The Diary: TVNZ staff wary of new boss

Photo / Martin Sykes.

Some staff are unhappy, insiders claim, about TVNZ's choice to replace UK import Brenda Griffiths, editor of newsgathering. Phil O'Sullivan, a former TVNZ reporter and CNN Abu Dhabi bureau chief, has got the job but some noses seem out of joint.

Some believe that Al Barnes, who has been filling in for Griffiths since she departed, should have been appointed to the role. They say there was pressure from TVNZ execs to look outside the company.

Griffiths was pals with ex-BBC consultant Michele Romaine, who was on contract with the state broadcaster to transform its news and current affairs division. Romaine was responsible for the rigid social media policy installed in 2013.

TVNZ disputes the allegation there was pressure to hire abroad, saying O'Sullivan is a Kiwi - not a Pom. "There was no pressure to appoint either internally or externally ... Phil is a New Zealander and has previously worked for us, so no issues there," said a rep.

Hiring outside the company has become something of a contentious issue for the state broadcaster.

In 2013, when John Gillespie was promoted to the role of news boss, a loud cheer erupted in the TVNZ newsroom.

Ross Dagan's whirlwind turn in the role lasted just nine months. His predecessor, Anthony Flannery, boomeranged back to Oz to oversee Channel Ten's news division.

He left last year, and moved to Vodafone Australia's corporate communications.