Sun sets on guests' pay

Guests appearing on Sunrise with Carly Flynn and co-host Oliver Driver will not be paid. Photo / Michael Craig

Guests appearing on Sunrise with Carly Flynn and co-host Oliver Driver will not be paid.

TV3's breakfast programme is forcing guests on the show to fund their own appearance to the Sunrise couch, after producers made a cost-cutting decision to axe the fees for contributors.

Sunrise guests were once paid a flat rate of $250 to appear on-screen with presenters Carly Flynn and Oliver Driver, but thanks to a few financial hurdles the fee no longer applies.

The Herald on Sunday understands the fee cuts have caused magazine and newspaper columnist Mike Hutcheson and former Woman's Day editor Wendyl Nissen to say goodbye to their Sunrise slots.

"I was told Sunrise needed to cut costs for casual commentators," said Hutcheson. "They weren't part of the future as far as they were concerned."

It is also understood Metro editor Bevan Rapson is staying on as a contributor, and North & South editor Virginia Larson will be appearing more - both without a pay cheque.

Former Sunday Star Times gossip columnist Bridget Saunders also appeared on the show last week without receiving a fee.

It is understood the people who have stayed on - including dog trainer "Doggy" Dan Abdelnoor - have done so after finding sponsorship to fund their position.

Mark Jennings, TV3's head of news and current affairs, said tough times has forced them to flag the fee, but most contributors had decided to stick around.

"We're having a good year and have seen phenomenal growth in news, but about three months ago it became clear the recession was not going to be a short-lived affair," said Jennings.

"We needed to be as frugal and efficient as we could be, while saving the jobs of journalists, and we had to think about where we could save money. We decided we weren't going to pay them any more."

Suggestions that all remaining guests have had to find their own sponsorship to appear on the show were not entirely true, Jennings said.

"It's not 100 per cent wrong, but it's not right either," he said. "We thought maybe they could get sponsorship around them, and some suggested some companies themselves, but it has all been dealt with through our sales team."

Paul Norris, head of the New Zealand Broadcasting School, said he would be reluctant to comment on the sponsorship situation, but said it sounded "unusual".