A BBC investigation into disgraced former-Breakfast host Kamahl Santamaria found several allegations of sexual harassment were made against him while working at Al Jazeera. Photo / NZME
A BBC investigation into disgraced former-Breakfast host Kamahl Santamaria found several allegations of sexual harassment were made against him while working at Al Jazeera. Photo / NZME
Former TVNZ Breakfast host Kamahl Santamaria - who resigned after revelations of complaints from former and current female colleagues - is attempting to revive his media career with a new website and podcast.
And with it, he has taken a swipe at media, a year after the investigative journalism that led to his resignation.
Santamaria was hired by TVNZ in April 2022 to replace departing Breakfast host John Campbell but resigned suddenly after just 31 days on air.
He was accused of sending multiple women inappropriate messages in his previous role at Al Jazeera, and at least one female colleague complained about his inappropriate behaviour at TVNZ.
Santamaria has emerged to promote a new news website and podcast. A promotional blurb says Santamaria “knows a thing or two about ‘being the story’ and how the quest for clicks and eyeballs can result in a story that doesn’t quite match the headline”.
In an audio message, Santamaria himself says, “you might know me as a broadcaster and journalist who spent 16 years reading the news at Al Jazeera or you’ll know me as the guy who resigned in controversial circumstances only a month into a new job in New Zealand and hasn’t been seen since. Either way, after all those years asking the questions, I now know what it’s like to be the story and to be the subject of today’s clickbaity, controversy-first media landscape.
“So I’ve launched my own website, Re:balance, where context is king, where we report what we know, not what we think we know and bring you journalism without agenda.
“Re:balance is here to bring you facts and clarity, to hear from experts in their fields and to listen to the stories of people who’ve not had theirs told. It’s about bringing some balance to an increasingly polarised world.
“I believe a journalist’s first job is to inform and to leave the reader or viewer armed with information from both sides so they can make their own decisions.”
A promotional image for Kamahl Santamaria's new website and podcast.
The Santamaria scandal extended beyond his own resignation.
In July last year, TVNZ’s Head of News and Current Affairs Paul Yurisich also quit.
Yurisich’s resignation came as the summary of the findings and recommendations of the independent review into TVNZ’s recruitment policies, processes and practices were released. The review, which was carried out by senior employment lawyer Margaret Robins, covered TVNZ’s recruitment practices and processes in general and the specific recruitment of Santamaria.
Yurisich, who hired Santamaria and had previously worked with him at Al Jazeera, went on a period of leave while the review was carried out.
TVNZ CEO Simon Power said at the time the report was released that in the hiring of Santamaria, the review stated the recruitment policy was not applicable to the hiring of key presenters and therefore was not followed in this situation. “The review found ultimately, the fundamental problem was the failure of TVNZ’s Recruitment Policy to provide a suitable process.”
In May last year, one woman, who worked with Santamaria at TV3 at the start of his career, claimed Santamaria messaged her out of the blue several years ago saying he used to watch her in the newsroom.
Another woman, currently working in the media in New Zealand, said he sent her messages from a private Instagram account used to follow mostly women, including many Kiwi journalists.
They came forward to speak on condition of anonymity after the Herald reported claims from a former Al Jazeera colleague that Santamaria was accused of sending multiple women inappropriate messages in his previous role at Al Jazeera.
The colleague alleged multiple complaints against Santamaria were made to Al Jazeera’s human resources department and senior management over several years.
Stuff reported at the time that Santamaria’s sudden departure came after at least one female colleague complained about inappropriate behaviour from him at TVNZ.
When TVNZ released the findings of its review, Power said improvements were needed in recruitment policies and work was already under way to embed those.
“We support the findings and recommendations of the review. While the review found TVNZ’s Recruitment Policy is fit for the purpose of recruiting the vast majority of roles at TVNZ, it recommends developing that policy further so it is applicable to key presenter positions.
“There are key areas of improvement for us in the ongoing management of recruitment practices and this review is an important step in ensuring TVNZ is upholding strong and clear standards.
“Of the utmost importance to us throughout this process has been our commitment for TVNZ to be a safe, respectful and enjoyable workplace.”
