Tim Murphy analyses the latest GfK radio listenership figures and finds evidence that the NewstalkZB juggernaut is finally starting to slow. Radio ratings out today will have been a bittersweet dessert for the executives of MediaWorks as they launched their television new season at a lunch at the Northern Club. Sweet because their radio division … Read more
The exit of Paul Henry and the dumping of Story make for another miserable glut of headlines. But the talent that does remain, Duncan Garner and Guy Williams especially, lends hope that the darkest hour is before the dawn, writes Duncan Greive. Over the past 18 months, there have been a number of disastrous periods … Read more
Former Mediaworks news chief Mark Jennings writes on the background to the departure of TV3’s heaviest hitter, the huge hole it leaves, and the challenge ahead for heir apparent Duncan Garner. When Paul Henry’s expletive-laden interview appeared in the New Zealand Herald eight days ago it looked like a clear case of presentercide. By deliberately labelling … Read more
Kanoa Lloyd’s job is to present the weather for us every night on TV3, so why do people care so much about her clothes? Anny Ma tells armchair fashion critics everywhere to sit down and shut up. I can safely say that my life is made more spectacular from seeing Kanoa Lloyd’s face light up … Read more
The just-released commercial radio ratings show a continuation of the long-running swing to MediaWorks. Tim Murphy assesses the disturbing implications for a pre-merger NZME. Today is a day when careers are made and ended. At radio stations around the country, star presenters and executives have been waiting by their mobiles to confirm if they are … Read more
Our resident Blockaholic Jane Yee recaps the highs and lows from week two of The Block NZ, including Dyls’ lament and a shocking neck tatt. Holy damn! Like a Honda Jazz weaving around Auckland’s waterfront, week two on The Block NZ has turned an awesome corner. After last week I feared I might finally be … Read more
Our resident Blockaholic Jane Yee recaps the highs and lows from week one of The Block NZ, including wild pranks and the Dylz/Dyls conundrum. Hello, my name is Jane and I’m a Blockaholic. I did the quiz on the TV3 website, it’s official. The Block holds a lot of appeal for me. Not because I … Read more
Calum Henderson watches the return of The Block NZ, and pines for the rhombus daybeds of yesteryear. Host Mark Richardson took a deep breath and began to speak slowly, measuredly, the way a judge might deliver a long prison sentence. “Welcome… to The Block… for 2016.” It has been 178 days since the last edition of … Read more
The kid from Milton has established herself as a journalist to be reckoned with, but much will depend on the Sam-and-Mike chemistry, writes Mark Jennings, former long serving TV3 news chief. Samantha Hayes’ appointment as Hilary Barry’s replacement is big news – in Milton. Hayes hails from the South Otago town of 2,000 people, best … Read more
To mark Hilary Barry’s last day at TV3, coworker and notorious BFF Sacha McNeil celebrates the legendary woman with the legendary secret snack drawer. “Knock, knock, knock… “ “Who is it?” “It’s just me, are you naked?” “Yes, but come in.” I open the door to Hilary’s changing room. “What’s up?” She asks, fresh from … Read more
Education is a topic critical to us as a nation. It deserves so much better than the pandering polemic Bryan Bruce delivered last night on TV3. Last night TV3 screened a “special report”, “written, directed and produced” by Bryan Bruce, the veteran of dozens of documentaries over the years, many of which he has fronted with a … Read more
Think media celebs are spoilt rotten? They are, confesses Jesse Mulligan – right up until the day they say goodbye. Hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders will watch Hilary Barry deliver her final bulletin on TV3 this Friday night, but the real tragedy is that only dozens will get to attend the party afterwards when … Read more
The Spinoff has been accused of being anti-Mark Weldon and his work from time to time, so we thought we’d get one of his defenders to make the case for him as a misunderstood visionary. Here is ZenithOptimedia’s Stuart Rutherford, arguing Weldon reshaped MediaWorks for commercial success at a time of great upheaval in the sector. Seven hundred … Read more
In January, TV3 newsreader Carolyn Robinson read her last bulletin, her job yet another casualty of Mediaworks CEO Mark Weldon’s cuts. She looks back at the “wondrous” newsroom he gutted. I wore white that last time. When it was done I pushed back from the desk. I took off my jacket – my favourite one … Read more
