Today FM has abruptly abandoned its scheduled broadcasting and staff at the station fear they are about to lose their jobs. Video / NZ Herald
Duncan Garner has opened up on the “deep” humiliation of losing his job live on air after MediaWorks made the sudden decision to can Today FM.
Garner revealed he felt like there had been a death in the family after the shock closure on Thursday, in an opinion piece penned on Stuff.
Garner’s producer was instructed to play music while he and other hosts including Tova O’Brien were called in for meetings with interim chief executive Wendy Palmer.
The proposal from the higher-ups was that Today FM would be closed by the end of the day due to the dire financial straits the company found itself in.
Garner wrote that the decision, and how it was handled by MediaWorks, was “deeply humiliating”.
Duncan Garner, broadcaster and former Today FM host, has written about the experience of finding out he lost his job live on air. Photo / Jason Oxenham
“It’s starting to now sink in that I’m losing my job, live in front of the country, we all are - the cold hard reality of private radio run by faceless corporate henchmen overseeing a brand they never listened to, nor did they once meet the people on it,” he wrote in the Stuff column.
“I’m finding it deeply humiliating; this is a company I’ve just ticked over 20 years with.”
In a broadcast on the frequency about 5pm, a message said: “This station is no longer Today FM”.
It also said a new station would be launching on the frequency in April.
Today FM staff were given less than a full day to submit on the future of the station.
A company-wide email from Palmer later in the day said: “I’m sorry to confirm that the MediaWorks board has made the difficult decision to close Today FM from tomorrow.
“This does sadly mean that a number of our friends and colleagues will be leaving the business in the coming weeks.”
Garner was one of the big names getting the boot, and said he cried when the call was made - as did many of his co-workers.
“We all cried because we give a stuff, we love what we do - or did,” he wrote.
He said the new MediaWorks, formed in 2020 when Discovery (now Discovery Warner Brothers) purchased the broadcaster’s former TV assets, was promised as a new, inclusive, caring brand which offered mental health days, and a rainbow support system. MediaWorks is currently jointly owned by US company Oaktree Capital Management and out-of-home advertising company QMS.
“All that looks and sounds great but it counts for nothing but tokenism if you treat my colleagues in such a shabby way and then offer them a sham consultation period of two hours. How utterly dishonest.
“Our demise was ruthless, immediate, without warning and got worse as it went on. Much of it played out live,” he wrote on Stuff.
