TVNZ on Campbell: Coup timing a coincidence
Television New Zealand’s news boss realises people may think it is no coincidence that a doyen of the right wing, Mike Hosking, left its stable and a doyen of the left, John Campbell, has now joined it within a year of a Labour-led government coming to power.
The state-owned broadcaster said Campbell would move to TVNZ from RNZ in September.
The announcement comes as Communications Minister Clare Curran prepares to decide how to carve up $15 million of extra funding for public-service journalism that was set aside in the last Budget.
But TVNZ head of news and current affairs John Gillespie said the timing of the editorial changes really was a coincidence.
He agreed some people might be cynical about that, but downplayed suggestions that Campbell’s appointment might strengthen any case TVNZ had to be viewed as the natural home for public-service journalism.
‘‘I more see it that we know One News is the most trusted news. John will just continue to ensure we stay the most trusted.’’
Former TVNZ news head Bill Ralston said he couldn’t guess whether Campbell’s appointment might influence the Government’s media-funding strategy.
Curran has signalled she would like to fund RNZ to move into television and the Government would like to pour more money into publicservice journalism in the future.
‘‘I think RNZ will proceed with what it always had planned which is to build up its stock of ‘one-off’ programmes and little series and to put them up on its website,’’ Ralston said, adding that Campbell was ‘‘a valuable commodity for anyone in television broadcasting and radio’’.