MEDIAWATCH: If TVNZ is in the battle for its life, slashing their 1News website will quicken that death

Deep concerns as TVNZ signal more significant changes – Etu

E tū, the union representing TVNZ workers, is raising significant concerns over the broadcaster’s proposed sweeping changes, which could reshape not just TVNZ, but Aotearoa New Zealand’s wider media landscape.

E tū Negotiation Specialist, Michael Wood, has called for full and meaningful engagement as these proposals are considered, emphasising the potential risks to both TVNZ and the country’s media ecosystem.

“The scale of change being proposed here is enormous,” Michael says.

“This is not just a transformation within TVNZ, but one that could have far-reaching consequences for the entire media sector. These changes must be worked through with great care, and E tū and its members will accept nothing less than genuine engagement from all parties involved.”

While E tū acknowledges the necessity of shifting towards a digital future, the union is deeply concerned about the potential loss of TVNZ’s core strengths, particularly its skilled staff and capacity to deliver in-depth, quality journalism.

“We support the move towards a more digital service, but this must be done in a way that preserves the essence of what makes TVNZ valuable. It’s crucial to safeguard the ability to investigate and report on the stories that matter.

“Cutting back on text-based content while simultaneously removing successful video programmes like Fair Go and Sunday raises serious questions about the direction of these changes. If TVNZ is serious about a video-first strategy, they need to invest – not simply slash resources.”

A key concern is the proposal to outsource jobs, potentially overseas.

“Outsourcing jobs threatens TVNZ’s most important asset – skilled, experienced staff, with deep institutional knowledge. Outsourcing not only risks losing these skills but can lead to higher costs and a weaker organisation. We’ve seen this play out in other sectors, and it’s not a path we should go down.”

E tū is also questioning the Government’s role in pressuring TVNZ to deliver a dividend during such a pivotal moment for the organisation.

“It’s difficult to understand why the Government would maintain pressure for a dividend in this environment. TVNZ is undergoing major upheaval, and it would be wise for the Government to reconsider its expectations while these significant changes are being negotiated.”

E tū members will hold a union meeting on Thursday to fully discuss the proposals and decide the next steps.

The terrible and gutless retreat from Fourth Estate Journalism that the TVNZ Quislings are about to enforce upon NZ are cowardly and beneath the mana of the craft of journalism.

By dumping the open sourced news site 1News, we will be a more pitiful information desert.

Allowing Discovery to strangle off the NewsHub website was bad enough, allowing TVN to do it is a self mutilation too far.

The only reason TVNZ are moving everything behind their on demand + site is to sell advertising between the videos.

This has nothing to do with their obligations to the Democracy they are supposed to be serving. Instead they will become a gated community that provides little Fourth Estate oversight while turning their viewers from citizens into consumers.

The TVNZ Board are pitiful and have failed in their obligations to News Journalism.

Last nights debate was not exclusive or behind a paywall. We handed the stream out live to other media companies so that the people could utilise the content as citizens rather than paying consumers.

If TVNZ is in the battle for its life, slashing their 1News website will quicken that death.

 

Increasingly having independent opinion in a mainstream media environment which mostly echo one another has become more important than ever, so if you value having an independent voice – please donate here.