RNZ's radio ratings and radio work have been in the spotlight. Photo / Mark Mitchell
RNZ’s boss fronts up to some unhappy staff members following a scathing review of their radio performance; Collapsed film production boss’s former home for sale; Hugh Grant’s praise for a Kiwi journalist’s investigation into social media harm.
Some RNZ staff are fuming over a scathing independent review and blunt assessment of their radio work, with their union describing it “hurtful” and “distressing” - and saying it is unhappy about the “pretty poor” way it has been handled.
RNZ says it’s “natural for people to have a reaction” - it has been rolling out staff meetings this week involving chief executive Paul Thompson.
The recently completed independent review - written by former RNZ news boss Richard Sutherland and commissioned following a series of sluggish radio ratings - delivers a withering assessment of RNZ’s radio endeavours.
Sutherland, who interviewed more than 50 people for the review, outlined a culture of “blame-shifting” and “low ambition” and said “some people shouldn’t be on air”.
The most worrying theme in his review, he said, was that most staff, from junior producers to senior executives, believed radio live listening was a “sunset industry”.
The report was released last week to the NZ Herald under the Official Information Act and to staff on the same day.
RNZ says the independent review is “frank” and “robust”, but not every “suggestion” in it will be advanced, and that it will work with staff on the public broadcaster’s audio plans.
E tū union director Michael Wood felt the report had been handled “pretty poorly”.
“While there might be some points in the report that bear consideration, the way in which our staff, in parts of the report, seem to be getting fingered and blamed ... for an organisation whose direction has been set by management over a number of years, it’s pretty on the nose.
“The tone of the report was very unhelpful in terms of bringing people together to consider any changes that might need to be considered.”
Asked specifically what in the report had caused upset, he said: “Well, obviously particular comments in the report – without providing names – referred to some people, particularly people who are fronting on the network, needing to be moved on.
“It’s a pretty unhelpful and frankly pretty hurtful way for a formal report that’s been released in this way, to talk about the staff of the organisation ... obviously that has been distressing to some people, both people themselves who might be in those positions, but also to their colleagues.
“There’s going to be a period of change; people should be brought along, and this isn’t a good start.”
In a response earlier this week to questions about staff anger, RNZ issued a statement to Media Insider stating: “Chief executive and editor-in-chief Paul Thompson met with radio team members and shared the audio plan with the organisation last week.
“The Sutherland advice, which is just one input into the plan, was also shared. As we made clear at the time, the advice is frank and robust, but not every suggestion will be advanced.
“We welcome and value questions, feedback and the sharing of concerns any time from our people. It’s also natural for people to have a reaction to advice which is candid.
“We are focused on the audio plan, which our staff will play a critical role in delivering.”
Last night, RNZ made some additional points in response to the union’s comments.
“The chief executive has held a series of meetings with our kaimahi [staff] to discuss RNZ’s audio plan and priorities for the year ahead. Eight have been held so far, with a further two sessions planned over the coming days.
“In these sessions, the chief executive has outlined the support available to our kaimahi, including a doubling of voice and presentation training that will mean they are fully supported to play their part in growing RNZ National’s audience.”
Wood said the union acknowledged that from time to time organisations needed to “review where they’re at and that change is a part of the media landscape”.
Staff weren’t resistant to that, “but you should do it well and bring people along”.
He said the union was planning to talk to RNZ “in the coming period”.
“We’ll be looking to initiate dialogue. We’ll be looking to raise concerns about the way this was managed and the impact it’s had on staff, and we’ll be looking to affirm what we think the values of a good quality public service broadcaster should be and how we can try and affirm those values and anything that comes out of this report in a way that respects some of the people who work there.”
RNZ chief executive Paul Thompson initially told Richard Sutherland his report would be confidential.
“Nothing is out of bounds in terms of what you consider and recommend,” Thompson told Sutherland in an email released to Media Insider under the Official Information Act.
“We will be undertaking a major reset of the station and our approach to live audio; and I am seeking your independent, frank guidance on how best to do this.”
He asked Sutherland to provide advice on implementation challenges and risks, “and how we should mitigate these”.
“The report would be confidential to me, though it is likely I will share it with the Board and senior executives.”
RNZ, as a public broadcaster funded by taxpayers, is subject to the Official Information Act and provided the report to the Herald after it was requested under the act.
