New Zealand’s Public Broadcaster Cuts 60 Staff as Media Job Losses Continue

The TVNZ building on Victoria St West in Auckland, New Zealand on Aug. 17, 2016. Fiona Goodall/Getty Images

Up to 68 roles at Television New Zealand (TVNZ) will be cut, with around 35 of them from the news and current affairs division.

The latest in a series of job losses at major media companies, with the news comes days after the company announced an interim operating loss of $4.6 million for the last six months of 2023.

It follows the decision by Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), owner of TV3, to shut down all that channel’s news operations—branded as NewsHub—on June 30, including its flagship 6 p.m. bulletin, with the loss of around 300 jobs.

Meanwhile, earlier this year, Stuff, which began life as a newspaper publisher and then rebranded as a multimedia producer, shut down its video-based long-form documentary unit Stuff Circuit.

Details of the exact nature of the cuts at TVNZ are still unclear, although it’s understood that the team responsible for Sunday—the channel’s sole remaining investigative programme—have been called into a meeting with bosses. It’s also rumoured that the 6 p.m. news could be cut back from an hour to 30 minutes.

‘Confronting’ Day Ahead

In an internal email, TVNZ chief executive, Jodi O'Donnell, said tomorrow will be a “confronting” day as staff are taken through proposals. Some staff reportedly found out about the restructuring from radio reports on their way to work in the morning.

The 68 roles that will be cut represent almost 10 percent of the state broadcaster’s 700-strong workforce.

The channel’s Head of News Phil O’Sullivan said in an internal email that the proposed cuts are “devastating.”

“We are giving 24 hours’ notice prior to meetings with those whose roles may potentially be impacted,” he said. “This is happening across all departments at TVNZ.”

The logo of 1News, TVNZ's flagship 6 pm news show, which may be cut back from an hour to 30 minutes as the broadcaster seeks to contain costs. Source: TVNZ

“This is devastating for those people invited to meetings and very tough for everyone else ... There is not a lot more I can say at this point, except to please ask we show respect and kindness to those affected by today’s announcement. As always seek out support if you need it. We are in the leadership team are happy to talk despite the limitations on what we can say.”

Ms. O'Donnell said in a media statement that TVNZ’s executive team had been focused on reducing operating costs over the last 12 months.

“Unfortunately, we’re now at the point where we need to reduce the size of our team to bring our costs more in line with our revenue. Changes like the ones we’re proposing are incredibly hard, but we need to ensure we’re in a stronger position to transform the business to meet the needs of our viewers in a digital world,” she said.

“There are no easy answers, and media organisations locally and globally are grappling with the same issues. Our priority is to support our people through the change process—we’ll take the next few weeks to collect, consider and respond to feedback from TVNZers before making any final decisions.”

Deputy PM Says Media Also Contributed to Their Situation

ACT Party Leader David Seymour implied in an interview on March 7 that it was hypocritical for media outlets to ask for taxpayer support, while also reporting unfairly on politicians.

He said it was not true that media outlets were entirely at fault, saying the “landscape is changing,” noting traditional advertising had declined.

“But it’s also true, I saw a report on 1News [TVNZ’s 6 pm bulletin], Benedict Collins grinning down the camera about Chris Luxon’s apartment costs,” the deputy prime minister added.

Earlier this week, Mr. Seymour posted previous social media comments about him made by the co-chair of Health Coalition Aotearoa and noted: “@1NewsNZ was shown this before it ran a story at 6 p.m. quoting [the HCA], but chose not to inform its viewers.”

He has also accused TVNZ senior journalist John Campbell of “quoting and linking to a left-wing blog that is promoting wealth tax-supporting David Parker for Labour leader.”

TVNZ Presenter John Campbell who was singled out by ACT Party Leader David Seymour for linking to a "left-wing blog" in a social media post. Phil Walter/Getty Images for TVNZ

“They have spent years celebrating and dancing at every slip that a politician makes, competing to get scalps as they call them,” Mr. Seymour said in the interview. “And all of a sudden they say, ‘But oh when we have a bad day you’ve got to be kind to us.’ I think it shows their delightful lack of self-awareness and immaturity.”

A TVNZ spokesperson defended the channel, saying: “David Seymour has singled out 1News reporter Benedict Collins for doing his job—that is, challenging politicians and policies across the political spectrum on behalf of New Zealanders.

“We are not asking for sympathy, but are asking for our politicians to respect the independence of our media so they can get on with their work.”