'One News' chief out after ratings slide

A drop in One News' ratings has seen its executive producer leave TVNZ, as the broadcaster tries to arrest the programme's slide in popularity.

In a surprise move, One News executive producer Melanie Jones stopped work at 10am yesterday and left the TVNZ building immediately.

TVNZ head of news Bill Ralston then told staff he was reviewing the news operation, because its ratings in metropolitan areas and among females were "unsustainable".

TV One has been steadily losing audience to TV3 in Auckland since last year and the trend has accelerated in the past four months.

In Auckland, One News' share of the audience slipped from 50 per cent in January to 41 per cent in July and TV3's rose from 26 per cent to 31 per cent over the same period.

One News' drop has been particularly acute among female viewers aged 25 to 54 in Auckland, where it has gone from a 48.6 per cent share last July to just 29.3 per cent last month. In comparison, TV3 has picked up from 27.5 per cent to 36.7 per cent in the same demographic.

Nationally, the change is less marked but One News has slipped from a 57 per cent share in January to 53 per cent last month. TV3's share rose from 21 per cent to 25 per cent over the same period.

Sources told the Herald Ms Jones had taken the usual 9am staff meeting and seemed her normal self. She went into a meeting with Mr Ralston at 10am, and at 11am "a grave looking" Mr Ralston told staff she had left and would not be returning.

A source said staff were shocked at the suddenness but many accepted it "was a necessary thing to happen".

Mr Ralston would not comment on the reasons for her departure.

He said he highlighted his concerns to news staff about ratings and the way the news was operating.

"We are having a review, I guess you could call it, of various aspects of news and how to make it better.

"But change does not necessarily mean people leaving. It may just mean people doing things in different ways."

Staff with memories of Mr Ralston's staff-cutting in 2003 when he was first appointed to bring "a bit of mongrel" into TVNZ are waiting nervously to see what form the latest changes will take. 

Mr Ralston said some of the changes two years ago were needed to lift the news ratings out of a similar slump to the one faced now. "We fixed it then and we will fix it again."

TV3 head of news Mark Jennings said One News had taken a significant hit.

"They are right to be worried. We have made significant gains and there seems to have been a seachange," he said.

"We've always worried it was just a temporary phenomenon, but there is a clear trend in this."

TVNZ publicist Zara Potts said Ms Jones' position would be advertised in the next fortnight. In the meantime, the team of producers would be helped by Damien Comerford, current producer of the Sunday programme, and Mr Ralston.

Ms Jones did not return calls.