As NZ struggles to communicate during a natural emergency (because of our reliance on a cheap internet network rather than radio), as TVNZ went straight to their normal programming instead of disaster communications, as the RNZ/TVNZ Merger highlights the importance of public broadcasting infrastructure, let’s weep at the passing of what should have been a public broadcasting cultural Taonga.
Done properly, we could have seen a 24 hour news service on one of the plus one channels and a commercial free TVOne.
My imaginary TVNZ/RNZ public broadcasting weekday commercial free TVOne programming line up:
TV ONE weekdays
Overnight – 24/7 NZ News
6am – Breakfast Show (studio based with live crosses)
9am – NZ Arts show (studio based with external stories)
9.30am – fitness aerobics show (pre-recorded)
10am – Culture Show (studio based with external stories)
11am – Talk show (live in studio)
12pm – News (studio based with live crosses)
1pm – Local NZ drama (pre-produced plus old NZ dramas)
2pm – Story time for toddlers (pre-recorded)
2.30pm – Generic Kiwi Cartoon for young kids (pre-produced)
3pm – After School (studio based with live crosses)
4.30pm – Scifi youth drama (NZ made pre-produced and old school)
5pm – Local soap (NZ made pre-produced)
5.30pm – Sports (studio based with live crosses)
6pm – News (studio based with live crosses)
7pm – Hard hitting current affairs (studio based with external stories)
7.30pm – NZ Gameshow (live in studio)
8pm – NZ Documentaries
10.30pm – Late news (studio based with live crosses)
11pm – Late show – (live panel based panel debate of the day plus a band performance)
12am – 24/7 overnight news
Instead of a commercial free TVOne, we will continue with social media hate algorithms deciding the narrative.
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Both main channels could easily have been commercial free. Even that is much too few, since the A.B.C. has no commercials at all — on four different channels (or on the lengthy list of national and local radio stations).
However, the programming cannot be “too local” — otherwise it will have the appearance of a local non-network station. Or worse, a sort of overpriced community radio.
It should have a ‘World Focus’. You should be trying to make channels which anyone, anywhere in the world, will happily sit down and watch most of the programming — a major weapon of soft power.
Local issues can be dealt with in various special local programs. If you do that, it’s not hard to imagine that millions of people around the world would tune in on satellite to watch N.Z.B.C. News 24, or end up watching an N.Z.B.C. drama that is syndicated on Netflix.
bbc world news used to be on throghout the night(purely to fill out broardcast hlours I suspect) and while the bbc is the mouthpiece of whichever uk govt happens to be in power it did have locally based correspondants and covered stories a bit broarder than look at this young mum and her kittens…that’s how I heard about 9/11 the 2nd plane actually being televised live.
but that’s gone now.
The BBC is gone and RT too. More and more people are moving away from mainstream media because it only carries the designated narrative. Why watch the TV news when all the news thats fit to podcast is on the net plus analysis TDB, Brand, Rogan, Jimmy Dore, Taibbi, Greenwald. But you must hack your Wade your way through the long astroturf https://youtu.be/-bYAQ-ZZtEU
A programming schedule like that will steer the majority of viewers to channels that provide entertainment. There’s only a niche who want news, debates, current affairs and culture. Prove me wrong by a poll that most people prefer entertainment over the above. Or show the listernership of RNZ, which mostly matches your desired t.v. programming to the total listenership of other radio stations……
AS you will note thomas I did mention ‘through the night’ when all good children are beddy byes…if people choose crap they choose crap but at least have a side of beef in the buffet
I’d watch this TV. Private enterprise just can’t deliver anything of substance. Our media is essential for identity and democracy.
I have to say that our tax paying TV failed big time in covering news when we were face with natural disaster that put us into state of emergency. I wonder if coverage would have save lives.For the first 2 days there was nothing when we were all trying to cope with heavy rain then harrowing winds followed by more rain.
It certainly very sad and even though they started broadcasting it was a little too late. They need to be reviewed or better word investigated as why they though that cheap programmes purchase from overseas was better than broadcasting tha state of emergency that we are all facing.
Groan
Sports and game shows hogging primetime, arts and culture to 9/10 am dead zones.
So what would be new?