If anyone thinks Stuff producing the 6pm news bulletin on Three is the answer to viewers’ prayers they are dreaming. This is a marriage made in heaven if you want a continuation of the very reasons Newshub finds itself in the position it is in. If you were one hoping for a change of direction, by which viewing the news would be a more positive experience, then this is more likely to be a marriage made in hell. Imagine Tova O’Brien on our screens at dinner time. Regurgitation of the evening meal is a distinct possibility.
The cynic in me says Warner Brothers Discovery chose the outfit least likely to succeed in the project so that when it falls over they are relieved of the expense and can say at least they tried. Having some understanding of the media it beggars belief that WBD want to be involved in this for the long term. This, to them, must be no more than an irritant and something they would much prefer not to have to bother about. It is akin to an itch from a mosquito bite. The itch soon disappears and if the truth be known this is what WBD is hoping for in this scenario.
You can’t tell me a huge conglomerate has any real interest in this debacle. I imagine it’s ‘fork out a bit of pocket money in the short term until the arrangement collapses of its own accord’. Stuff have absolutely no experience in this area and will be looking to inherit the bare minimum of people from Newshub. The question that also has to be asked is how financially viable Stuff actually is. It appears NZME were also in talks with Warner Brothers. Surely if WBD were seriously considering a long term deal they would have gone with them – a profitable company.
That they chose to go with Stuff is where I smell a rat. These are smart businessmen. What they are dealing with here is next to nothing in their great scheme of things. It’s so small fry they just need to sweep it under the carpet and forget about it. This is by no means the answer required to sort out the media mess that is before us. Handing over the production to an organisation that is arguably more left than the one before will do nothing to improve the numbers watching. I presume Stuff are viewing it as a commercial proposition, but I have reservations that profits will accrue.
Prime Minister Luxon thinks it’s a good outcome. I would beg to differ and say it is anything but, unless he enjoys the aggro he gets from the media. What is being proposed here is a platform to relentlessly bash the coalition Government at every opportunity.
This, of course, is of no interest to WBD. They just want the source of their irritation gone. What is being proposed here will not solve the problems both the media and the Government are facing. As I said in my previous article, what is needed is to put in place a model that works. In my view this is not it. This will solve nothing.
This could turn into a WBD alright: a Whole Big Disaster. Watch this become a dog’s breakfast at dinner time. When it happens, I doubt the real WBD will give a stuff.
