TVNZ’s chief content officer, Nevak Rogers, attended the Te Pāti Māori linked Toe Toitū Te Tiriti hīkoi in opposition to ACT’s proposed Treaty Principles Bill, while on annual leave.
Her posts on social media prompted questions from TVNZ staff. According to one source: “How appropriate is it… that the exec who could be heading up the news and content teams is posting from the hīkoi?”
While TVNZ defended Rogers’ right to participate as a private citizen, some staff view her public support as conflicting with TVNZ’s impartiality policy, introduced three months prior. Rogers oversees all non-news programming but is also a frontrunner for a proposed new role of chief news and content officer.
The policy, introduced three months prior, aims to build “transparency” and trust in news, which critics argue Rogers’ actions may undermine.
Her social media previously raised ire when she showed her and TVNZ’s CEO, Jodi O’Donnell, enjoying a pricey, taxpayer funded Los Angeles junket, which coincided with a contentious employment dispute affecting TVNZ staff back in New Zealand. The posts were later deemed inappropriate by TVNZ.
The policy, introduced three months prior, aims to build “transparency” and trust in news, which critics argue Rogers’ actions may undermine.
Her social media previously raised ire when she showed her and TVNZ’s CEO, Jodi O’Donnell, enjoying a pricey, taxpayer funded Los Angeles junket, which coincided with a contentious employment dispute affecting TVNZ staff back in New Zealand. The posts were later deemed inappropriate by TVNZ.
Editor’s note: TVNZ’s Independence & Integrity standards guidelines specifically mandate that the newsroom must operate without influence from “political, sectional, commercial or personal interests.”
By attending and publicly supporting the hīkoi associated with politically sensitive issues, Rogers arguably risks creating the perception that she—and potentially TVNZ—aligns with a specific political stance.
The Centrist is a new online news platform that strives to provide a balance to the public debate - where this article was sourced.
5 comments:
Since when has TVNZ been impartial? I remember back in Muldoon's day NZ television was completely one sided, with reporters like Labour's Simon Walker. Their coverage of the Springbok tour had no impartiality at all, particularly in their embarrassing fauning to the Black African dictatorships whose civil rights were far worse than South Africa's. When Lange was elected, he got a free ride. Then all sorts of people would call themselves Labour, regardless of their politics, so that television would promote them.
Let me fix a paragraph:
By attending and publicly supporting the hikoi associated with politically sensitive issues, Rogers HAS UNDENIABLY created the perception that she and WITHOUT DOUBT TVNZ aligns with a specific political stance.
Unfortunately the left just can't help but prove me right.
It's hardly rocket science. In public life perception is reality. So impartiality may well be the policy and BCNZ staff may well assert they are impartial to a fault, but it's what the public see them do that matters, not what they assert they do. But then when has BCNZ ever cared what their viewers thought?
The BBC try to appear neutral and generally they do a reasonable job, though I'm told they are drifting left.
However, having dumbed down the general population, TVNZ, are openly defying the government and promoting Maori supremacy.
If Luxon had any gonads he should have immediately stopped all PIJF funding, read the riot act and instructed TVNZ to go back to neutral.
To ensure that, he should have a "monitor " in there making sure that happens.
Sadly, Luxon continues to refuse the mandate he was clearly given.
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