RNZ chief executive Paul Thompson. File photo / Mark Mitchell
RNZ chief executive Paul Thompson. File photo / Mark Mitchell
RNZ’s boss has today defended the public broadcaster’s salary costs and increased staff numbers, while also revealing work is under way to stabilise its traditional radio listenership.
Invited to respond to a question line that his organisation was “splashing the cash”, RNZ chief executive Paul Thompson told Parliament’s social servicesand community select committee that the Government was investing in the broadcaster to be a “stronger cornerstone” in a fragile media industry.
And while overall RNZ audiences were up across digital platforms – the overall story was “positive”, he said – work was under way to tackle tone and content changes on traditional radio programmes, such as RNZ National’s Morning Report.
RNZ chair Jim Mather, left, and chief executive Paul Thompson at Parliament's social services and community select committee. Watching on from behind are, from left, TVNZ chair Alastair Carruthers, TVMZ chief operating officer Brent McAnulty and TVNZ chief executive Jodi O'Donnell.
“Our audiences are bigger than ever,” Thompson told the select committee.
“They are more diverse, on different platforms ... and that is the strategy of the company. RNZ wants to be a successful multimedia company, particularly emphasising digital audiences.
“Within that, live listening on RNZ National has been a challenge. We do know what’s happened there, which is that the available audience – the people who listen to talk radio like RNZ National - are signalling that they want some content and tone changes with the station.
“We’re working through that with our teams, we’re putting a lot of focus on it, but I would point out that we are ambitious to get those numbers back on track and we are confident we’ve got the right plan in place.
“The overall story is positive, but we do have some challenges.”
Thompson emphasised RNZ’s digital growth and engagement, acknowledging this was also helped by the fact much of its content is shared with other media outlets. (Similarly, journalism from the likes of the NZ Herald and Stuff also helps boost RNZ’s own website audience.)
Morning Report's Corin Dann, Ingrid Hipkiss and Nathan Rarere.
While every major commercial media company has been forced to endure cutbacks, the public broadcaster’s salary bill has grown by $5 million in 12 months, according to its just-released annual report. Its staff numbers have increased from 309 to 347.
As Media Insider reported recently, the overall salary and wage bill for the 12 months ended June 30, 2024, was $37.088m, up from $32.080m the previous year. And the number of staff now earning more than $100,000 a year has increased from 107 in 2023 to 145 in 2024 – a 35% increase.
RNZ’s annual report reveals the public broadcaster has achieved less than three-quarters – 73% – of its 34 targets that were set as part of its statement of performance expectations for 2023/24.
“Of the remaining targets, some are on track or are well advanced, but were not delivered before year end. Others remain stretch targets, where we have seen growth on the previous year. RNZ was and remains ambitious as it seeks to deliver outstanding public media for New Zealanders,” says the annual report.
RNZ chief executive Paul Thompson.
Select committee member and National Party MP Vanessa Weenink questioned the level of performance bonuses, around $227,000 she said, and roughly double the previous year.
“I’m just wondering what, if anything, is the link between organisational performance and the individual performance bonuses that were paid?”
Thompson responded: “We did set some very high targets for ourselves in our SPE this year and moving some of those attitudinal measures around our charter is really difficult.
“We’ve had success in some areas and we’ve still got work to do in others.
“And I acknowledge that in terms of payment of bonuses, they are all tied to KPIs and across a range of different individual performance areas and we map and track that and report that all back to the board.”
He was asked about RNZ paying bonuses to staff when others, including TVNZ, were not.
“Our bonus structure is very modest and it is designed to reward that exceptional performance and guided by the advice of the Public Service Commission that they are appropriate where they’re structured properly.
“But look, we are very mindful that we do need to be prudent with those public funds and we will keep assessing the way that we run those incentives.”
Committee chair and National MP Joseph Mooney questioned whether there was a perception issue over the increased salary costs.
Thompson said he did not think so: “The context is important; the Crown is investing in us to be a stronger cornerstone at a time when the industry as a whole is incredibly fragile, and so we need to be strong.
“We do pay our people at the average of the public sector median. We have a very clear policy on that, so we’re not in any way, an outlier, but we have also grown our staffing numbers to deliver on our increased mandate to do more content and modernise the organisation.”
Select committee member and Labour MP Reuben Davidson observed: “Just to jump in on this question line about RNZ splashing the cash, my sense is that it’s a fact that that funding boost was the first one since 2009″, adding that he said it had allowed RNZ to have newsreaders on the night shift again “as opposed to the flash bells and whistles anywhere else”.
Thompson believed the funding-boost hiatus went back further than that, although the point was not raised that a plateau for any media organisation would seem like Nirvana compared with what they’ve endured in the same period – cost cuts of millions and millions of dollars.
Thompson said of the funding increase: “We’re being very cautious about how we deploy these funds. We know it’s a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create the outstanding public media cornerstone that New Zealand needs. So we are very conscious of every dollar doing a job for the public.”
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.
