TVNZ broadcasters Hayley Holt, Andrew Saville and Helen Castles; Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is quizzed by 8-year-old Finn Loughlin. Photos: TVNZ, supplied, Lead on Purpose podcast.
Two of our best sports broadcasters are in a showdown for their roles; Top TVNZ exec and likely new news boss joins hīkoi; NZME’s drastic newspaper cuts as Government dithers over legislation; The PM, the podcast and a maths blunder; Top PR agency sold.
Two of New Zealand television’s most familiar and popular faces are among those caught up in TVNZ’s widespread restructuring proposals, with the state broadcaster planning a shake-up of its sports presenting team.
It is understood TVNZ is looking to reduce the number of sports presenting roles attached to its 6pm news.
Right now, Andrew Saville and Hayley Holt – two of this country’s best broadcasters – fill the roles permanently, although Holt has been on maternity leave and is not due back until early next year. There have been a number of other presenters acting as back-up in recent months including Jenny Suo, Zion Dayal and Kate Wells.
Neither Saville nor Holt wished to comment yesterday.
Sources have confirmed the pair are among the many TVNZ staff affected by the state broadcaster’s proposals to axe about 90 roles and create about 40 new ones – for a net loss of about 50 jobs.
Like Breakfast, where the number of fulltime presenting roles is expected to drop from four (that includes one back-up) to two, the number of sport presenting roles is set to be reduced.
“Out of respect for TVNZers’ privacy we are not commenting on individuals or their roles,” a TVNZ spokeswoman said yesterday.
“More broadly, all the changes we are proposing, including those in news, are focused on contributing to TVNZ’s $30m target and delivering on our Digital+ strategy. How New Zealanders are watching TV – whether it’s sport, news or entertainment is rapidly changing and this means TVNZ needs to change in order to meet audience needs.
“The proposals in front of the business are just that, proposals. We are seeking feedback from our people and this will inform and shape the outcomes.”
Both Holt and Saville have enjoyed happy personal news this year.
Saville married TVNZ colleague Helen Castles in an idyllic beach setting in Northland in January.
Castles has also been caught up in the TVNZ restructuring over the past week and a half, with a proposal to disestablish the Northland reporting role.
The pair spoke of their love in a Woman’s Day article in April.
“I’m quite a driven person, but Helen keeps me on my toes,” Saville told the magazine. “She doesn’t let me get away with anything and makes me laugh. There’s never a dull moment!”
Castles said: “He’s a real softie, and is so gentle and kind. He makes me feel very safe.”
NZ First deputy leader Shane Jones was among the guests at the wedding.
“I first met Helen in 2005 when she was a cub reporter at the Kaikohe newspaper, and though it has been almost 20 years, she has grown into a very lovely and beautiful woman,” Jones told the Herald at the time. “She is now a senior reporter in the media industry and has always carried herself with professionalism and mana. I wish the happy couple all the best.”
Meanwhile, Holt has been on maternity leave following the birth of her second child in May.
She shared the news on Instagram, along with several photographs of her newborn son Kingston Kawenata Tito-Holt - “our latest blessing” - with her older son, Raven, now 2.
Holt left Breakfast for the sports role in August 2020.
“Sport has been part of my life ever since I can remember and I’m excited to be bringing viewers these great stories alongside Sav,” Holt said in a media statement at the time.
One of TVNZ’s most senior executives – and the person considered most likely to fill the broadcaster’s proposed new supercharged news and content executive position – has taken annual leave this week to attend and support the North Island hīkoi.
TVNZ chief content officer Nevak Rogers’ presence in a personal capacity at the hīkoi - as well as several posts on her Instagram social media account - has caused consternation among some staff, but TVNZ has defended her position.
Just three months ago, the state broadcaster was championing the importance of the impartiality of its newsroom, releasing an editorial policy to enhance its “transparency” and “inspiring trust in news”.
Rogers, who looks after content and programming, is not part of the TVNZ newsroom but is widely considered to be the frontrunner to become the state broadcaster’s new chief news and content officer.
Under TVNZ’s restructuring plans, the proposed new role essentially combines her existing role with the role of executive editor - news and current affairs.
“How appropriate is it ... that the exec who could be heading up the news and content teams is posting from the hīkoi with her kids?” said one TVNZ source.
“[I] understand it’s her kaupapa and her personal right to be there but posting it seems a bit over the line given that responsibility and influence she may have in the future, heading up the TVNZ newsroom - it just seems at odds with everything I’ve ever seen from TV execs and certainly news heads trying to preserve that exterior of neutrality.”
Another source said: “Not a good look”.
The news division is currently headed by the executive editor of news and current affairs, Phil O’Sullivan, while content and programming – that’s all the other, non-news shows on TVNZ – is headed by Rogers.
A TVNZ spokeswoman said: “Nevak took annual leave and attended the hīkoi as a private citizen. She is entitled to do so.”
