TVNZ STAFF TO LOSE JOBS

Article from RNZ as follows:

TVNZ will start talks from Friday with staff who will lose their jobs in the state broadcaster's bid to stay "sustainable".

It is proposed that up to 68 jobs will be cut which equates to 9 percent of its staff.

TVNZ chief executive Jodi O'Donnell told staff on Thursday that "tough economic conditions and structural challenges within the media sector" have hit the company's revenue.

She said "difficult choices need to be made" to ensure the broadcaster remained "sustainable".

Changes like those proposed today were incredibly hard, but TVNZ needed to ensure it was in a stronger position to transform the business to meet the needs of viewers in a digital world.

RNZ understands a hui for all TVNZ news and current affairs staff will be held at 1pm on Friday. This follows separate morning meetings for Re: News, Fair Go, and Sunday.

A TVNZ staffer told RNZ it was not yet clear what the meetings meant for those programmes - whether they were to be fully cut or face significant redundancies.

RNZ also understands 1News Tonight might also be affected.

'Dire implications for our democracy'
Sunday presenter Miriama Kamo said the news of jobs possibly being axed was awful.

"It's devastating not just for our business, it's devastating for what it means for our wider society."

She said with the likely demise of Newshub it has "dire implications for our democracy".

When cuts were being made in news programmes at the state broadcaster that indicated how dire things had become.

"I'm very very concerned about what the landscape looks like going forward."

Last week, TVNZ flagged further cost cutting as it posted a first half-year loss linked to reduced revenue and asset write offs.

The state owned broadcaster's interim financial results showed total revenue had fallen 13.5 percent from last year to $155.9 million.

Its net loss for the six months ended December was $16.8m compared to a profit of $4.8m the year before.

O'Donnell said the broadcaster's management had tried to cut operating costs over the last year but there was now no option than to look at job losses.

"There are no easy answers, and media organisations locally and globally are grappling with the same issues. Our priority is to support our people through the change process - we'll take the next few weeks to collect, consider and respond to feedback from TVNZers before making any final decisions."

A confirmed structure is expected to be finalised by early April.

The layoffs at TVNZ have come one week after the shock announcement by Warner Bros Discovery that it intended closing its Newshub operation by the end of June.

It means up to 300 people will lose their jobs.

Broadcasting Minister Melissa Lee told Checkpoint on Wednesday she had spoken to TVNZ bosses last week but it was not up to her to reveal details of the conversation.

She declined to comment on Newshub's offer to TVNZ to team up in some ways to cut costs, nor suggestions TVNZ could cut its 6pm news to half-an-hour or cancel current affairs programming.