNZ head of news Phil O’Sullivan reiterated Breakfast continued to play an important role.
“It’s more often than not the first interaction viewers have with TVNZ for the day. It sets up our relationship with the audience for the programming that comes next.
“Three hours of live television every weekday is challenging. It’s a very dynamic and fast-moving production. The team are required to move between a broad range of stories and transition the programme into a breaking news format as needed.”
O’Sullivan said Breakfast played a “significant commercial role” for TVNZ.
“Its structure allows for partnerships and integrations which bring in an important revenue stream, helping to fund our journalism.”
When asked about Robertson, a spokeswoman said she could not answer specific questions: “TVNZ does not comment on individual employee arrangements.”
Meanwhile, over at Three, AM has been making steady inroads – the backdrop here, though, is that Discovery is losing tens of millions of dollars a year and will be facing massive pressure to cut costs.
Three said it was happy that AM – hosted by Ryan Bridge and Melissa Chan-Green – had found a “solid and loyal audience”. It would continue to “evolve the programme to ensure a successful future”.
Even before the Football Ferns’ incredible victory over Norway last night, sponsors were scrambling to be attached to players. That interest is set to soar.
An agent for Ferns captain Ali Riley says interest in her has been so high, even before the Football World Cup started, that they haven’t been able to accept all offers.
Riley, who also captains the USA league team Angel City FC, is working with manuka honey brand Wedderspoon and Tourism New Zealand for content around the World Cup.
“We’re now saying, ‘We have other [National Women’s Soccer League] players who may not be World Cup players right now, but they’re very well-respected, high-quality NWSL players,’” agent Matt Hochberg, who represents Riley, told the Marketing Brew website.
“The attention is not just going to be on the World Cup, but it’s going to trickle down to the NWSL as a whole, and they’re playing when the World Cup ends.”
Marketing Brew reported that many American brand, agency, and media execs “don’t expect brand interest in women’s soccer—and women’s sports in general—to wane”.
“I think it’s going to keep growing,” said Kerry Bradley, COO of fan intelligence company Sports Innovation Lab. “The time to invest in women’s sports was yesterday, but the second-best option is right now.”
Senior leadership changes in New Zealand’s media businesses show no sign of slowing, with Miriyana Alexander announcing her resignation as NZME’s editorial head of premium and Stuff’s head of news Mark Stevens leaving for RNZ.
Alexander has been a key leader and driver of the editorial digital subscription strategy since the launch of NZ Herald Premium in March 2019, following stints as editor of the Weekend Herald and editor of the Herald on Sunday. She joined NZME, then APN, 10 years ago.
Like Robertson at Breakfast, Alexander is taking a break from journalism – she says she may return to the industry at some stage but wants a breather and time with her family after a hectic period.
NZME chief content officer (publishing) Murray Kirkness, a close colleague and friend of Alexander, said she would be missed: “She champions our journalism, is a top-notch manager, commissions compelling stories, works closely with product and development and the executive.”
Alexander’s departure next month will give Kirkness pause for thought on how he structures his leadership team.
Her resignation comes amid a high number of vacant or soon-to-be vacant leadership roles at New Zealand media businesses, including TVNZ CEO, MediaWorks CEO, head of sales at Discovery and head of sales at NZME.
Stuff is also making changes in its senior editorial leadership team and has appointed Keith Lynch as its new editor-in-chief of Stuff Digital.
It follows the quiet and abrupt departure of Stevens last week. He was announced yesterday as RNZ’s new chief news officer, reporting to chief executive Paul Thompson, and will start at the public broadcaster in September. He replaces Richard Sutherland in the role.
Stevens was a loyal lieutenant to Stuff owner Sinead Boucher for many years and played a large part in building Stuff’s content strategy. With Boucher moving to the role of executive chair, and a new executive team in place, the editorial leadership team is being shaken up.
Australia’s ABC radio network has poached three of New Zealand’s most talented and prominent Pasifika journalists and broadcasters in recent months as it looks to expand its own coverage.
Agnes Tupou, the host of Auckland-based Pacific Media Network’s 531pi breakfast radio show, has moved to Melbourne to host the ABC’s Pacific Beat show.
Another reporter, producer and presenter Johnson Raela – whose credits include What Now presenter and Flava radio host – joined the ABC earlier this year as a producer and is also based out of Melbourne while Alice Lolohea, a reporter for TVNZ’s Tagata Pasifika, has also joined the Australian public broadcaster.
Promo shoot day 📸
— Johnson Raela (@JonsRaela) July 11, 2023
So good to have my Pacific sisters @alicelolohea and Aggie Tupou join the @ABCPacific team from Aotearoa. Welcome fam 💪🏽 @abcnews @ABCaustralia pic.twitter.com/NAvNh9NPAQ
Pacific Media Network chief executive Don Mann was in two minds when we spoke – incredibly pleased for, and proud of, Tupou; disappointed that there were no opportunities for her to stay in New Zealand and expand her career here.
He believes the cancelled TVNZ-RNZ merger, and the opportunities that would have brought for a talented broadcaster like Tupou, is a reason.
