RNZ chief executive pays tribute to one of his most loyal lieutenants - will her departure spark a top table overhaul, amid budget cuts?
One of RNZ’s most influential executives has resigned.
Megan Whelan’s departure, as head of content, comes at the same time as the public broadcaster faces budget cuts and increasing pressure from the Government over its ratings performance and trust levels.
Whelan’s role includes oversight of RNZ hosts and other talent.
“I will miss her. She is a fantastic, talented colleague,” RNZ chief executive Paul Thompson said in a statement provided to Media Insider on Wednesday afternoon.
“Megan has done it all at RNZ. She started as an intern and worked her way up the organisation via the newsroom, RNZ Pacific, The Wireless, the digital team, and stints as acting CEO.
“Along the way, she has worked as a presenter, a commissioner of content, a mentor and coach, and a trusted colleague for me on the executive team.”
Whelan did not respond to direct questions about why she was leaving, but in a statement provided to Media Insider, she said she was energised to “take everything I’ve learned and contribute that passion, creativity, and leadership to a new chapter”.
That “new chapter” has not been revealed. She leaves RNZ on August 15.
“I walked through these doors 20 years ago, the day after the London bus bombings,” Whelan said in the statement.
“Even then, I understood the enormous privilege and responsibility of delivering information, connection, and comfort in moments of uncertainty.
“That sense of purpose has never left. Whether I was livestreaming kittens to Facebook, crossing live from an election in the Pacific, or guiding a documentary from concept to its Film Festival premiere, I’ve been proud to work alongside incredible people telling stories that matter.”
Whelan did not respond to a question about whether she had taken voluntary redundancy.
Media Insider revealed in June that RNZ was seeking voluntary redundancies, just a month after it was told by the Government that its budget would be slashed by almost $5 million a year for the next four years.
In 2023-24, under the previous Labour Government, RNZ’s annual budget was boosted by almost $25m, from $42m a year to $66.6m. That funding injection was maintained by the National-led coalition for 2024-25.
But in the Budget this year, its funding was reduced by almost $5 million (about 7%) a year for the next four years.
The previously boosted budget had helped RNZ lift staff numbers from 309 to 347, while those earning more than $100,000 have increased from 107 to 145. The company’s overall salary budget increased from $32m in 2022-23 to $37m in 2023-24.
As Media Insider reported in May, industry observers believe staffing numbers and the overall wage bill will have to come under the spotlight, perhaps even from the top down.
According to its annual report, RNZ has nine executives whereas TVNZ - with some 500 staff - has six. NZME, with more than 1100 staff, has been overhauling its executive and is landing on 11.
Whelan’s departure may be the trigger for a top-table overhaul.
Media and Communications Minister Paul Goldsmith said in a statement in May that despite the budget cuts, “I expect RNZ to improve audience reach, trust and transparency. I am confident the organisation can do so while operating in a period of tightened fiscal constraint”.
He later told Media Insider that RNZ had done a good job in building its digital engagement; its website now a clear third behind Stuff and the NZ Herald.
“Yes, you can have an app which a lot of people read and engage with and use the material that RNZ is developing, but they should never lose sight of the fact that the core business is having live radio and doing that well in a competitive environment.”
He said he could never interfere with RNZ editorial decisions, “but as a shareholding minister, I am interested in the performance of the organisation and there are a couple of really core measures”.
“Are people listening, and how they are competing, and then secondly, the broad issue of trust and how does the general public feel about their trustworthiness as a source?”
GFK data shows RNZ has a cumulative audience of 467,700 – a fall of 21,900 (4.5%) since the previous ratings release in November 2024.
In the first survey of 2020, RNZ had an audience of just over 654,000 and was more than 110,000 ahead of its commercial news rival Newstalk ZB.
Five years on, RNZ is now almost 180,000 listeners behind ZB.
RNZ, which once led the market, is now eighth based on cumulative audience – behind ZB and six music stations (Breeze, More FM, ZM, The Edge, The Rock and Mai FM).
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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