The first day of the post-Today FM era
Its sudden axing has many wondering whether the station will prove to be a canary in the coalmine
Mōrena and welcome to The Bulletin for Monday, April 2, by Catherine McGregor. Presented in partnership with Z Energy.
In today’s edition: a cabinet mini-reshuffle may be on the cards for today; Chris Bishop says Cyclone Gabrielle a reason for National’s poor showing in the polls; an investigation reveals the depth of the crisis in Auckland and Wellington’s bus services; but first, the aftermath of Today FM’s savage end.
Today FM’s on-air talent at its launch last year (Images: Supplied)
The post-mortems begin
In an alternate timeline, Tova O’Brien would be cracking into her Today FM breakfast show right now. Instead, following the unceremonious closure of the station on Thursday, she’s most likely having a well-deserved lie in. What went wrong at Today FM? Matt Mollgaard, a former broadcaster now at AUT, thinks audience size and revenue were only part of the problem. “In the end … the owners of the company want to sell it,” he tells RNZ’s Mediawatch, referring to the US and Australian private equity investors that jointly own Mediaworks. “And they don't want on their books a radio station that's losing money.” With the departure of the two executives most passionate about the station, it had no one left fighting its corner, writes Today FM host Rachel Smalley in the NBR (paywalled). “The two men who had promised everything had suddenly both resigned,” she says. “The board’s investors went back to what they knew best. The books.”
Was the Today FM approach the right one?
The problems with Today FM went beyond the merely financial, writes Shayne Currie in the NZ Herald (paywalled). From the start, Today FM’s marketing emphasised moderation and balance. But is that what listeners wanted? Currie isn’t sure. “Talkback audiences thrive on friction and conflict,” he says. Veteran broadcaster Mitch Harris tells Stuff he “didn’t think that lineup would ever succeed”. “To compete in talkback radio you have to have older people that are real heavyweights… you gotta have people who can relate to blue-collared, conservative, working-class people,” he says. But, he adds, “Just going right wing doesn't work either.”
Mediaworks ‘marooned in the past’
Today FM’s disappearance from the airwaves will have far-reaching impacts for its parent company, writes The Spinoff’s Duncan Greive. “There were no guarantees with Today – but at least it was a big swing to build a bridge to the future. Its summary execution leaves Mediaworks marooned in the past.” Currie agrees: “While it might have stemmed some of the red ink for now, it may have also killed any hopes of an enduring digital revenue stream… The company now runs the risk of too much reliance on its terrestrial music radio brands, with limited growth opportunities.” The axing was also a “missed opportunity” to take on Newstalk ZB and its aging listenership, says AUT’s Mollgard – “and it really does need competition because it keeps everybody honest, including RNZ”. Another significant loss: the station’s website, social media and archives. They were scrubbed from the internet on Friday – a year’s work “seemingly lost to the digital void”, writes The Spinoff’s Stewart Sowman-Lund.
A canary in the coalmine for media – and the economy more broadly?
The closure comes in the midst of an industry-wide belt-tightening for the media. Newsroom’s Jonathan Milne argues Today FM’s staff “weren’t really done over by management – they were done over by a fast-declining consumer economy. Retail and hospitality are the first sectors to feel the downturn; radio is where these sectors place many of their advertising dollars.” Sky TV, meanwhile, last week confirmed it plans to axe 170 jobs in New Zealand (Businessdesk, paywalled) and outsource many of its roles overseas. Among the retail advertisers that Today FM once relied on is The Warehouse Group, which has announced it is cutting 340 jobs. The pessimism in the retail sector is widespread, Retail NZ’s Greg Harford told Milne. "Half of all retailers are not expecting to meet sales targets in the current quarter, and 30% are not confident their business will survive the next 12 months.”
Meet your 2023 Kiwibank New Zealander of the Year
The New Zealander of the Year awards were held last Thursday night, with the top honour going to Dr Rangi Mātāmua, the astronomer who paved the way for the creation of the annual Matariki public holiday.
Through his mahi, Mātāmua has brought mātauranga Māori into the mainstream more than ever before – giving Māori across the motu pride in the knowledge of their tūpuna.
Read more about Mātāmua's impact, on The Spinoff now. (sponsored)
Cabinet reshuffle could be on the cards for today
Prime minister Chris Hipkins may announce a mini-reshuffle at his post-Cabinet press conference later today, reports the NZ Herald’s Thomas Coughlan. If it happens, the announcement will focus on Stuart Nash’s portfolios following his sacking last Tuesday. “One option Hipkins was toying with last week was to not fill Nash’s empty seat around the Cabinet table as a signal to the backbench that they don’t simply get promoted into Cabinet as a result of someone else’s incompetence – and a signal to current Cabinet ministers that if they do not collectively up their game, then their workload would increase,” Coughlan writes.
