Elephant in the NZR interview room
Whoever lands the Head of communications role will need a thick skin . . .
Bigwigs at New Zealand Rugby have been interviewing this week, rucking through candidates for one of the most high-profile — and high-pressure — communications roles in the country: Head of Communications for NZR.
The search began after the recent departure of Charlotte McLauchlan, who finished in the role last year after a hectic spell that took in the Silver Lake dramas, the Fozzie v Razor debate and the near-miss 2023 Rugby World Cup campaign.
They’ve since stripped responsibilities for branding out of the role and it’s no longer an executive level position. But it’s unlikely the stress levels will drop — there are scores of stakeholders with axes to grind, the provincial unions are up in arms, stadiums are empty and Silver Lake rumbles on.
Whoever fills the role will have a greater degree of management for communications relating to the All Blacks squad.
Over time, the comms team for the All Blacks had grown to be more accountable to the (also recently departed) team manager, Darren Shand. Relations between the team and the media were legendarily frosty — and those with NZR HQ were little better.
NZR’s interview list this week featured a line-up of potential stars: High-profile communications professionals from governmentsector roles, major corporations and other major sporting organisations feature on the possible teamsheet.
The interview panel is headed by board chair Dame Patsy Reddy and CEO Mark Robinson. One possible question being put to the candidates might be: “What would your message to the public be if Dame Patsy resigns, as she threatened to do last week?”
The most obvious talking point is NZR’s governance review, and what impact that will have on the shape of the organisation.
There are few truly global brands in New Zealand.
The All Blacks and Air New Zealand are the big ones, with Fonterra also in the mix. In dark humour, the Head of Communications role at Big Dairy HQ was once known as “The Widowmaker”, due to the stresses and pressure of the job.
At Fonterra, a thick skin was mandatory.
Whoever lands themselves in the NZR role will need similar protection.
Government agency cancels sub NBR owner Todd Scott yesterday shared with Media Insider that Inland Revenue (“its biggest exclusive user”) had cancelled its full subscription to the website.
In an email shared by Scott, NBR said it was pulling out to focus on other priorities.
“Our Rich Listers will be delighted that IRD will NOT have access to data that you have extensively used in the past,” Scott wrote in an email exchange with the agency.
He said it was a “very sad day” that IRD was “so desperate” to save $36,000 a year given it was the site’s biggest user.
“I have always felt a sense of guilt that the IRD extensively relied on the research of my investigative journalists.
“I am pleased that they will no longer have access to The NBR List,” he told Media Insider.
Journalism schools react to media tumult
As newsrooms across the globe shut, or roll back spending, the institutions that educate aspiring reporters are grappling with training them for an industry with fewer and fewer jobs.
After Newshub’s proposed closure and tabled cuts at TVNZ, Media Insider approached Aotearoa’s main journalism training providers about the future of their programmes.
While some describe truncated enrolment figures, most remained upbeat and committed to teaching the journalists of the future.
Ara’s broadcasting school will likely be hit heaviest by a possible Newshub closure, as many in the programme have on-screen aspirations.
Although the school has a reputation for training some of Kiwi television’s top talent, including Jack Tame, Daniel Faitaua and Lisette Reymer, in recent years it struggled to attract new recruits.
The school, however, remains tight-lipped over whether it anticipates a drop in enrolment numbers, with manager Kathryn McCully stating that in a sector facing headwinds, they’re optimistic the “strongly industry-aligned” course will continue to be sought out by those looking for opportunities in media.
Meanwhile, at Wintec, where Newshub political editor Jenna Lynch trained, group director Sam Cunnane says enrolments in its journalism diploma have been low for some time.
The institution doesn’t anticipate a substantial reduction in students due to tumult in the media industry and only a “very small number” of its graduates go on to broadcast roles.
Over at University of Canterbury, where I studied, journalism lecturer Conan Young acknowledged it was a challenging time for the craft, but believed the thirst audiences have for “great yarns” would always be there.
“In many ways, our graduates will be better prepared to meet the new challenges presented by digital disruption than those already working in the industry who maybe don’t consider themselves digital natives.”
Similarly, Auckland University of Technology’s Dr Matt Mollgaard told Media Insider that for many of their students, recent industry job cuts were an opportunity to develop careers in new spaces for journalism across media.
