April 15, 2024
Media future critical as jobs shed
TVNZ current affairs host Miriama Kamo is calling for a national discussion on what media the country wants.
Ms Kamo says she was caught by surprise by the axing of her Sunday programme in a cost-cutting cull at the state-owned broadcaster brought on by collapsing advertising revenue.
Broadcasting Minister Mellissa Lee has so far refused to say what she will do in response both at TVNZ, where 68 jobs are going, and at Warner Brothers-Discovery’s Newshub operations where almost 300 jobs will be gone by July.
Ms Kamo says it comes as the media is coming under fire not just economically but culturally, with concerted attacks on traditional journalism values.
Fewer journalists is likely to result in even less trust in media because there are even fewer people shining a light on the truth.
“I have a lot of concern about this and what it means for our country and it’s happening across the world so where is it we are heading? I think what would be useful and I’m not sure how this would even look but we need a national discussion about what we want, what we expect and what we deserve,” Ms Kamo says.