“It’s possibly one of the unforeseen outcomes of [the merger] not going ahead,” Mann said.
The merger was designed to boost public media, including coverage of Pacific issues. It’s also a blow for the wider New Zealand journalism industry, when only 1.8 per cent of the workforce is Pasifika; compared with 8-9% of the population.
Mann and PMN content general manager Susana Guttenbeil have hired Samson Samasoni as executive producer of the 531pi breakfast radio show, as they look to recruit a new host and rebuild it as a flagship show focused on Pasifika issues heading into the election.
Meanwhile, more than 100 Pasifika media industry participants and representatives met in Auckland recently to discuss myriad issues, topics and challenges – including ways to build and sustain Pasifika talent, storytelling, partnerships and resourcing/funding.
Amongst speakers were Broadcasting Minister Willie Jackson, outgoing RNZ governor Caren Rangi, and TVNZ Pacific correspondent Barbara Dreaver.
Mann said Pasifika talent were challenged to use their unique voices and storytelling to set them apart, locally and globally – similar to how Korean K Pop music has taken the world by storm.
“We recognised two founders of 531pi who were able to attend on the day - Sefita Hao’uli MNZM and Toesulu Brown MNZM. 531pi was founded in 1992 – over 30 years ago,” says Mann.
“The main theme of the fono was that Pacific media in one form or another has existed in Aotearoa for over 35 years. The fono examined where Pacific media is at now, what the next 35 years holds and what are the factors that will underpin new models of operating.”
NZME and Newstalk ZB newsreader Niva Retimanu also attended the recent Pasifika media representatives’ meeting.
New Zealand’s godfather of gossip, David Hartnell, is venturing into a tasty new business venture at the age of 79.
He and his partner of 30 years, Somboon Khansuk, have bought Thai Thai restaurant in Auckland’s Grey Lynn.
“It’s something he’s always wanted to do,” says Hartnell, who continues to write a weekly entertainment quiz for the Woman’s Weekly, and a regular gossip newsletter for 169,000 followers.
“It’s really Somboon’s baby from the beginning.”
Somboon comes from a family of eight children who were all taught how to cook by their father. He will be front of house at the restaurant, while the couple’s nephew has arrived from Thailand to be chef.
“We have kept it as authentic Thai food,” says Hartnell, who says the pair knew the previous owners and ate regularly at the restaurant.
“A lot of restaurants are not authentic Thai food. Somboon is still using some of his father’s sauces and mix, even at home. He’s carried that on to here.
“We are keeping the menu as is, but we are going to add to it. People don’t like change, but we will be adding certain things to it.”
Hartnell says he will make cameo appearances in the restaurant, while maintaining a focus on gossip.
“Who said it wouldn’t last – after 53 years!” he says.
“Everybody wants to be a gossip columnist these days. It’s so instant. Back in our day we didn’t even have emails for contacts and what have you. It’s a whole new ball game; it’s so vicious. I’ve never been like that; I’ve always been tongue-in-cheek.
“I find now that people just let rip with whatever they want to say. It’s incredibly bad, I think.”
He’s now writing a fair bit more about the Royals, since Meghan Markle’s entrance – and then departure – from the House of Windsor.
“It’s become a celebrity circus!”
An independent panel, set up to investigate the case of an RNZ journalist who allegedly added pro-Kremlin content to syndicated Russia-Ukraine war stories and made edits to other articles, has said it needs more time to complete its inquiry.
RNZ’s board initially anticipated the panel – media law expert Willy Akel, former broadcaster and now top lawyer Linda Clark and former ABC editorial standards director Alan Sunderland – would have a draft report complete by July 3, according to initial correspondence with the Minister of Broadcasting Willie Jackson.
In a statement to Media Insider, RNZ chair Dr Jim Mather said: “I can confirm that the RNZ board have not received a draft report from the Independent Review Panel.
“We anticipated that the review process was going to take approximately four weeks from the announcement of the panel and terms of reference on 14 June.
“In line with the board position that ‘no stone would be left unturned’, the review panel chair, Willy Akel, has since advised that more time is required and we are now expecting to receive the report by 31 July.
“I anticipate that a brief review period will be required by the board before public release of the report occurs soon after.”
According to the RNZ website, as of Monday this week, “1268 stories have been checked. Of these, 49 have been updated to bring them up to our standards”.
As part of its terms of reference, the inquiry panel is looking at five specific areas as part of its work:
As Media Insider reported earlier this week, the New Zealand advertising, marketing and media industry will shortly introduce a new action plan to reduce its carbon emissions.
Ad Net Zero will be officially launched on August 4, at an event at TVNZ, one of many media organisations, agencies and advertisers signed up to the action plan.
Commercial Communications Council chief executive Simon Lendrum says sustainability is now an economic factor in the C-suites and boardrooms of our businesses.
“We have got to move from sustainability from being a luxury to a necessity. While we are a competitive industry… when it matters, we are a collaborative industry.
“It’s a pyrrhic victory if there’s one media entity left standing; we want everyone to thrive.”
* 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.
'I can imagine people being outraged that TVNZ signed a deal with me.'