RNZ, TVNZ newsrooms should be combined to shore up public broadcasting - Brent Harman

OPINION

Since the advent of broadcasting in New Zealand - first radio and then television in 1960 - successive governments have recognised the need for a reliable and trusted broadcast news service to complement strong and independently-owned newspapers.

Though many have sought to reform or reshape public broadcasting, they have never wavered from maintaining public broadcasting as a core government responsibility. What should alarm all New Zealanders watching the recent erosion of news and current affairs is the present Government’s apparent indifference to television’s direction of travel, suggesting they either do not understand what is happening or do not regard it as their problem. But in reality, there is much at stake.

In recent weeks TV3 (Warner Bros Discovery’s Three) announced the closure of its Newshub news service because it cannot afford journalists, while TVNZ is canning some of its outstanding current affairs programmes and further filleting its news services, seemingly because imported programmes are more popular and therefore more attractive to advertisers.

Former TVNZ chief executive and MediaWorks chairman Brent Harman.

Meanwhile, both Three and TVNZ are looking to the day when they can be distributed solely on the internet rather than paying Kordia (the Government-owned transmission company) to distribute their services “through the air” to every home in the country.

The Government’s inaction suggests it does not care, but let’s consider where this leaves New Zealand.

Plurality of voices is fundamental in a functioning democracy and there are very few democracies that do not have public broadcasting as a cornerstone. At various times, almost all public broadcasters find themselves at odds with their respective governments, but it is hard to imagine any government being as indifferent as New Zealand’s seems to be.

An equally important concept, seemingly lost in the debate in New Zealand at present, is that reliable, credible news reporting and analysis should be available universally.

It is not just important but imperative that everyone, no matter their geographic isolation or relative wealth, is included. In New Zealand, most people, but by no means all, have access to the internet. But courtesy of the broadcast transmission network developed by the NZBC many decades ago (now operated by Kordia), virtually everyone has a good TV signal and good radio reception.

Consider how the country relied on its broadcast services during last year’s tumultuous weather events when in regions where it was most needed, the internet and mobile phone services failed. So rather than being indifferent, the Government should perhaps consider what the loss of plurality and universality would do to democracy and what a diminution of universal broadcast availability would do to our ability to respond to national disasters.

Flooding next to the Tūtaekurī River in Hawke’s Bay last year. Many in the region had to rely on broadcast services after the internet and mobile phone services failed. Photo / Cam Taylor

What could the Government do? First, amalgamate the news services of TVNZ and RNZ under a properly funded and independently governed structure to guarantee universal access to a core news and current affairs service in perpetuity.

The funding would extend to a continuation of the Local Democracy Reporting co-venture to ensure the regions are covered - again important in a democracy. As it would be taxpayer-funded, the output of this news service could be shared with all domestically owned media.

Secondly, secure and retain the 100 per cent transmission infrastructure of Kordia until such time as everyone has access to universal, affordable high-speed internet, appropriately resilient to obviate loss of service during weather events. If retaining Kordia’s broadcasting infrastructure and making it available to all broadcasters at reasonable cost requires the Government to subsidise it, then in the interests of universality and democracy, the cost should be considered an investment.

The time may come - although unlikely - when the international tech and media platforms will offer reliable, credible coverage and analysis of New Zealand news but, until then, the Government should embrace the provision of plurality of news and analysis as a core function of democracy.

Amalgamating the news resources and functions of RNZ and TVNZ might seem like a reversion to the old days of the NZBC and in some ways it would be, but if it means retaining a well-resourced, credible news service when Newshub is folding because the advertising-supported television model is dead, then New Zealand should be grateful that RNZ and TVNZ have the Government as their shareholder and not some profit-driven US conglomerate.

Brent Harman is a former TVNZ chief executive and former chairman of previous TV3 owner MediaWorks. He has an extensive media and corporate business CV, including as a former general manager of 1ZB, where he was responsible for leading the format change to Newstalk ZB in 1987.