'Sophisticated' competitor for Q&A

<i>The Nation</i> host Stephen Parker. Photo / Supplied

A new taxpayer-funded political programme to challenge TVNZ's Q&A should provide competition and more in-depth analysis that is desperately needed, a media commentator says.

TV3's The Nation begins tomorrow, and the weekly hour-long programme will screen at 11am every Saturday and be replayed at 8am every Sunday.

The creators say it will be a political programme with a wider current affairs scope and an arts segment.

Like Q&A, screened at 9am on Sundays, The Nation will feature a lead interview with a newsmaker and a media panel.

"It may be the audience will be small, but I think it's one of those things you do because it's important," said journalism associate professor Jim Tully, of Canterbury University.

"I think it's good for the viewer that we are going to have this level of competition in political commentary and political analysis. We've always been very light on that. A lot of people want more than they are getting. So I think there's not only a place for [political analysis], but a desperate need for it."

The taxpayer pays for both programmes through New Zealand on Air.

Figures obtained by the Weekend Herald show The Nation is getting $1,133,156 for 36 episodes, compared with $728,817 for the same number of Q&A episodes.

The Nation executive producer Richard Harman said the difference was that the TV3 show would feature taped content from television crews working around the country.

"You look at Q&A, it's a very, very basic production. When you see us, we are a much more sophisticated studio production.

"It was made very clear to us by New Zealand on Air that to get funding we had to come up with something that was different to Q&A."

Mr Harman said he accepted that at a time when New Zealand was increasingly media-saturated and the possibility of halving the length of TV news bulletins was being debated, there was a challenge to capture interest.

He said he hoped The Nation would eventually rate at similar levels to Q&A "but it's going to take time". Q&A has an average of 159,000 viewers each week.

Martin Gillman, of advertising consultancy MG.com, said political focus programmes tended to have little commercial appeal because of the times they were screened and the "very narrow" audiences.

Rival hosts go head to head

Q&A host Paul Holmes:

The veteran broadcaster has enjoyed a long and often controversial career, as a former host of his self-titled current affairs television programme and a breakfast radio host. More recently, he has been known as a campaigner against P after the struggles of his daughter Millie with drugs.

The Nation host Stephen Parker:

He may not have the name recognition of a Paul Holmes, but Parker brings a wealth of knowledge from almost 20 years in journalism and his time as TV3's political editor. He has also been close to the political action in his most recent job as press secretary for senior Government minister Gerry Brownlee.