“TVNZers who work in news and current affairs may have additional requirements asked of them under the impartiality standards of our editorial policy, however as Nevak is not part of this team, these do not apply,” the spokeswoman said.
“The concern expressed here is speculative. The chief news and content officer role has not yet been advertised or appointed.”
A request to speak to Rogers was declined. However, the spokeswoman said that Rogers “would like to note she attended in a personal capacity with her whānau”.
Earlier this year, Rogers posted images on her account of her and TVNZ chief executive Jodi O’Donnell in Los Angeles, drinking wine at celebrated locations while on a business trip – just as TVNZ employees were embroiled in a messy employment dispute to save their jobs back home.
TVNZ later said the posts were inappropriate.
TVNZ has already found itself at the centre of a debate about impartiality following a testy interview on Breakfast between Act leader David Seymour - whose Treaty Principles Bill has sparked the hīkoi to Parliament - and host Jenny-May Clarkson.
“It is ‘some’ people’s opinion that it is a divisive bill. It is your job to reflect the views of all New Zealanders, not to take sides,” Seymour told Clarkson last week.
Hundreds of jobs have been lost in the New Zealand media industry this year, as the Government continues to dither over a planned new law that would force tech giants like Google to pay for the locally produced journalism that helps fund their lucrative business models.
As Media Insider reported yesterday, NZ Herald publisher NZME is proposing to close 14 community newspapers, with the loss of about 30 jobs – a body blow for local news in many New Zealand regions and the latest bombshell in a year of major media cuts and closures.
The titles, all in the North Island, are no longer profitable in the face of a changing media landscape and rising costs, NZME said today.
They include mastheads such as the Te Awamutu Courier, whose origins stretch back more than 100 years.
The 13 other titles proposed for closure are Hauraki-Coromandel Post, Katikati Advertiser, Te Puke Times, Taupō & Tūrangi Herald, Napier Courier, Hastings Leader, CHB Mail in Hawke’s Bay, Stratford Press, Bush Telegraph in Tararua, Whanganui Midweek, Manawatū Guardian, Horowhenua Chronicle and Kāpiti News.
Manawatū District Council mayor Helen Worboys told The Post that the closure of the Guardian was concerning.
She said community news was vital in building local pride and something that social media was not fulfilling. “We have lost that community and it’s sad. What happens to the wellbeing of communities?”
The latest job losses come as the Government wavers over the future of the Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill.
The bill had been a priority on Parliament’s order paper at the start of the week, but by Wednesday and again yesterday, it had been relegated to a “no-man’s land”.
The Government is saying the bill is not ready.
However, the latest delays follow a meeting between Google and Media and Communications Minister Paul Goldsmith last Friday.
Google has been throwing a tantrum about the bill. It has been threatening to blow up its existing New Zealand news agreements and remove any ability for users to find local news on its search engine, in ramped-up threats to oppose new legislation.
“They’re playing their usual games, being as obnoxious as they can be,” one source told Media Insider earlier.
In a statement on the NZME cuts yesterday, Goldsmith said: “It’s a challenging time for those working in media and my thoughts are with all those affected. Ultimately, those are operational decisions for NZME to speak to.
“The Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill wasn’t ready this week. We’re still working through the detail. When we have something to announce, we will.”
That is very careful wording. Goldsmith’s office refused once again yesterday to answer a very basic question - is the Government committed to the bill?
One well-placed source says the proposed legislation is being “left to die”.
NZME chief executive Michael Boggs said: “Although the bill wouldn’t have had a direct impact on the print advertising decline in our communities, the bill will help even the playing field between global platforms and local news operators.
“They are using content produced by our journalists for their own commercial gain and they should be paying for it.
“We were pleased to hear both the Prime Minister and Minister Goldsmith confirming this week that they are committed to the legislation going ahead as it will be a big help to the media industry at a challenging time.”
News Publishers Association public affairs director Andrew Holden said NZME’s announcement was a “sad indication” of the difficult trading conditions, “for even our largest media companies, and how the dominance of the advertising market by overseas tech companies is having a profoundly negative impact on the industry in New Zealand.
“The Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill is intended to provide our media companies with the ability to sit down and negotiate with these tech companies, and through that negotiation receive fair payment for the use of their journalism.
“While the NPA doesn’t believe this legislation is the only solution, we do believe it is a vital step forward in developing financial stability for our media industry.”
Perhaps it was the comfort of the soft leather chair and the smooth, smiling inquisitor with his bright-eyed questions.
With a sense of ease and warmth, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon had just answered a string of questions from 8-year-old Finn Laughlin: What would he do if he was invisible? (sneak into McDonald’s for a quarter-pounder meal); what’s the hardest thing about being the PM? (making the toughest and sometimes unpopular decisions) and what’s his favourite snack? (custard squares).
So far so good.
But Finn wasn’t finished – it was time to round out the interview with some “quickfire questions”.
Now, if this had been a seasoned, cynical journalist or broadcaster, Luxon might have been on full guard.
But with a smile on his face, he was ready.
Finn: “5 times 5?”
Luxon: “25″
Finn: “7 times 8″
Luxon: “42″
Finn didn’t hesitate: “56”
Luxon: “56, sorry! 56! You’re right, sorry!”
He nailed the follow-up, 12-times-12 answer, prompting Finn to congratulate him. “Good job! I’m glad you got that!”
“Shivers, I’m glad too, mate” responded the Prime Minister, laughing.
Luxon told Media Insider: “I don’t get everything right and full credit to Finn for catching me out on my times tables. I want every child to be at the top of their game in maths and our government is squarely focused on achieving that through our Make it Count action plan.”
The interaction came on the back of a longer podcast conversation between Finn’s dad, James Laughlin on his independent podcast Lead on Purpose.
The new episode, released today, comes as much has been written of the influence of podcasts – and their increasing reach – in the lead-up to Donald Trump’s convincing US election victory this month.
Trump’s three-hour podcast appearance with Joe Rogan has been viewed 50 million times on YouTube, and both he and Kamala Harris targeted other chart-topping podcast shows to reach voters beyond both traditional media and social media platforms.
We haven’t yet seen that same influence in the New Zealand market.
Interestingly, one of New Zealand’s most popular podcasts, Between Two Beers – hosted by Steve Holloway and Seamus Marten – turned down an interview opportunity with Luxon this year.
The pair spoke at length about that decision in another of their podcasts, revealing how they’d spent days agonising over whether such an interview was right for their brand, whether they’d actually draw the Prime Minister away from well-polished political responses, and the feedback and expectation of listeners.
In the Lead On Purpose podcast, Luxon is in a fairly relaxed mood as he chats with James Laughlin, talking up the potential of New Zealand, building his team of ministers, and implementing some basic building blocks to get New Zealand “back on track”.
Luxon describes himself as an “extrovert”, away from the three-second grabs that people might see on the TV news each night.
“I am not a career politician. I have had 30 years in business,” he says, noting he’s often accused of corporate speak.
But he defends his approach to ensuring the likes of the public service approach clients with a “customer mentality”, and is especially adamant that public servants tackle clearly defined problems.
He’s proud of specific policies such as the mobile phone ban in schools – kids were now talking to each other directly and there were more “rugby balls going through windows”, he says.
To catch the full episode, please visit here.
This week we catch up with Steve Holloway, one half – along with Seamus Marten – of the hit podcast Between Two Beers.
Creative and PR consultancy firm Hustle & Bustle has been acquired by Greg Partington’s Waitapu Group.
Hustle & Bustle – which has worked with global brands such as Veuve Clicquot, Moet & Chandon and Dom Perignon and individuals such as Peter Burling, Blair Tuke, Josh Emett and Dan Carter – was co-founded by managing director Gemma Ross 11 years ago.
The sale price has been kept confidential but it will now come under the umbrella of Waitapu, an independent New Zealand collective of creative and media companies. It is owned by Partington, one of New Zealand media’s most colourful advertising and media executives.
Waitapu’s line-up of agencies also includes advertising and media company Stanley St, social media specialists Culture, production house Film Three Sixty, data and analytics experts Magnetic, and School Road Publishing, publisher of North & South and Woman magazines.
Ross, who stays on as managing director of Hustle & Bustle, says the new move is “exciting”.
“This acquisition opens up new horizons for our team and clients alike. The partnership allows us to draw on the extensive resources available within the group, creating holistic brand and communication solutions that meet the evolving needs of our clients. We’re excited to leverage our combined capability to drive even greater success.”
Waitapu Group chief executive Elizabeth Beatty said the addition of a PR agency into the collective further embedded its position as an industry-leading cohort of “creatives, disruptors and storytellers”.
“By adding a leading PR consultancy of Hustle & Bustle’s calibre to the Group, we expand our ability to build brands which capture the hearts and minds of Kiwis by harnessing the power of earned media and brand experience.
“Gemma and her team have a great reputation in the industry and I am confident that Hustle & Bustle will not only seamlessly bolster our group capabilities, they will continue to lead the way in innovative PR strategies, driving impactful innovation that resonates with audiences and elevates clients to new heights of success.”
We’re on the road again – from coast to hinterland – in a new editorial series to gauge the mood of the nation and celebrate the very best of New Zealand.
As we head into summer and out of a post-pandemic economic recession, it’s time to reset and uncover some of New Zealand’s great stories.
Join us for the Great New Zealand Road Trip, during which we’ll be meeting notable and everyday Kiwis helping make a difference in their towns, regions, country, and the world. Or there might be a strong story in the plight of your town and community.
In association with MTF and with the help of our NZME teams, editor-at-large Shayne Currie is travelling the country – starting in Northland from Wednesday, November 20, and winding his way south for the following fortnight.
Do you have a story that’s worth us covering or a person in your town or city worth speaking to?
We’d love to hear from you.
PLEASE EMAIL: roadtrip@nzherald.co.nz
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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