The Screen, Audio and Journalism Communication Studies head of department said they were expanding AUT’s postgraduate programme into the field of indigenous journalism.
“There is always a group of people who believe in the ability of journalism to make the world a better place.”
At Massey, the University’s communication school head, Professor Stephen Croucher, said enrolments in its bachelor of communications journalism “remained healthy”.
“A student who studies a journalism major will also minor in another field of study. This equips them for work in more than one area, such as public relations or marketing.”
Name suppression nearly doubles
There’s often a groan around newsrooms when a defendant — especially a high-profile one — is granted name suppression.
The groan has become more of a growl over the last few years and, given the impression that defendants are having an easier time keeping their name secret, Media Insider enlisted Herald data editor Chris Knox to dig into the latest figures from the Ministry of Justice.
It may not surprise those who frequent district court media benches (some don’t even have them) that the data shows criminal defendants are keeping their anonymity at almost twice the rate they were in 2014, at least at the start of a case.
The vast majority of the increase has been in interim-only suppressions but these can limit the media’s ability to cover ongoing cases, particularly if there is a logjam in them going to trial.
Journalists are the eyes and ears of the public in a courtroom and the ability to report on who is involved in a case is central to the principle of open justice.
A decade ago, 1.3 per cent of those charged (1099 people) received some sort of name suppression. In 2023 that rose to 2.5 per cent (1616 defendants).
Media Freedom Committee chair Phil O’Sullivan said it was hearing many anecdotal examples of defendants requesting name suppression as soon as it was realised a reporter was in court.
“This makes reporting a case, and the public’s subsequent access to open court proceedings, that much harder to achieve,” said O’Sullivan, who is also TVNZ’s executive editor of news and current affairs.
Even the Ministry of Justice said it can’t be completely sure what’s driving the hike.
Ministry officials explained to Media Insider a relatively small increase in the proportion of sexual offences (30 to 33 per cent) over the period in question may have caused an outsized jump in the number of name suppression bids.
In my experience, people accused of sex crimes nearly always try to keep their name secret for as long as they can.
The Office of the Chief District Court Judge said judges were always mindful of the principle of open justice and the public and media’s right to know what happens in our courts.
However, the “right to know” needed to be balanced against the interests of other parties, the office said.
“Clear grounds need to exist that publication would be likely to cause extreme hardship to the defendant or a person connected with the defendant, cast suspicion on another person, cause undue hardship for a victim, create a real risk of an unfair trial or endanger someone’s safety.
“Often, if certain criteria are met, name suppression is granted temporarily and parties and media are given opportunity to argue whether or not name suppression should be granted permanently.”
Times Media in voluntary administration
Things are looking shakier for one of the country’s most enduring and endearing media firms.
Sadly for Times Media, the publisher of the reputable Howick & Pakuranga Times and a range of other titles, talks with potential buyers have failed to amount to anything and the business was placed into voluntary receivership last Friday.
Ben Francis and Garry Whimp of Blacklock Rose have been appointed administrators and are in the market for a buyer.
“If we are successful at finding a buyer, then one would hope the business would carry on as per usual,” Francis said.
No offer has been made, and Francis would not be drawn on whether there’s been much interest in purchasing the publisher.
“I wouldn’t be able to say if it’s optimistic or dire, I think there’s an opportunity here for the right person and it’s something that is certainly sellable.”
Radio New Zealand takes 30 Investigative reporter Guyon Espiner has something new simmering at RNZ. The seasoned journalist teased X — formerly Twitter — followers on Wednesday night with two posts shared only with the words “30 launches April 17”.
In one shot, set against a black and red studio reminiscent of current affairs programmes past, Espiner is leaning on a desk wearing a pensive look that almost guarantees tea is about to be spilt.
Later on Thursday, an RNZ spokesperson confirmed the 30-minute interview show would be broadcast across video, podcast and radio platforms.
“The idea is that it’s indepth and unedited,” Espiner told Media Insider.
“I think that’s really important at a time where trust in media has been declining. We’re saying ‘what you see is you what you get’ — we’re not going to manipulate this.”
Having been around the block with interview shows, Espiner said the format will allow him to “dig a bit deeper” as there is just one guest each episode.
“We’re going for a broad range of guests — politics, science, the arts — so there should be something for everyone.”