Which raises the question of whether Sutherland would have been as forthright if he had known from the outset the report would be made public.
He could not be contacted last night.
In a statement, RNZ said: “After the [Sutherland] advice was received, it was decided that it should be shared with kaimahi [staff] transparently.
“We appreciate that this advice will be challenging for some members of RNZ’s team, but as a perspective from someone outside of RNZ, it brings a different view and we felt our people should be allowed to read this for themselves
“We cleared this approach with the author of the advice prior to its release.”
Thompson wrote in the appointment letter that he wanted a succinct report “analysing the live listening decline on RNZ National, assessing the current performance of the station, its strengths and weaknesses, and proposing an actionable high-level blueprint to turn the station around”.
“At a bare minimum, that would entail addressing audience decline and achieving cume [cumulative audience] of 500,000-plus in 12 months.”
RNZ will be looking forward to some possibly happier news next week, with the release of its latest ratings.
The results for commercial stations were released yesterday, with Newstalk ZB’s audience share up again. It has extended its number-one position on that measurement, although its overall cumulative audience fell from 647,200 to 620,000.
RNZ’s cumulative audience at the last survey was 467,700, and the company is striving to get back over 500,000 within 12 months.
We should know RNZ’s total audience by early next week. It would be surprising if it hasn’t arrested some of the decline.
The Whangaparāoa home once owned by Stripe Studios boss Alex Breingan is on the market.
Property records show the home is now owned by Breingan’s wife and another person.
Breingan, who is understood to be now living in the United States, was the managing director of Stripe Studios (Stripe Media). It and 12 associated companies were placed into receivership in 2024, amid millions of dollars of debt and inquiries by authorities, including a Serious Fraud Office referral.
A range of creditors, including Kiwibank, Hollywood star David Hasselhoff and American comedian Iliza Shlesinger, are owed more than $20 million across various projects.
Breingan’s former home, which is understood to have featured in some previous home renovation shows produced by his company, is due to be auctioned in September.
“Over the past 15 years, it’s been the backdrop for beachside mornings, poolside afternoons, and long summer evenings spent with friends and family under the Louvretec roof, pizza in the oven and laughter spilling out into the garden,” says the real-estate listing.
“The kids grew up here ... Now that they’ve grown, it’s time to downsize ...”
The agents handling the sale declined a request for comment last night. Breingan’s wife did not respond to a message.
There was some happier news in this saga back in May, with an announcement that a series that Hasselhoff filmed with Stripe in New Zealand in 2023 had been rescued.
Warner Bros Discovery - then the owner of Three - said it has secured the rights to the Hasselhoff series. It revealed it has a new name - Hoff Roading - and would screen this year.
“Hoff Roading was picked up by Perpetual Entertainment’s New Zealand team to be completed after the series was filmed in 2023,” according to a statement from Warner Bros Discovery.
Perpetual Entertainment New Zealand managing director and executive producer Vicki Keogh said: “Resurrecting this production was important, not just to ensure the hard work of the cast and crew is seen, but also to repair relationships with international talent.
Hasselhoff said he was thrilled the series was back on track.
“Taking a road trip through New Zealand with Rhys Darby turned out to be one of the best adventures I’ve had,” said Hasselhoff.
“The country is breathtaking, every turn felt like a movie set and Rhys kept me laughing the whole way. We came together for a show, but I left with a real friendship and a deep love for New Zealand. I’ll be back, no question.”
Many eyes will be on the stock market this morning - is this the day we finally hear whether Sky TV has a new rugby rights deal?
The publicly listed broadcaster releases its full-year results this morning. As NZ Herald senior business reporter Chris Keall wrote this week: “The dividend, earnings guidance, advertising, new satellite gremlins and the Discovery NZ deal will also be in the frame.”
We’re in the middle of The Great New Zealand Road Trip series, and I’m filing this column from Christchurch.
We’ve already met a raft of amazing Kiwis this week, and I’m looking forward to seeing many more over the coming seven days.
We have a series of great yarns lined up.
If you know a great Kiwi character, project or business, please email me at roadtrip@nzme.co.nz
Former NZ Herald reporter Olivia Carville continues to make waves in global journalism with a new film based on her reporting earning rave reviews and the eye of actor Hugh Grant.
“Brilliant. Inspiring. Vital.” Grant wrote on X, after recently attending the British premiere of Can’t Look Away, a Bloomberg documentary based on Carville’s work.
