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Up to 200 TVNZ staff are likely to lose their jobs this week, and news chief Bill Ralston has become the latest executive to leave the state-owned network.
Mr Ralston's departure on Friday will coincide with announcements of a restructuring that will bring between 150 and 200 redundancies.
The network's newsroom is expected to be targeted in the shake-up.
A TVNZ insider said chief executive Rick Ellis had indicated the need for $10 million in cuts, a large chunk of that coming from the $50 million news and current affairs budget.
It is hoped the redundancies will counter falling advertising revenues and cover the increased cost of providing new digital channels.
"What is unclear is how you reduce costs and staff and then produce additional channels," the source said.
TVNZ would not discuss the financial terms of Mr Ralston's resignation, but the former head of news and current affairs is understood to be leaving with a standard three-month payout.
Mr Ralston is believed to have been earning around $300,000 in his role as head of news and current affairs, which would make his exit package at least $75,000.
However, another source close to TVNZ said the final cheque could include other payments.
It is understood Mr Ralston had been in talks with management about a continuing role with the company, which could have kept him employed until next year.
Those talks were not successful.
Mr Ralston's position with TVNZ was undermined late last year when a change in the chain of command meant he no longer answered to chief executive Rick Ellis.
The move is also understood to have left him ineligible for lucrative bonus payments dished out to top staff.
Mr Ralston was appointed in 2003 by the then chief executive, Ian Fraser, who said the former Metro editor and TV3 presenter would bring "a bit of mongrel" to the post.
The state broadcaster has been under pressure in recent years and several prominent staff including Paul Holmes and veteran newsreaders Judy Bailey and Richard Long left under strained circumstances.
Mr Ralston could not be reached for comment yesterday but in an email to staff said he was sad to be leaving but felt the time was right.
" ... With the current reorganisation review of TVNZ, and plans to launch new digital services next year, it has become obvious that the changes in TVNZ news and current affairs requires a substantially longer period of commitment (at least another three years) and, sadly, I am unable to devote that amount of time to the task."
His note ended: "Je ne regrette rien." ( The line, from a song by Edith Piaf, means "I regret nothing".)
The station's ratings have been falling for some time and the company's last annual report recorded a $9.4 million drop in advertising revenue.
Media commentator Jim Tully said Mr Ralston had succeeded in bringing the mongrel to TVNZ but was always going to be under pressure from a formidable rival in TV3.
Mr Tully, the head of Canterbury University's journalism school, believed Mr Ralston was carrying the can for bad management decisions.
"To some extent he has attempted to bring some good, old-fashioned news values to the newsroom ... but the current affairs is not as strong ... and I think that has to be addressed."
TV3 had become a formidable rival and the station's successes had crept up on TVNZ.
