Now the only programme on that station I consistently tune into is Sunday Morning with Jim Mora.
I’m not alone in tuning out. Karl du Fresne writes:
More recently I abandoned my decades-long habit of tuning into Radio New Zealand’s flagship news and current affairs show Morning Report. In both cases the naked bias, especially in interviews, became too much. Jacinda Ardern, the darling of the media left, never experienced anything remotely resembling the hectoring, aggressive treatment I heard Christopher Luxon being subjected to.
It’s not that I’m a fan of the NZ government (I’m not) or want my news with a right-wing slant. . . I choose not to because I want my news free of spin from either end of the political spectrum. In the words of the old police detective trope, ‘Just give me the facts, ma’am.’ I’ll decide for myself what conclusions to
It’s the lack of balance, the bias, and opinion masquerading as analysis that is turning people off.
Because of that I have no qualms about the announcement from Media Minister Paul Goldsmith that gives money for local council and court reporting and takes some from RNZ.
New funding will ensure New Zealanders have access to independent local journalism that keeps them informed about what’s happening in their communities, Media Minister Paul Goldsmith says.
“Regional journalism helps keep communities informed and holds decision-makers to account.
“Budget 2025 will invest $6.4 million over four years in council, community and court reporting across New Zealand. The funding will be distributed through NZ on Air.
“Open Justice and Local Democracy Reporting have been successful programmes with an emphasis on reporting, rather than opinion. This funding expands them.
“It will get funding into regional newsrooms so that more local frontline journalists can report on the things that matter to their audiences.
Local papers and radio stations are struggling against alternative digital media but still play a very important role as the fourth estate in reporting on councils, community happenings and court.
The funding will be allocated through New Zealand On Air and in contrast to media funding from the last Labour government, it comes without strings attached dictating what and how the media reports.
Budget 2025 also adjusts Radio New Zealand’s funding.
“RNZ has had funding increases in recent years, most notably a boost of $26 million a year in 2023, on top of a previous increase of $7.3 million per year in 2020.
Budget 2025 reduces RNZ funding by approximately $18 million over four years, or $4.6 million a year, equivalent to approximately 7 per cent of its annual Crown operating Budget of $67 million.
“This savings initiative recognises that government-funded media must deliver the same efficiency and value-for-money as the rest of the public sector.
“I expect RNZ to improve audience reach, trust and transparency. I am confident the organisation can do so while operating in a period of tightened fiscal constraint.
The cut still doesn’t take RNZ’s funding down to what it got before last year.
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RNZ and its followers won’t be happy but it is lack of trust and transparency that have led to the drop in audience reach.
A publicly funded radio station has an obligation not just to its listeners but to the taxpayers who pay for it to do it without a partisan slant.
It is still being funded generously. It’s journalists and hosts should be using their undoubted talents to appeal to a far wider, and more numerous, audience, and doing it with balance and a lack of bias.
Ele Ludemann is a North Otago farmer and journalist, who blogs HERE - where this article was sourced.
7 comments:
stopped listening so long ago. The constant smearing of non maori the ignorance of the hosts and the appalling bias. Kim Hill's attack on Posie Parker was unforgivable. She has always been arrogant and rude but nothing in that interview was based on fact.Kellie -Jay Keen should've sued RNZ for millions.
Likewise, National Radio or RNZ was a constant in our house for decades.
Then came the 5 min of untranslated Maori babble to greet us, followed by blatant left and Maori indoctrination.
Off, and I would not even tune in during a disaster - never to be trusted again.
As for the local newspapers, same as the rest of the media - anything other than neutral comment, and written in a hybrid language that is neither English or Maori.
The crossword is OK sometimes though you never know if the word you are looking for is English or Maori.
As if anything would change.
Radio NZ was once the only station I listened to, but I also gave up a number of years ago. Even the advertisement free programming couldn’t keep me. I see no reason for tax payers to keep funding it.
Over the decades from teenager I have spent many hours with RNZ more or less as background. The calamitous reduction of listeners has corresponded with the championing of the policy of maorification as envisaged by Willie Jackson and still ardently pursued despite he not now being the Minister.
And with the dumbing down of programme material.
A very disproportionate number of "announcers" are trace maori and/or maori aligned. Maori activists appear so regularly I can recite their names. Saturday morning has become a pain, followed by arch maori Julian Willcox with about one programme in six of interest to or tolerable by unrelated maori or non maori. All interspersed with his hyenic maori laugh, the bane of anyone with partying maori neighbours or who has ever overheard PD gangs. The maori/pro maori announcers unashamedly lead interviewees. Gratuitous te reo for days of the week, cities mahi, rohe etc. '
Listener comments are read out; all entirely standardised, repetitive, predictable political slogans, and unchallenged.
The assumption seems to be that traditionally RNZ appealed only to retired elderly and with age these were diminishing. The fact that intelligent thoughtful interested persons are constantly retiring seems to have escaped RNZ. Or that many thinking folk have occupations which do not require total attention all the time. ight classical music has entirely vanished. Had it not been for RNZ in the distant past I would hardly know of its esxistance. John Gordon, Frank Muir and co, Peter Fry have no current equivalent. Modern Listeners would never learn of the existence of light classical music, Strauss, Mozart, etc or the musicals. Instead we have sheer bedlam programmes, plebs requesting the pleb muaic of their pleb youth, and puerile time filler quizzes,
Management should listen to the 1970s tapes recently recovered from the old Broadcasting house site.
"funding allocated by NZ on Air" is why this latest brain-fart will go nowhere and achieve even less. Just stop the funding you morons.
I catch the RNZ bird call and the time signal at 9 am if it’s convenient. But that’s it - I’m another formerly lifelong listener that has given up on them. It’s a lot of funding for a bird and 6 beeps.
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