Can’t Look Away reveals the devastating and deadly dangers of social media algorithms and content on young people – and the inaction of global tech giants to prevent needless tragedies.
Carville, who left New Zealand to pursue her journalism career in the United States seven years ago, is an investigative reporter for Bloomberg’s Businessweek.
She is an executive producer of Can’t Look Away and was pictured alongside Grant at the film’s British premiere.
The film earned a four-star review from the Guardian, which described it as “a harrowing, heartbreaking indictment of social media’s ruthlessness”.
“Based on the investigative work of Bloomberg journalist Olivia Carville, this film covers the attempts of minnow legal outfit Social Media Victims Law Centre to net the sharks of Silicon Valley,” wrote Guardian reviewer Phil Hoad.
“It represents a host of families who have suffered heartbreaking losses due to unpoliced extreme online content: children and teenagers who fatally copied auto-asphyxiation or pro-suicide videos, ones who killed themselves after falling victim to sextortionists, or who overdosed after buying off-prescription meds from predatory dealers.”
While Grant was not involved in the project, he has been outspoken in the past about the perils of social media.
The father of five recently criticised British education authorities for allowing pupils’ screen addictions. The Notting Hill and Four Weddings and a Funeral star said he was “another angry parent fighting the eternal, exhausting and depressive battle with children who only want to be on a screen”.
Carville wrote in a recent Bloomberg newsletter about her US work: “For the past three years, I’ve been travelling the country investigating the dangers of the digital world for Bloomberg Businessweek.
“I’ve interviewed hundreds of people – from the trust and safety professionals who work inside these companies to teachers, police, prosecutors, lawmakers and experts. I’ve met families who’ve lost children in Arkansas, California, Florida, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, New York and Wisconsin. I’ve read too many suicide notes on smartphones.
“Can’t Look Away is based on that body of work. The documentary takes viewers inside the high-stakes battle for corporate accountability – and while parts of the film can be difficult to watch, it chronicles one of the most essential issues of our time.”
Carville, a former NZ Herald, Stuff and Toronto Star journalist, has been in the United States for the past seven years, firstly studying at Columbia Journalism School in New York, before Bloomberg hired her as an intern.
Before that, in 2017, she led the NZ Herald’s acclaimed Break the Silence series that investigated New Zealand’s abnormally high teen suicide rate, a project that won her best investigation and the Herald best editorial campaign at the annual Voyager Media Awards.
From New York, and in April last year, Carville spoke to Media Insider about another of her related investigations – the rise of sextortion on social media sites.
That’s where young people build an attraction with others and are tricked into sharing nude images, only to then be extorted for money.
Carville told Media Insider at the time she had been “reporting on the intersection of child safety and the digital world for a number of years now”.
This included writing about TikTok, Snap, Meta “and the various ways young users have been harmed by social media”.
“An entire generation of kids has grown up addicted to smartphones and we have no idea what the long-term consequence of that psychological experiment is going to be,” says Carville.
“Because I write about the dark sides of the digital world, I’d heard about this growing crime called sextortion. It wasn’t until I became aware of the tragic death of Jordan DeMay that I decided to write about it.”
DeMay, a 17-year-old American student, took his own life in March 2022, soon after an Instagram direct message (DM) exchange with “Dani”, a person he originally thought was a young woman.
A few hours earlier that evening, the rising football and basketball star had shared with “Dani” a nude photo of himself after building a rapport that turned flirtatious.
But as soon as the photo was sent, “Dani” revealed themselves to be a scammer, successfully extorting an initial US$300 ($507) from the teenager by threatening to release the image unless he paid.
That payment didn’t stop “Dani” from wanting more money. “She” kept at Jordan that night, threatening to release the image to his girlfriend, family and friends.
In just a matter of hours, Jordan was dead, having taken his own life in his bedroom just after 3.30am.
“Dani” turned out to be two scammers, brothers based in Lagos, Nigeria, who were extradited to the United States in 2023 and last year pleaded guilty to conspiring to sexually exploit teenage boys.
Editor-at-Large Shayne Currie is one of New Zealand’s most experienced senior journalists and media leaders. He has held executive and senior editorial roles at NZME including Managing Editor, NZ Herald Editor and Herald on Sunday Editor and has a small shareholding in NZME.
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