NZ On Air welcomes strengthening of public media
Many of you will have seen today's announcement by Minister of Broadcasting and Media Kris Faafoi about the Cabinet decision to create a new public media entity.
Today’s announcement deals in the main with the new entity noting that it will subsume RNZ and TVNZ (but with the brands and services retained), will be editorially independent, governed by a charter, supported by commercial revenue and receive baseline funding through Manatū Taonga.
While the announcement doesn’t go into detail about NZ On Air, the Cabinet paper is clear that NZ On Air will continue to play a vital role alongside the new entity. In particular there is an expectation that NZ On Air and the new entity will work collaboratively to ensure there are no gaps or double ups in funded content, and expectations that the new entity will not bring a substantial amount of production work in-house.
For the coming year (2022/23) it is BAU for NZ On Air.
Alongside our usual funding work, we will be working with Manatū Taonga and the Strong Public Media Establishment Board over the coming year on remaining operational questions such as:
- how oversight of all funded public media content to reduce duplications or gaps is achieved
- and how best to support collaboration between NZ On Air, the new entity, and other media organisations on the creation and distribution of local content.
As a government agency required and committed to delivering content outcomes for all of Aotearoa, a greater focus and investment in public media outcomes is absolutely welcomed. Looking ahead, we are energised and excited by the future possibilities and remain committed to serving the many different needs of the audiences in Aotearoa, while continuing to work closely with the sectors we support in delivering amazing content outcomes.
If you'd like to read more detail behind today's announcement there is a raft of papers released on the Ministry's website here, including the Cabinet paper.
Ngā mihi nui
Cameron Harland
CE