Media Insider: Why Jenny-May Clarkson’s Breakfast time is over
The end is coming swiftly – some might say brutally. Jenny May-Clarkson’s departure from Breakfast was delivered via press release just 40 minutes after she came off air yesterday morning.
There had been no warning, nor – surprisingly – any announcement on the show itself. Clarkson will finish, after six years on the Breakfast couch, next Friday – a full four weeks before the show finishes for the year.
Questioned about who had made the call, a TVNZ spokeswoman told Media Insider by email: “Jenny-May and TVNZ have agreed that Jenny-May will conclude her tenure on Friday 21 November, following a long and valued contribution.”
I think Jenny May-Clarkson leaving TVNZ is the death knell for public broadcasting on TVNZ.
I wasn’t always a fan of her, which was more to do with the fact she was previously a cop (I don’t trsut cops), but over the years Jenny May-Clarkson has risen to the most important title any New Zealand Woman can attain, that of Aunty.
Her emotional intelligence during very tough interviews mark her as a unique talent.
There really was only one reason to watch TVNZ Breakfast, and it was her.
Jenny reached Aunty status on TVNZ.
She was faultlessly kind and respectful but hard as nails when demanding accountability for a marginalised group.
She managed all this without a hint of elitism of condescension.
TVNZ ditching a broadcaster with the emotional intelligence of Jenny bodes ill for a Broadcaster who has effectively walked away from its Public Broadcaster Obligations and is now simply hoping to be sold off by National and privatised.
Losing an asset like Jenny merely highlights how far TVNZ have divested itself of any true mana.
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Our media is fucked under this CoC government who do not like to be asked questions or be held accountable for anything. They don’t see a value in us having our own NZ media and they bully the journalist. Everything is up for sale under this lot. And I see they are promoting themselves with billboards up in the Hutt Valley show casing Bishop re- the Melling link like it is or was his project, yet he held it back for 2 years as part of his cost cutting measures. The wealthy donors of the CoC lot will pay for all the expensive billboards to get these nasty pricks back in power we need to ensure this does not happen.