MediaWorks to bring news reporting back in-house
Tuesday, 19 October 2021
MediaWorks will bring news reporting for its radio stations back in-house, ending an arrangement under which it has bought in news bulletins from Newshub and TV3 owner Discovery.
The move will create a new journalism operation with between 15 and 20 staff.
From next year, The AM Show will no longer be simulcast on MediaWorks’ Magic Talk radio station from 6am to 9am on weekdays and will move to a TV-only format.
When MediaWorks sold TV3 and the rest of its television business to Discovery for $20 million last year, the company’s integrated Newshub journalism operation was bundled up with the television business.
That left its now-independent radio and outdoor advertising business without a journalism arm.
**READ MORE:
* Sudden departures from Magic Talk spark fears it's 'gone woke'. Can the talkback station be saved?
* Discovery paid $20m cash for TV3 and rest of MediaWorks' TV arm
* Discovery takes 'bet on NZ' by buying television channel Three
**
MediaWorks agreed to buy-in news from Newshub as part of the sale of the television business.
But the company’s director of news and talk, Dallas Gurney, said it was formally ending its agreement with Newshub for the supply of news content to its radio brands from early December.
“We will be strengthening our news and talk offering by establishing our own internal newsroom, with wider support from a number of content partners,” he said.
MediaWorks owns about half the country’s commercial radio stations.
Gurney said it would be hiring editors and reporters “in the coming weeks”.
“This is a real opportunity for us as it means we get to establish our own newsroom and create our own radio-focused breakfast show,” he said.
Staff from the Discovery team who might be impacted by the change would be encouraged to apply for roles, he said.
It is understood that Newshub employs between 10 and 15 staff to fulfil its news contract with MediaWorks but that some of them could be redeployed to other parts of the news business.
A Discovery spokeswoman said the change to The AM Show would allow it to focus on delivering “a best-in-class television product that sets the news agenda of the day”.
“Our priority is our people while we work through these changes,” she said.