Radio with pictures for Labour
Labour has denied a new broadcasting policy that would see Radio New Zealand launch its own television channel is a snub to Television New Zealand.
Radio NZ would probably get the bulk of an extra $38 million a year that a Labour government would allocate to public broadcasting, the party’s broadcasting spokeswoman, Clare Curran, said.
Labour leader Jacinda Ardern announced the party would provide funding for Radio NZ to set up a new non-commercial television channel, with the radio broadcaster morphing into a multimedia ‘‘public digital media service’’, dubbed RNZ Plus.
Curran said she hoped Radio NZ’s new TV channel would be broadcast on Freeview’s satellite and FreeviewHD transmission networks.
‘‘Don’t see it as snub TVNZ],’’ she said.
‘‘See it as a determination that the best way forward is to invest in the public service media that we already have.
‘‘TVNZ is state-owned but it is not public media – it is a commercial entity. Our expectation is it will continue to do its job and return a dividend to the Government.’’
TVNZ chief executive Kevin Kenrick said it was inappropriate for it to comment on the policy proposal because TVNZ was owned by the Crown and it determined the mandate within which it operated.
Curran said it was possible RNZ Plus would have more than one television channel in time. [to
Labour’s policy differs from that of potential coalition partner NZ First, which has indicated it would turn TVNZ 1 into an advertisement-free non-commercial television channel.
Curran said the remainder of the extra $38m of annual funding for public broadcasting would be apportioned via NZ On Air.
The split would be determined by a new Public Media Funding Commission, which Ardern said would be free from political influence.
Curran confirmed commercial broadcasters such as Sky Network Television and MediaWorks would still be able to compete for NZ On Air funding.
She expected NZ On Air’s mandate would be widened so it could fund other activities, including investigative journalism.
The Pubic Media Funding Commission would put in an ‘‘extra governance step’’ to provide independence, she said.
The commission, reporting to Parliament, would also work with RNZ Plus and NZ On Air to develop three-year funding plans and ensure they were ‘‘sustainable and ongoing’’.
Ardern said a strong, informed democracy needed ‘‘a strong, independent, free public media service’’.
‘‘Public media, backed with sustainable funding, is essential to ensuring all New Zealanders are engaged and heard. However, a commercial market cannot deliver all of this.’’
Sky spokeswoman Kirsty Way said it would not be commenting on political parties’ policies prior to the election.