Mark Weldon misrepresented Hilary Barry in a company-wide email before his resignation, writes Hayden Donnell. On Monday night Mark Weldon sent an email to all MediaWorks staff. It was mostly a defence of his tumultuous tenure as the company’s CEO: assertions its finances were in good order, potshots at “spurious” speculation over its ability to survive. There was … Read more
Duncan Greive looks back at the brief and blighted Mark Weldon era. Last night I watched Mark Weldon complete what would turn out to be his final act as CEO of MediaWorks from the back of a refurbished warehouse in Mt Eden. He stood on stage alongside NBC’s Chris Taylor to announce the replacement of … Read more
A MediaWorks source has supplied company Chair Rod McGeoch’s full statement announcing the resignation of CEO Mark Weldon (Click here to read The Spinoff’s report on the ultimately successful plot to oust him): THIS IS A MESSAGE FROM ROD MCGEOCH Dear all, Today we are announcing that Mark Weldon has resigned from his position as … Read more
A year of chaos and controversy may end today, as Mark Weldon fronts the new-look MediaWorks board with his most important star on her way out and senior staff close to revolt. UPDATE: Newshub has confirmed that Mark Weldon resigned this morning; Wednesday 4 May – more to follow. In the aftermath of news of … Read more
The shock resignation of Hilary Barry from Mediaworks represents a bigger blow than any of the other high profile TV3 newsroom departures, says Duncan Greive. Last night, just before 9pm, news broke that Hilary Barry had become the latest and biggest casualty of the Mark Weldon era at Mediaworks. It’s a cataclysmic event for the organisation, … Read more
In this topic-driven series, Alex Casey gets reality star Chrystal Chenery’s take on the world over coffee and scones. Her opinions about both her time in the spotlight and life in general were so fierce – and so candid – that we decided to publish them over the course of a week. Today she remembers Dancing With the Stars … Read more
The first season of The Bachelor NZ was arguably the greatest of any localised reality import. Unfortunately the second is thus far a disaster. Duncan Greive asks if we have any right to expect otherwise. A long time ago, before HD and broadband and snackable content, there was a little sitcom that went by the … Read more
How well do you know your New Zealand media? Take this difficult quiz to find out! On Wednesday NZME CEO Jane Hastings announced her resignation – an event sharply predicted by Scout in what was a legit scoop and probably the finest piece of journalism in the site’s short history. The moment is noteworthy for a … Read more
Mark Jennings led 3 News for over a quarter of a century. Today it was announced he is stepping down. David Farrier, one of countless journalists to have worked and learned under him, pays tribute to a New Zealand journalism legend. Oh God, it was just awful. I was sitting in Mark Jennings’ office. It … Read more
Approximately an hour ago The Spinoff published a story indicating that Julie Christie had resigned from the board of MediaWorks – and implied that she was currently employed in an executive role. We have since been informed that this is not the case – that she remains on the board, and has no intention of resigning. … Read more
Last December it was announced that TV3’s flagship investigative current affairs show 3D was being cancelled, and 13 of the show’s 16 staff were to be made redundant. Former producer Eugene Bingham describes the show’s final months and the emotional aftermath of its cancellation. It was a Monday, the day before the wolf finally lunged. … Read more
Gone is 3News and in it’s place is the gleaming fresh Newshub. Mediaworks has released a 360 degree video tour of the new studio hosted by Hilary Barry and Mike McRoberts. We took it, had a poke around and can now expose the inconvenient truths behind the new studio. (Original video can be found here.)
We write about MediaWorks’ new style guide in the style of the Herald. MediaWorks spent last year unpacking a Russian doll of disaster. The company dealt with public backlash over show cancellations, flagging ratings, and its gossip site Scout’s transformation into an internet version of an elephant graveyard. It should have been breathing a sigh … Read more
With MediaWorks continuing to spiral down a strange rabbit hole full of new shubs, Joanna McLeod calls upon a hero that could help CEO Mark Weldon rediscover his path to greatness: 30 Rock‘s fictional network boss Jack Donaghy. As Mark Weldon continues to make a series of more and more…interesting choices for MediaWorks, it’s become clear … Read more
MediaWorks’ new integrated news platform looks to Duncan Greive like one of the best decisions they’ve made in ages. 2015 was a horror show for Mediaworks, a year which began with it toned, trim and swaggering and ended with it gaunt and dead-eyed, reeling from the trauma of what it had lost. It’s easy to … Read more