"The platform at RNZ and TVNZ is strong enough to support change, it's whether or not the willingness sits within the newly-formed company," - Media academic Richard Pamatatau
The RNZ and TVNZ mega-media-merger has been years in the making. While it has finally been confirmed, much of the detail - including funding - remains unclear.
National opposes the merger, saying it's a solution looking for a problem.
But a media academic says the new organisation's biggest challenge - and biggest opportunity - will be creating a public service media which can truly cater to all New Zealanders.
Photo: RNZ
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The idea of a public media shake-up first emerged ahead of the election in 2017, with Labour campaigning on a new public digital media service called RNZ+ which would have expanded into television with significant extra funding.
Those plans were shelved after Clare Curran resigned as Broadcasting Minister in 2018. Her successor Kris Faafoi - a former journalist - floated the idea of a new state-owned public media entity in 2019.
A group - with representatives from RNZ, TVNZ and various public service agencies - advised the status quo was "unsustainable" and the two broadcasters be disestablished with a new organisation in its place. Ministers approved, but demanded a business case to assess how it would work.
After Covid-related delays, eight experts led by former NZ First Minister Tracey Martin reported back to the Minister late last year with their proposal. Cabinet confirmed, and Faafoi announced it just over a fortnight ago.
Read more:
- RNZ-TVNZ public media shake-up: What you need to know
- RNZ boss Paul Thompson: merger a 'watershed' moment for NZ media
- Minister confirms RNZ, TVNZ to be folded into mega public media entity
- Mediawatch: RNZ + TVNZ = new PME in 2023
The government intends to bring the two broadcasters under the umbrella of a new not-for-profit organisation, with a stronger focus on the digital world. It will operate under a charter and be funded by a mix of commercial and government funding.
There are few details, however, with many unanswered questions: will newsrooms combine? Will programmes be simulcast? Will there be staff cuts? Faafoi prefers to leave those decisions to the establishment board, expected to be set up soon.
Funding also won't be announced until Budget Day, but the government's still keen to have it up and running by next July - an election year.
Melissa Lee Photo: RNZ / Dom Thomas
National's Broadcasting spokesperson Melissa Lee says she's not confident the government will have everything ready by the time the election rolls around, but the party would not automatically reverse the move if it did.
"If it's already established I'm not going to be getting rid of something just for the sake of getting rid of it," she says.
But there's a proviso: "If it's a mess that the Labour government has actually created then I guess National will have to fix it ... is it functioning well? You know, it may be too early to actually tell, so we might have to give it some time."
The heads of RNZ and TVNZ are excited about the possibilities and say for now, business will continue as usual.
Competitors seem less enthusiastic. TVNZ rival Three's owner Discovery will be keeping a close eye, and Stuff's Sinead Boucher saying it wants to ensure government intervention doesn't undermine the commercial viability of newsrooms.
Newsroom co-editor Mark Jennings says there's a risk the new entity could crowd others out of the market.
Pacific Journalism researcher at AUT Richard Pamatatau warns there will be a lot the new entity will need to get right, and it will need significant investment - but it's an "extraordinary opportunity".
"This is the chance for some disruption to occur that hopefully means in two, three, five, 10 years down [the line] we have public broadcasting that serves every New Zealander and it doesn't matter if you are brown, white, Chinese, in a wheelchair, not in a wheelchair, neurodiverse - it's an opportunity to actually really think what public journalism, public broadcasting, public media in all its forms can look like.
"Diversity is not just about ethnicity - it's about socioeconomic status, it's about education, the whole things that make the texture of the New Zealand population really interesting - and it's really easy when you go down the diversity box to go 'let's get a whole lot of Pacific people in' without recognising that Pacific people are not just people in South Auckland."
Doing this right will depend on who is assigned to the establishment board, he says. Whoever it is will have a big job ahead of them.
In today's Focus on Politics podcast, the government is pressing ahead with its planned mega media merger. Political reporter Katie Scotcher explores what it will mean for RNZ and TVNZ, as well the wider media sector.
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