The radio show and 'broken promises'
A documentary of a revived Christchurch that never happened, a radio show run out of a garage, and a trail of ‘‘broken promises’’. These are the latest allegations against a troubled media company.
Zone Media Limited was formed in July last year by director Jacob Williams (formerly known as Zach Anthony), with Brodie Williams listed as the manager. In the following months, the company, which claimed to specialise in film, radio, and online, racked up about $82,000 in debts.
Abe Coulter, a sound and lighting freelancer, met Brodie Williams in November 2016 while in Lyttelton organising food for HMNZS Canterbury to send to Kaiko¯ ura following the quakes.
Brodie Williams, who at the time was running Zone Productions, asked to interview Coulter about what he was doing. The conversation ended with Williams offering him a job as a production manager.
A short while later Brodie Williams discussed with Coulter his plans to do a documentary on Christchurch following the earthquakes. Back at Brodie Williams’ parents home was a whiteboard full of various tourist hotspots they could visit as part of the documentary.
Yaldhurst Museum manager Jon Everitt said Brodie Williams appeared at the museum one day saying he wanted to do a feature on it as part of the documentary.
‘‘They came back again and had another look around and then they disappeared and then a few weeks later they made the appointment and didn’t come.’’
Everitt had promoted the museum as free entrance on the day of the appointment to drum-up some interest.
‘‘They didn’t ask me for any money, just a lot of false promises. They were telling me they were making TV shows for an Australian network.
‘‘They didn’t look very professional. I just thought they were a bunch of jokers when I first saw them.’’
In an email to Zone Productions at the time he called their communication ‘‘terrible’’.
‘‘You turned up on spec last week with no prior communication to book a day to film.
‘‘You have not asked me anything about the museum’s history or actually asked anything research-wise.’’
Whıtau School, formerly Linwood North School, principal Sandra Smith said Brodie Williams, a former pupil, volunteered to film the opening of the new school hall last August.
It was held on the 110th anniversary of the opening of the original school, with Governor General Dame Patsy Reddy also in attendance. ‘‘It was a wonderful occasion,’’ Smith said.
‘‘There was no cost involved, he volunteered to do it, but I never saw the product.’’
Coulter was also brought in to be a co-announcer on Brodie Williams’ radio show, called Zone FM and Pop FM, which was run out of his parents garage in Linwood.
‘‘He said he did radio, it was a desk with a computer running some so-called radio software . . . he had a small transmitter with a little aerial outside of the garage and two low-quality microphones, they had terrible sound quality.’’
The show consisted of prank calls to other radio shows, nearby businesses and other strangers, Coulter said.
He said the news bulletin was read out straight from Newshub’s website.
He queried Brodie Williams about reading the news off the site on air, but said he was told: ‘‘It’s a free website and anyone can read it.’’
Coulter said Newshub found out Brodie Williams was reading off their website and asked him to stop.
Coulter’s time working with Brodie Williams came to an end by May 2017 after a falling out.
Coulter, who had no employment contract, received no wages during the time he was working there and claimed he was owed about $8000.
He plans to speak with Zone Media Limited’s liquidator about getting his money back.
Brodie Williams told The Press Coulter was a ‘‘disgruntled acquaintance’’, and claimed Coulter stole equipment from him.
‘‘Abe doesn’t know anything about my business,’’ Brodie Williams said.
He confirmed he had planned to make a documentary but ‘‘it never eventuated’’.
Coulter disputed the theft allegation and said the equipment belonged to him.
Brodie Williams and Jacob Williams moved into a two-storey apartment in Ferrymead at the end of July. The property’s owner, Vince Williams said the apartment was in ‘‘brand new condition’’ after earthquake repairs. By the time the men were evicted six months later, it was ‘‘wrecked’’.
The Press received photos of the men dropping a flat screen TV in the middle of the road from either a forklift or scissor lift. Another photo shows a Zone Media branded forklift after it crashed into a street light.
The tenancy ended in December, a month after a fire broke out in the ground floor of the apartment after a discarded cigarette butt in an office rubbish bin caused $15,000 damage.
In a earlier statement Zone Media said staff would not comment and had been asked not to be contacted by reporters.
‘‘Any reporter seen or found to be contacting Zone Media Limited staff or following them will be informed to the police and to reporter’s management for harassment.
‘‘This also includes taking photos of Zone Media staff.’’