There is an app where one can rate a headline for, among other things, readability. Negative headlines do not score well. Positive headlines do. Finding a positive headline for an article with negative connotations requires some thought. The headline for this article reads, at first glance, as though the new chair of Radio New Zealand will do well in navigating the future of the organisation. Far from it. What I mean by my headline is that Brent Impey is ‘one of them’. He seems to think that RNZ, in its present form, is perfectly positioned to carry all before it. I don’t think so.
According to Mr Impey, he has Newstalk ZB in his sights. His taxpayer-funded outfit is evidently on a path that will see its ascendency to the point where it will outclass its commercial competitor. In all honesty, that’s about as likely as Chlöe Swarbrick being put in charge of the country’s finances. It won’t happen. Mr Impey might have ZB in his sights but he is losing sight of a number of factors in the process. RNZ might consider itself an institution but the same can be said equally, if not more so, of its commercial counterpart.
Apart from a small dip when RNZ changed to the Newstalk ZB format, ZB has ruled the roost consistently making the chances of Mr Impey toppling ZB slim indeed. He seems oblivious to some basic facts. Maybe he’s just exuding bravado. Either way, he needs a rethink that reflects the situation RNZ finds itself in – one of its own making.
It currently lies sixth in radio listening popularity. There are a number of reasons for this. First, and most obviously, RNZ is a hotbed of left-wing ideology and makes no attempt to hide it. They have recently moved into the monolith of their left-leaning cousins at TVNZ and make excellent bedfellows in their combined attempt to unseat the current government at the forthcoming election. Both try to convince us they are impartial when it comes to politics but our ears tell us a different story. A recent example was the Roy Morgan poll, where their friends in Labour fell to an embarrassing 25.5 per cent. Not a squeak out of the newsrooms. If that had been National it would have been headlines for days.
The latest radio ratings show RNZ has a weekly cumulative audience of 586,100. Of these, 160,300 listen to the Concert programme and 492,100 listen to the National programme. By comparison, Newstalk ZB pulls in a weekly audience of 650,000. On one hand there's the dreary droning of RNZ presenters compared with those on Newstalk ZB with a vibrancy that is refreshing to the human ear. They are paid to have an opinion and they do. You might not agree but at least the discussion usually has a bit of life to it. Moving from RNZ to ZB seems similar to moving from the funeral service to the after-do at the pub.
This is the reality that the brave and heroic Mr Impey is facing. He will need every inch of his gallantry in his attempt to attract the equivalent of the entire audience of the Concert programme to National Radio in order to overtake ZB whose hosts present with a dialogue that is much more attractive to the right wing voter.
Heather du Plessis-Allan was named ‘Broadcaster of the Year’ for the last two years and it is easy to see why. Heather is the complete package – facts, hard questioning and humour. She has perfected the knack of broadcasting on what feels like a one-on-one basis. Heather could be sitting in your kitchen or living room talking to you, and this is the challenge for the board at the government-funded broadcaster. They need new presenters and an impartiality that rings true with those listening.
If John Campbell is the answer, you have to ask what the question was. He is the exact opposite of what the organisation needs. If they think he and others like him are how their fortunes can change, they will find themselves mistaken. There is an audience to be had beyond the grey-coated public servants in Wellington and without a change of direction their audience numbers won’t change. An audience is not built by cajoling: it is built by giving people what they want. This is RNZ’s issue.
I wish Mr Impey the best of luck, but he’s taken on Mission Impossible.
