The CEO of Mediaworks is complaining about RNZ getting so much juicy public money…
Hit pause on RNZ+, urges Mediaworks CEO
Mediaworks CEO Michael Anderson is about to go to war with the Government over RNZ’s planned new TV venture.“It won’t work and it puts at risk the very thing they want – media diversity.”
…which is funny because I don’t remember the CEO of Mediwaorks complaining about state support when they managed to get a sweet heart loan from the National Government for their licence fees.
The irony that Mediaworks are bitching about Labour’s broadcasting policy when it was John Key’s mate, Mark Weldon, who killed off Campbell Live for political reasons is eye rolling, but let’s put aside all the self interest and consider the argument against RNZ being the de facto public broadcaster because there are good reasons why Labour’s plan to drown RNZ in cash is a bad idea.
The issue is this. Radio NZ, for all the wonderful things it does, is still an elitist establishment first and foremost.
Remember when Wellington branch threw a tantrum over John Campbell being appointed?
Remember they only started caring about Te Reo once Willie Jackson had called them out on it?
Remember the sycophancy of their 9th Floor series?
And of course, remember me being banned for life from RNZs Panel because I supposedly ‘defamed’ the Prime Minister John Key?
Don Brash was resentful that he has to wake up and listen to Te Reo on Radio NZ each morning, while the rest of us feel resentful having to wake up to Guyon Espiner each morning. Espiner has such a smug level of undeserved self importance that he probably cries out his own name during orgasm.
RNZ is elitist and at a time when we have looming economic crashes and vast upheaval of ideas, RNZ doesn’t have the depth of class based ideology to cover those challenges because Radio NZ is as far from working class as humanly possible without actually taking up residence in Mike Hosking’s arsehole.
Let’s be clear, I believe RNZ should get extra funding, but not ALL the extra funding because as Mediaworks CEO Michael Anderson points out, that dramatically reduces the media diversity – the irony of course is that Mediaworks don’t bother attempting to put a progressive or openly left wing current affairs alternative to market because they’re still fighting over a diminishing audience of angry reactionary rednecks.
The new Government would be far better placed to put some of this money with NZ on Air while removing many of the current barriers that stop NZ on Air funding current affairs shows that are prepared to challenge the neoliberal hegemonic economic and cultural structure.
We saw in America and the UK that elite media missed the populist response to Trump and Brexit, if the new Government wants the populace to debate and understand the super structure of the system they are operating under, then funding media that actually does that rather than chase the cheap screams or the elitist high brows is required.
More money for RNZ is a solution to part of the problem, it are as hell isn’t the solution.
Martyn,
https://www.nbr.co.nz/article/winston-calls-govt-explain-bail-out-mediaworks-owned-johnny-foreigner-ck-87880
it was the crooked Broadcasting minister Steven Joyce in 2009 who was found out to be arranging a $25 million dollar Government loan for a Media company to take over & upgrade his own company “radioworks”
whom he bought all the previous AM government stations in NZ for a peppercorn price then in the 1980-90s when the first round of selloff’s of Government assets went ahead with peppercorn fire-sale prices of our Government assets.
This was critisised by the Labour party in opposition at that time.
Scoundrels they all are it seems, we are a truly third world country now with shoddy deals going around behind our backs all the time so labour need to jump in and fix all the corruption now.
https://www.nbr.co.nz/article/winston-calls-govt-explain-bail-out-mediaworks-owned-johnny-foreigner-ck-87880
Winston in 2011 finally requested government explain the use of Government to lend money to an overseas company to buy Joyes radio network.
Although the scurrilous activities of self-serving liars is a major ‘problem’, the really big problem is the censorship that both the private sector and the so-called public sector impose. And that kind of censorship is a natural consequence of the commercial basis of broadcasting and the commercial basis of government…….ultimately banks and corporations, with opportunists ‘looting the till’ along the way. Short-term preservation of business-as-usual always comes first.
Those who listen to commercial radio and so-called public radio ( I don’t listen to either) are subjected to a litany of lies, misrepresentation and misinformation, and any mention of the real agenda or where the current, dysfunctional system is taking us is banned.
