KEY POINTS:
Television New Zealand is insisting its stunning "anything goes" interpretation for accessing charter cash is nothing new.
And the state broadcaster claims that the idea of a level playing field with TV3 and MediaWorks is a myth.
That's because its $20 million in direct Government funding does not
come close to covering its extra responsibilities as a state owned broadcaster, TVNZ says.
Chief executive Rick Ellis has raised eyebrows by taking $2.77 million of charter money to pay half the budget of the prime time current affairs show Sunday.
After all the show has been on air for five years, producing standard magazine style current affairs while retaining its independence.
Shows like Sunday have an important role in an election year and should be protected by TVNZ bosses.
Now as producers plan election coverage - and while Helen Clark ticks off TVNZ for wasting "taxpayer money" on Close Up - TVNZ is taking Government money.
Clark's arguments about taxpayer money being wasted were a shot across the bow of TVNZ at the start of election year. Close Up doesn't use taxpayer cash But the Sunday funding decision opens the door for more attacks in the future.
We asked TVNZ what the ground rules were for using taxpayer money for shows - including programmes like Sunday that have survived before without grants while TVNZ returned commercial profits.
The answer reveals that the charter - while it may be used for some valid new fresh and innovative programming such as arts - is being treated as a wide open funding trough to cover financial foul-ups from years of mismanagement and meddling in state TV.
From all the hype and hoopla, we may have thought that the charter was meant to bring change to TVNZ and improve viewing.
But TVNZ clearly sees it as a way to keep its head above water.
Spokeswoman Megan Richards said the charter is to make shows that would not be made in a purely commercial environment.
But now it seems the environment has got worse, and without charter cash it would have to scrap a lot of shows.
"Our ad revenue has dropped, and our share of NZ on Air funding is also going down. Something has to give," she said.
"Direct funding for Sunday gave us more flexibility around what we can make in other genres.
"There are no worries here about a perceived vulnerability to pressure. Our Sunday journos don't care who or what funds the programme and their editorial independence is protected by legislation," Richards said after discussing the matter with Ellis.
NEED FOR JOURNOS
The decision to take direct Government funding of its prime-time current affairs show suggests that there is no one in the top management team at TVNZ who knows or cares about the role of a state broadcaster in an election.
Why is that?
Probably because there is no one there to keep an eye on it.
For the first time there are no journalists in the top management at TVNZ. In the past, former journos like Julian Mounter, Brent Harman, Shaun Brown and Ian Fraser were senior executives.
Current chief executive Ellis has no such background and does not see the significance of the new step with Sunday funding. The head of television Jeff Latch is a marketing man who worked on Touchdown TV.
He is a nice enough chap, but has never been a journalist.
In the past the head of news and current affairs - it used to be Bill Ralston - has had a place at the top table. But as TVNZ made cuts, Ellis specifically took the news and current affairs department out of the top table.
Consequently the head of current affairs at TVNZ Anthony Flannery declined to comment about government funded current affairs and sent us to Latch.
LOOKING AFTER OWEN
David Jamieson, the public relations consultant assigned by Baldwin Boyle to look after billionaire expatriate Owen Glenn has moved on, creating speculation that he withdrew from his role amid the fascination regarding his client's statements to the media. But Jamieson's bosses at Baldwin Boyle said his departure last week was planned and energy company Vector confirmed he would be starting in a PR role on Monday.
Looking after Glenn while he was in town would surely have been well remunerated, but it has proved to be the job from hell for Baldwin Boyle.
Glenn's openness about his loans to political parties has given a fascinating glimpse of politicians and how they pick up funding.
So some would argue Glenn has come out of the furore looking good - openly stating his position.
The combination of a confident billionaire philanthropist with politics and the Electoral Finance Act has created a brilliant unfolding news story.
But you would imagine it could be hard work for a PR company to handle.
Baldwin Boyle chief executive Steve Fisher has taken over the contract but he declined to discuss the outcome of Glenn's media excursions so far.
Other respected public relations consultants approached by the Business Herald said that assignments like Glenn - where money meets politics in the middle of big news - were fraught.
And this one had been intriguing. One PR expert who asked not to be named said that such assignments could be nightmares, and more trouble than the fee was worth.
Another said that there was always a danger with confident people who believed they could correct problems by talking about them more - when those comments could often make things worse.
One option was to keep Glenn away from the media - but given the furore in his wake, would that be an option?
KR WANTS AN ICON
Saatchi & Saatchi Worldwide chief executive Kevin Roberts is pining for an advertising account for New Zealand allowing it to show its nationalist fervour.
"Not having Air New Zealand any more and not having New Zealand Tourism or Lotteries is very sad for us," Roberts told the Business Herald.
"The greatest desire of [Saatchi New Zealand chief executive] Andrew Stone was top be closely involved with a something iconic for the nation, We do Television One which is very heartland and DB, beer is about as New Zealand as you can get. I would be thrilled to have a big iconic national brand."
Roberts is featured in an interview in the Weekend Herald.
WE'RE NOT TOAST
TVNZ has replied to queries we made last week and claims by TV3 that the TV One Breakfast show is suffering bad ratings so far this summer like TV3's Sunrise.
It's worth noting that Breakfast Business at 6am is already approaching the audience numbers that ASB Business used to attract at the 6.30am slot - and is certainly rating 2-3 times better than TV3's equivalent, the business bulletins in Sunrise.
AGB Nielsen results comparing the start of 2008 with 2007 show overall viewers for Breakfast were up slightly with a rating of around 2.9 per cent compared to 2.7 last year.
Ratings in the target 25-54 age group were up more substantially from 2.7 per cent to 3.8 per cent.
TVNZ head of news and current affairs Anthony Flannery said that Breakfast hosts Paul Henry and Pippa Wetzell had "gelled" while Sunrise had been "flat".
