KEY POINTS:
Radio New Zealand is in danger of sounding less like us because it is running out of money.
As the state broadcaster counts down towards the end of its financial year on June 30, it is having to cut back expenditure in all areas of its operations, including news and current affairs, drama and children's material, and live classical music broadcasts.
Radio NZ was criticised in March for its "Sounds Like Us" rebranding campaign, which was produced cheaply inhouse but supplemented by "The Faces" TV ad campaign, which cost $171,000 to make and $65,000 to air.
Behind the scenes, the network is holding news vacancies open until it starts the new financial year, affecting regional coverage in places such as Dunedin, which has no reporter. The use of casual news staff to fill gaps has been restricted, as has spending on travel to cover news events. External commissioning for drama and children's series has also been affected, with the number of live concerts on RNZ Concert.
RNZ deputy chief executive Ken Laws said: "We are starting to feel the pinch and we are aware that if we don't get some relief [from the May 17 Budget] that the pinch will become something more severe. Some of the cream and the extra dimension to the quality in the extent of our coverage, those are the areas we are starting to have a look at."
Radio NZ entered the 2006 financial year with a $595,000 deficit from the previous year, denting its annual budget of $27,257,000 received from the Government through NZ On Air.
Mr Laws said the network's business model of working on a three-year cycle with a static level of funding for each of those years was difficult.
"There is no provision in that agreement for inflationary increases within that three-year period so, each year, RNZ presents a case to the Government for additional funding. The Government determines what we get."
Broadcasting Minister Steve Maharey said that since the disappearance of the licence fee, "RNZ has become part of the normal Budget cycle. They know broadly speaking what's going to happen each year but you can't give the same certainty as when you have a guaranteed fund of money that's only available to broadcasters."