National’s numbers stymied by Cyclone Gabrielle, Bishop says
National’s Chris Bishop says Christopher Luxon's poor showing in the polls is partially due to the party's "totally unwinnable situation" with Cyclone Gabrielle, along with a bump for Chris Hipkins' after he became prime minister in January. In the latest 1News Kantar Public poll, published last month, Luxon lost 5 percentage points in the preferred prime minister rankings compared to the previous Kantar poll, dropping to 17%. Talking to Jack Tame on TVNZ’s Q&A, Bishop said the party had decided to hold off on big announcements during the cyclone’s aftermath. “If we'd come out with a whole bunch of policy announcements, people would say, why are you not focusing on the cyclone? You know, how tone-deaf are you?" But, he said, it was "early days" and there are "many, many, many months" to go before the election in October.
A message from Spinoff editor Madeleine Chapman
You're reading this because you value the work The Spinoff does in telling the stories of our people in our voices. As we head further into an already eventful 2023, we have a big job ahead of us. Covering the stories that matter to you is no small job. We’re a fiercely independent media company in Aotearoa but that also means we’re small and I think sometimes people forget how small our team is. I'm asking you to consider deepening your commitment to The Spinoff and the work we do by becoming a Spinoff Member. If you’re already a member, thank you for your support and advocacy - it's what keeps us going.
The case of the disappearing bus services
A RNZ data investigation of bus services in Auckland and Wellington reveal a public transport in crisis, critics say. In an average weekday in February there were 1085 bus cancellations in Auckland, while 448 buses didn’t show up in Wellington. On the worst day in Auckland, one in every nine scheduled buses didn't arrive. On Wellington's worst day, one in six was cancelled. "I just drive now because there's no point. Every bus that goes past me is full," a commuter tells reporter Farah Hancock. Today’s investigation is part of a new RNZ series on the bus crisis running over the coming days.
Click and collect
The hot and humid weather over much of the North Island is moving on from tonight.
Parts of West Auckland’s Waitākere Ranges and Te Rau Pūriri Regional Parks opened over the weekend, but Muriwai Regional Park will remain closed due to ongoing damage from Cyclone Gabrielle.
After 11 years as a poignant symbol of the Christchurch earthquakes, the 185 Empty Chairs memorial – better known as simply “the white chairs” – has been dismantled.
Georgie Dansey, the runner-up in last year’s Hamilton West byelection, has been selected as the Labour candidate for Hamilton East.
An ongoing IRD audit of billions in Covid support payments is leaving some businesses with huge unexpected tax bills.
Got some feedback about The Bulletin, or anything in the news? Get in touch with me at thebulletin@thespinoff.co.nz.
If you liked what you read today, share The Bulletin with friends, family and colleagues.
Henry Cooke argues the case for an inquiry into political lobbying in parliament. Shanti Mathias finds out why old, uncool LinkedIn is more popular than ever. Hayden Donnell investigates an incendiary claim that New Zealanders spontaneously cheered news of Donald Trump’s indictment. Venetia Sherson reveals the secrets of her cryptic crossword obsession in the Sunday Essay. Chris Schulz talks to Shapeshifter about their soggy and sad summer of cancelled shows. Writer and architectural designer Sharon Lam looks at the future of Wellington central library – and what made the old one so good.
Sporting snippets
Sri Lanka have beaten the Black Caps in a Super Over after their first Twenty20 international at Eden Park ended in a tie yesterday.
New Zealand has made a clean sweep of the Hong Kong Sevens, with the All Blacks Sevens and Black Ferns Sevens both claiming victory.
Why the Football Ferns have joined a global movement to retire white shorts from women’s soccer – and women’s sport in general.
‘The captain always gets the casting vote’
Ditching school to circumvent the globe on a yacht is the sort of adventure that probably sounds like a dream come true for many bored and restless kids. For Suzanne Heywood, it was largely a misery – especially when the planned three-year odyssey turned into nearly a decade trapped on her parents’ boat. She tells her story in the Guardian.
“My parents always claimed our time on Wavewalker was wonderful and told me I’d had a privileged upbringing,” she writes. “But this oft-repeated mantra conceals a much darker story. What I found, when I mustered enough courage to look back, was that many parts of my childhood were worse than I’d been willing to admit.”
