Journalism educators are calling for RNZ’s impending staff cuts to leave its newsrooms alone.
The Journalism Education Association of New Zealand (JEANZ) says New Zealanders already have too few journalists working on their behalf.
“If they’re making sweeping cuts, they should leave their journalists alone,” said JEANZ president Dr Greg Treadwell.
- READ MORE: ‘A colossal mistake’ – Media Minister rules out coming to RNZ’s aid after budget blowout
- Mediawatch: RNZ blowout = big cuts + big hit to reputation
- RNZ plans job cuts after shock $12m loss
- Other RNZ reports
The public broadcaster this week announced a $11.8m fiscal blowout and plans to sack up to 60 staff.
If RNZ needed to make workers redundant, it should seek emergency funding to make sure that did not include its journalists, he said.
“We already have half the number of journalists per capita of Australia, and frankly New Zealanders need more, not fewer,” said Dr Treadwell.
Financial incompetence should bring consequences but not for our democracy, he said.
‘Sack the board’
“Sack the audit committee. Sack the board and chief executive. But don’t punish the listeners.”
If it took emergency funding from the government to keep RNZ newsrooms intact, so be it, he said.
“Better that than further diminishing RNZ’s ability to inform citizens with the news they need every day, not to mention when disasters like Cyclone Gabrielle strike.”
RNZ was the country’s emergency broadcaster and must be able to do its statutory job.
It was time the government stopped using New Zealand’s national broadcaster as a political football and reassured the public it would provide the funding it needs to do its job, Dr Treadwell said.
Big cuts + big hit to reputation
RNZ Mediawatch reports that the state-owned broadcaster’s “top brass kept a tight lid on the alarming details” until the annual financial results and latest annual report were published on Monday.
“It’s sad and ironic that [RNZ’s] own failure of oversight has now prompted it to cut more jobs and capacity at a crucial time.”
