Don’t freeze Radio NZ’s funding, increase it, experts say

The scrap over the Government’s plan to freeze  Radio New Zealand’s funding is being taken to a new level, with calls for the funding to increase.

Supporters of Radio New Zealand have turned out in cities around New Zealand  over the last two weeks to protest against the Government’s plans to freeze the broadcaster’s funding.

Jake Quinn, a media tutor at Auckland University, organised the protests on Facebook by setting up the Save Radio New Zealand fan page, which has quickly grown to more than 19,000 fans and is now more popular than Prime Minister John Key’s Facebook page.

Mr Quinn says that a funding freeze for two years is reasonable in recessionary times, if the current level of funding is adjusted to take account of inflation.

But Dr Martin Hirst, journalism curriculum leader at AUT University, disagrees with Mr Quinn because he says the broadcaster is “already on the bones of its arse”.

“If anything, there should be a campaign to increase funding so it can do more of what we need in this country, which is provide a good independent voice for the people of New Zealand to ask the important questions and to analyse the important issues we’re facing,” says Dr Hirst.

Green Party MP, Keith Locke, agrees with Dr Hirst that rather than a funding freeze, Radio New Zealand’s funding should be increased so it can provide more programming and remain free from commercial considerations.

“Other media run their programmes to get the maximum number of listeners. That doesn’t necessarily produce the best debate. It just means a dumbing down of the news, of public debate and a lack of minority programming because it doesn’t make enough money,” says Mr Locke.

Dr Hirst says that Radio New Zealand already falls short of being a “world-class public service broadcaster” because it doesn’t cater for important minority groups in New Zealand society.

“Where’s the national youth network to connect with young people in New Zealand? Where’s the Te Reo network to build confidence and mana in Maori communities? Where’s the dedicated Pacifica radio station? All of those things National Radio should be doing, but it’s not because it hasn’t got the budget.”

Maori Party MP and the party’s broadcasting spokesperson, Hone Harawira, says the decision to freeze funding is a “backwards step”.

“I don’t think it’s in the interest of Maori and I don’t think it’s in the interest of ethnic miniorities or New Zealanders as a whole,” says Mr Harawira.

“I would urge Jonathan Coleman and the National Government to reconsider and to support calls for the funding to actually be increased,” he says.

Richie Russell, a student at the New Zealand Broadcasting School, says youth under eighteen are already being neglected in New Zealand because radio stations do not see them as commercially valuable.

Mr Russell, 25, says New Zealand lacks a dedicated youth network like the station Triple J in Australia, which he says reflects Australian youth culture.

“If we’re going to catch up to Australia in anything, I think it should be in public broadcasting and the way we serve our citizens,” says Mr Russell.

“I definitely add my voice to the call to increase the funding. There’s a lot of things National Radio could do better but it’s severely underfunded,” he says.

Green MP Sue Kedgley and Labour MP Grant Robertson are holding a public meeting to build support for Radio New Zealand in Wellington on Tuesday next week.