Merger
Younger audiences slip away from local media
Research shows 15-24-year olds are switching off from the likes of TVNZ and RNZ and reaching for TikTok and YouTube. Can they be brought back? Audio
Mediawatch for 11 December 2022
Media merger meets mounting resistance as clock ticks; Stuff's regional rejig of news - and staff strife; local papers: from rivers of gold to news deserts - and some green shoots. Audio
The Week in Detail: Policy scrambles, sorcery violence
The Detail podcast brings you the issues behind the news every weekday. Here's what we covered this week. Audio
TVNZ's media marriage at first sight
Media execs aired their angst about the government’s public media plan in parliamentary hearings this week - and the commercial clout TVNZ will bring to the new entity. TVNZ’s Simon Power talks to Me… Audio
Tracey Martin on the RNZ-TVNZ merger
Last month the Government confirmed it will create a new public media entity through the merger of RNZ and TVNZ. Former MP Tracey Martin will chair the nine-member Establishment Board to lead the work… Audio
Infratil confirms it's working on deal to buy Vodafone NZ
The utilities investor, Infratil, says it's teamed up with another party to buy Vodafone New Zealand. Audio
Sir Tim Shadbolt says the polytech 'mega merger' will be disastrous
Invercargill Mayor Sir Tim Shadbolt has slammed the polytech merger proposal, saying it would be disastrous for the Southern Institute of Technology in his city. Audio
Courses are inconsistent around the country, say Polytech students
This comes as briefing papers reveal the Tertiary Education Commission and the Ministry of Education said the risks of a mega-merger outweighed the benefits. Audio
Government proposes massive polytechnic merger
New Zealand's 16 polytechnics could be rolled into a single, national institute as early as the start of next year. But nobody knows how much it will cost or how many jobs will be lost in the process.
…Media mega-merger reaches the end of the road
The bid to mash up New Zealand's two biggest publishers of news is all but over as their appeal against a block on their merger has been dismissed in court. Mediawatch looks at why and what happens… Audio
Stuff scraps 28 community papers, magazines
Yesterday New Zealand's largest newspaper publisher Stuff confirmed plans to close or sell 28 local community and rural newspapers. The news is not entirely unexpected with the difficulties faced by… Audio
Commerce Commission tells High Court competition must stay
NZME and Stuff argue they need to merge because they are threatened by new media, including social media. But the Commerce Commission says it is not the competition news managers say it is. Audio
Fairfax and NZME argue they need to merge to survive
The investigation into the rupture of the Marsden pipeline has stalled because the local regional council has been unable to get in touch with the landowner where the pipe burst. Audio
Nelson next in line for paper cut
The nation’s biggest news publisher Fairfax Media is proposing to cut back the Nelson Mail newspaper and print it in Christchurch to cut costs. Audio
Fallout from the media merger knockback
A merger of New Zealand’s two biggest news publishers has been on the table for the past year. This week the competition watchdog pulled the rug out from under it. Mediawatch asks ex-editors if that… Audio
E tu union welcomes merger block despite spectre of job cuts
Paul Tolich from the E Tu union says the role of the media in holding power to account means the Commerce Commission was right to reject a merger between Fairfax and NZME. Audio
Fairfax swings axe in Australian newsrooms on Press Freedom Day
Fairfax Australia announces plans to ditch 125 full time journalist jobs, saying it needs to cut costs to stay profitable. Union leader Paul Murphy says it's the latest in a long line of job cuts by a… Audio
Otago's Allied Press welcomes 'no merger' decision
The chairman of the Allied Press, which publishes the Otago Daily Times and 14 other South Island papers, Sir Julian Smith, welcomes the Commerce Commission's decision to decline the proposed Fairfax… Audio
Media campaigner hails merger block as victory for public
Victoria University media studies lecturer and chair of the Campaign for Better Broadcasting Peter Thompson says the Commerce Commission made the right decision. He says the both companies are… Audio
Regions fear their papers could fold after merger rejected
Rotorua's mayor Steve Chadwick told our reporter Tom Furley that local newspapers are essential, amid fears they may be shut down, after the Commerce Commission rejected the proposed merger between… Audio