The future will be grim, after which it will be far worse, as we ‘fall off the cliff’ of abrupt climate change, energy depletion and collapse of fiat currencies. However, commercial interests -both within and outside of government- will make bucket loads of short-term money ensuring that a grim future is exactly what the next generation get.
Give Mediaworks CEO Michael Anderson a break – he just wants a level playing field.
One on which he is the only player!
“Don Brash was resentful that he has to wake up and listen to Te Reo on Radio NZ each morning, while the rest of us feel resentful having to wake up to Guyon Espiner each morning”….YES, so true.
And how does Mike Williams get to be the “(Pragmatic, Apologetic, Compromising) Voice from the Left”..
and how does a tsunami NOT happening in Alaska get more air time that your average bombing raid in Yemen…
I’ve had some blatantly racist emails from RNZ explaining how ‘people’ are more interested in American Train derailments than death and mayhem in those sorts of countries….manufacturing consent…and constructing/deconstructing empathy, thats the MSM for you.
Yes SIOBHAN; – exactly RNZ is now a right wing media.
Mediaworks CEO Michael Anderson better tread carefully. Next time his company wants a bailout by the taxpayers, the government is likely to tell him to get stuffed! Truly biting the hand that feeds!
Bring on the revolutionary rednecks
https://www.redneckrevolt.org/
Anderson should pay closer attention to his own TV3 and radio channels. If viewers are deserting TV3 and mediaworks radio, there has to be a damn good reason for that. Probably because Mediaworks isn’t giving people what they want: intelligent media!!! And enough of the so-called “REALITY TV” crap!
TV3 had a class-act asset with John Campbell and they screwed themselves when they dumped him. So Mediaworks has no one to blame but itself.
Anderson can piss off.
I heard an interview with the new broadcasting minister (on Radio NZ’s Mediawatch) in which she explained why TVNZ is too far gone into game show commercialism to be resuscitated as a public broadcaster. Funding Radio NZ to continue what they’ve started with cross-platform shows like Campbell’s Checkpoint is *much* cheaper than creating a whole new public tv channel from scratch.
Don’t forget there are also two Māori TV stations that receive a lot of public funding and broadcast a lot of public interest programming. There are also the iwi radio stations and community access stations receiving public funding to record and broadcast a lot of public interest programs, a lot of which have their audience significantly extended via podcasting those programs on their websites. It’s not like RadioNZ+ will be the only publicly funded media outlet in the country. I think Bomber has an axe to grind here, and his views on this need to be taken with a grain of salt.
Guyon Espiner: I need to purge my spleen here.
For most of the time he’s talking he sounds as if he’s being diverted by something very fascinating. Reading. Texts. Something.
If he cannot conduct a focused interview or narrative – could they please bring back that delightful harridan Kim Hill, and her smooth-as-cream pair John Campbell? Or even the ever-tart Sean Plunkett, for all his many non-PC sins. He didn’t need the auto-cue crutch.
Yes yes yes ANDREA,
Bring back Kim Hill she is delightfully riveting to hear from, and give her a roving reporters spot where she can come to our ‘neck of the woods ‘ to interview us on our issues please as she will report the facts correctly and make an impact that will help us all..
Yes yes yes ANDREA,
Bring back Kim Hill she is delightfully riveting to hear from, and give her a roving reporters spot where she can come to our ‘neck of the woods ‘ to interview us on our issues please as she will report the facts correctly and make an impact that will help us all..
The hypocrisy of corporates who demand a taxpayer handout in one instance and criticise taxpayer funding for non commercial activities is breathtaking. Media works’ CEO can get stuffed.
It’s not what you know but who you know and if who you know is one of those who dance on black and white tiles wearing a white pinny with one leg pant rolled up then quids in you’ll be okay…yah! Sometimes ya just have to bend over backwards (or frontwards) for the pennies to roll:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ulb0pLBgRCw
No apology given ’cause this is the way it’s gonna roll.
Priceless Helena.
“those who dance on black and white tiles wearing a white pinny with one leg pant rolled up”
The next time Mediaworks wants a bail-out, someone remind the current Minister for Broadcasting about Mr Anderson’s little tanty.
He can go to the free market for a bailout next time.
Martyn you were banned from RNZ because Jim Mora is a right wing gonk who wants to have soft lefty’s like Brian Edwards who spends his time agreeing with that nasty Boag woman.
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