Throng

So according to 3News it's possible TVNZ7 and Radio New Zealand will be merged. How will this work? Right now, the news on TVNZ7 is pretty much just ONE News, which some of us (HelenD not being one of them) believe is substandard and full of reporters who couldn't report to save themselves. What's going to happen to Radio New Zealand's quality when they're going to have to share the newsroom with a bunch of incompetent amateurs?

Bill English has also announced that the government funding for TVNZ6 and TVNZ7 won't be renewed. Surprise surprise. So what's going to happen? Commercials will be introduced to TVNZ6? What about TVNZ7? Will there be extra funding for the merged news organisation? Radio NZ are underfunded as it is, with the government refusing to commit any more funds to it.

Could this finally be the death of public broadcasting in this country?

TVNZ 7 highlights New Zealand innovation and development throughout August with its Spotlight on Science + Technology, in association with the Ministry of Research, Science and Technology (MoRST).

The month of special programming officially launches on Tuesday 3 August at the City Gallery in Wellington with the unveiling of new local television series Ever Wondered?, produced in partnership with the Royal Society of New Zealand, which, like MoRST, is concerned with promoting the importance of science and technology for the benefit of all New Zealanders.

Ever Wondered?, presented by the winner of the 2009 Prime Minister's MacDiarmid Emerging Scientist Prize, Dr John Watt, is set to inspire Kiwi minds and spark curiosities as Watt searches high and low for answers to today's most challenging scientific questions.

TVNZ 7 has formed a partnership with the Royal Society of New Zealand, with the shared objective of promoting the value of science and technology to New Zealanders.  A major new commission will see a science and technology series produced for the digital channel and launched on air later in the year.

TVNZ 7 is an advertising free channel, available via both Freeview and SKY. The channel offers stimulating factual and information programmes for all New Zealanders, documentaries, current affairs and news bulletins. The schedule is made up of a mixture of local and international programmes.

The mission of the Royal Society of New Zealand is to foster in the New Zealand community a culture that supports science and technology and to promote science and technology in schools, in industry and in society.

TVNZ CEO Rick Ellis is delighted by the partnership with the Royal Society of New Zealand:

I read in one of yesterday's papers that Broadcasting Minister Jonathan Coleman had asked TVNZ chairman Sir John Anderson to prepare a plan to potentially separate the commercial and public broadcasting roles of the state broadcaster.

The Government is moving to set up TVNZ 7 as a public service broadcaster, leaving TV One and the other TVNZ channels to focus on making money.

Coleman yesterday confirmed his preference was to turn TVNZ 7 – and possibly TVNZ 6 – into public service-style channels.

Um. Isn't that already the case?  TVNZ 6 and TVNZ 7 are already publicly funded, non-commercial channels aren't they?

It wouldn't have been much of a surprise for Rick Ellis this morning when he walked into the Finance and Expenditure Select Committee to review TVNZ's performance, to be grilled about the Spotlight on the Economy promos featuring Bill English.

Eager to bring conclusion to this story, Ellis told the committee:

"The promos are not part of the news and current affairs editorial process. That's marketing responsibility. So we might slip from time to time ... in the editorial sense. We learn from that and we move on."

While it may be construed as an admission of a poor judegment call, it is an admission that there are communication breakdowns within TVNZ where various departments go about their business without talking to, or consulting others.

TVNZ Corporate affairs chief Peter Parunssi, added:

Chris Trotter has blogged about the Plain English ads for TVNZ 7's Explaining the Economy Series and makes some interesting, if not accurate, observations about our state broadcaster.

First, there’s the network’s deeply ingrained anti-intellectualism: its reflexive hostility towards anything resembling a complex idea.

Then there’s the obvious, and very troubling, disconnection between TVNZ’s news and current affairs producers, and the people responsible for marketing their product.

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During November, TVNZ 7 is running a spotlight on the economy.  The above promo, however, has some concerned that it's a party political broadcast.

Bill English is adamant that the script was entirely TVNZ's idea.  TVNZ have confirmed this: