Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon
“Good day at the old ZB yet again yesterday,” Mike Hosking crowed last week on his Friday feature Mark the Week.
ZB had again topped the country’s freshly-released commercial radio station rankings – ahead of music stations like the Breeze, the Rock and More FM.
“Hope you’re listening Radio New Zealand… as yet again we manage to find more people to lap this up,” he added.
He put the boot in again after producer Glenn Hart claimed they were “mopping up listeners in Wellington for some reason”.
“There could be a desertion from one station to another. They could be fleeing from boredom in the capital. Could be that – but no names mentioned,” Hosking said… having just mentioned RNZ.
But while ZB’s station share was up, ZB’s latest cumulative audience result was about 25,000 down on the result recorded in May.
And when the GfK audience numbers for RNZ came through this week, RNZ National’s weekly audience was up for the first time in three years – by 8000 to almost 476,000.
RNZ Concert’s audience jumped by more, taking the combined RNZ radio audience up to 575,500. Morning Report’s audience was up a little to 338,000 listeners a week.
The Mike Hosking Breakfast shed 7000 listeners from the previous survey.
On Wednesday RNZ trumpeted its ratings bump as “a springboard for RNZ’s plans for audio“.
But RNZ is still a long way behind Newstalk ZB, and the peak audiences of five years ago when more than 600,000 listened to RNZ National alone each week.
RNZ National’s share of the total 15+ audience peaked at 12 percent in 2021.
And in spite of the latest uptick, the latest GfK result didn’t show RNZ National’s audience up at all in Auckland.
The RNZ plan to stop the slide
A key part of the new RNZ audio plan to stem the five-year slump of radio listeners is “a greater focus on Auckland to reflect the importance of the region and its population”.
RNZ has also said “radio no longer has to be all things to all people” and RNZ National will target 50-69 year-olds, overseen by a new chief audio officer.
Staff have been told there will be more training to lift on-air standards.
One of the reasons RNZ’s doing this now was a stinging review of RNZ by its former head of news Richard Sutherland who left that role just two years ago.
He urged his former peers to focus almost exclusively on RNZ National for a year to get back on track.
He also called for a shift in the culture at RNZ alongside a shift in “RNZ’s centre of gravity” to Auckland.
“While the capital remains politically important, the views and preferences of its residents are the tail wagging the RNZ National dog,” Sutherland wrote.
But RNZ’s insufficient appeal and presence in Auckland is just one of the urgent problems Sutherland identified in a report described elsewhere as “scathing“.
Pressure on
“I think RNZ’s CEO Paul Thompson basically has six to 12 months to sort this out. I think there are jobs on the line both at board and executive level,” the New Zealand Herald’s ‘Media Insider’ Shayne Currie told Herald Now last week.
But why has RNZ National’s audience fallen persistently since 2020? And what is it that RNZ has been doing about that until now that hasn’t worked?
“We peaked during Covid and I think we’ve lost engagement with a portion of that live listening audience since that time. There’s a group of people who used to listen to us who have just not found us useful or relevant,” Thompson told Mediawatch.
“Our key job is to deliver our Charter. Ratings and audience size is never our primary motivation. And we also know – from other people’s research and our own – that news fatigue is a real turn-off for some people.
“But RNZ can’t stop covering the news but I don’t think we get a free pass in terms of being able to say we’ve done our job and told people what they need to hear – but then find it’s not what they want to hear and then give up.”
Thompson insists RNZ’s audio consumption overall is growing in spite of the live radio slump – thanks to streaming and podcasts.
That’s supplemented by RNZ’s online news and content, content shared with other outlets and growing followings on RNZ’s social platforms.
But does he accept critics’ claims that while pursuing this digital growth, RNZ on his watch has neglected live radio? And a chief audio officer to change things should have been appointed earlier?
“It was absolutely necessary that we became relevant online… so I do not agree with that. It’s not that we haven’t been paying attention to radio and audio. We’ve continued to make changes and we’ve had people responsible for that. It’s now the right time to focus on audio,” Thompson told Mediawatch.
Going for old
In 2020 Thompson threw a cat among the pigeons with a bold plan to use RNZ’s Concert’s radio frequency for a new youth-based network. That was part of a strategy of “building a lifelong relationship” with New Zealanders.
The plan was backed by RNZ’s board at the time. But they overlooked the political risks and it was scrapped after a fierce backlash.
Under its new audio plan, RNZ National will now target listeners between 50 and 69 to shore up the slumping numbers.
A stark reversal of policy – and principles?
“No, it’s not. We now have a whole range of services to deliver our content to audiences, which is quite different to – say – 10 years ago when RNZ National was needed to deliver our Charter to everyone,” Thompson told Mediawatch.
“RNZ National is a talk radio station primarily. The talk market is 50-plus. We need to do a more focused job for those people who like listening to the radio.
“There will still be people listening to our content on air who are from every age group. But it’s about where the primary target is and making sure we tailor it.
“We can now get to younger audiences much more efficiently and effectively through our YouTube channel [with] 200,000-plus subscribers there.”
Blunt review a blueprint?
Richard Sutherland
Photo: RNZ
As RNZ head of news from 2019 until mid 2023, Richard Sutherland experienced that year-on-year drift of listeners from RNZ National – as well as the first responses to it which failed to stop the tide going out.
But why did Thompson seek only Sutherland’s assessment of the problems – and only his prescription for change? RNZ National offers more than just news. Why didn’t he seek other perspectives for the new audio plan?
“Richard has the broadcast and radio experience – and the knowledge of us – to be able to do that to provide that advice. I knew he would be frank,” Thompson, also RNZ’s editor-in-chief, told Mediawatch.
“You don’t want to commission advice to get people to tell you what they think you want to hear. But it is his advice. (These are) his recommendations and his view – and what we do at RNZ with our audio plan is up to us.”
It’s been reported that Sutherland took a bigger swing at RNZ’s culture and capability than people expected – and even Thompson may have been taken aback.
But some things in Sutherland’s report would not have been said to Thompson himself – and others at RNZ – before Sutherland left less than two years ago.
Sutherland’s report says Thompson requested “a highly-actionable blueprint” to help hit a target of 500,000 listeners a week – so didn’t Thompson get exactly what he wanted?
“No. I wanted to make sure that it had a structure which was useful and could be applied and was practical. It was what I expected – and it wasn’t my view,” Thompson told Mediawatch.
“But the thing about independent advice is that it is ‘advice’. It’s not our plan. There are some ideas in that which are really strong and some stuff we’ve got underway. Other things we’re not thinking about at the moment – but (are) there to stimulate our thinking.”
Problem culture?
Some of the blunt advice in Richard Sutherland’s turnaround plan for RNZ.
Photo: RNZ
One of Sutherland’s conclusions after more than 50 ‘no-notes’ interviews with RNZ staffers was a belief among them that radio listening was “a sunset activity”.
Does Thompson think his radio staff lack ambition – or are simply managing decline?
“(Sutherland’s) focus was talking to people who are closely involved in our radio output. It’s no surprise that they were… expressing that view, or at least some of them were.
“Radio reach is very slowly falling. That’s just a reality of the market. But audio overall is still growing. (Radio) is still part of our DNA and it’s a vital thing that we need to do.
Sutherland’s review also said some RNZers “shouldn’t be on air”, no new staff should be allowed on air without expert assessment and approval – and that a new front-rank host from elsewhere was needed straight away.
He said some newsreaders are far short of the required quality – and undermine the rest.
Under the heading “early wins” for “fast, visible improvements” was “Morning Report presenter move”.
“That’s his view and his opinion, and it’s not my view. Our focus is on making sure we give our presenters the best opportunity to flourish,” Thompson said, insisting there are no plans for cutting or culling staff or programmes.
But RNZ has already announced new training and monitoring for on-air staff, indicating some of Sutherland’s concerns about standards are shared.
“I think Richard’s challenge was to make sure that everyone is equipped to do a great job for the available audience and making sure that it’s consistently strong. It’s not about blocking anyone from being part of that.”
Sutherland’s report also said RNZ staff are “creating content for themselves, not listeners” reflecting internal interests rather than the audience’s priorities.
“This is his view. I don’t share that view, but I think it’s good to have our thinking challenged,” Thompson told Mediawatch.
How far? How fast? How soon?
New RNZ podcast Context is top of the Apple Podcast charts’ news category – but a former head of news reckons top hosts should be exclusively deployed on RNZ National’s turnaround.
Photo: screenshot / Apple Podcasts
Sutherland recommended a full 12-month period with a full focus on the RNZ National turnaround, and all the best people deployed. Even projects such as podcasts involving top hosts should be shelved to maximise the effort.
That would include the just-launched Context, featuring Morning Report’s Corin Dann and former co-host Guyon Epiner, which is currently top of the news podcast download charts.
Is that necessary?
“We’ll be focusing on this and it’s important – but the work doesn’t stop in terms of audiences on all platforms. We are a broad organisation now doing multiple forms of content and getting to more people than ever before,” Thompson said.
But while some of Sutherland’s urgings have not been accepted, RNZ also said recent updates to Morning Report are “the first signs of changes flowing through to the audience – with more to come”.
These include more production of the show in Auckland – and on-air elements including opposing MPs head-to-head, a weekly chat with a business leader and sport panels. (All are also features of the Mike Hosking Breakfast on Newstalk ZB).
Changing the tone
Photo: 123RF / Olga Yastremska, New Africa, Africa Studio
“[On] Morning Report, we have introduced some changes in terms of the tone and the range of content and the engagement of the hosts, which is going really well,” Thompson told Mediawatch.
But some listeners who’ve got in touch with Mediawatch say on-air banter and frequent requests for listeners’ views have turned them off.
One Morning Report yarn about a trivial dispute over chatty office workers in the UK, revisited several times during the morning, was a case in point.
“Morning Report has become breakfast television without the pictures – but with the familiar, light tone that characterises television-to-wake-up-to,” wrote veteran editor Gavin Ellis.
“I don’t need a gentle introduction. If I did, I would be watching TVNZ’s Breakfast. I don’t because the chitty-chatty exchanges drive me insane,” he added.
It’s not just on Morning Report that RNZ presenters have been encouraged to engage with the audience and each other.
Listeners recently complained to Mediawatch about – among other things – Checkpoint’s Lisa Owen telling listeners about her toenail length – at some length – and chatting about brussel sprouts with the business bulletin presenter.
But RNZ has interviewed some ‘lost listeners’ who have drifted away, and some have said greater connection with on-air personalities was important.
But more of it also runs the risk of alienating those who tune in expecting respite from presenters trying to be relatable?
“Some people don’t like it, and you’ll always get individual feedback. We’re very focused on reliable data and making sure that we are doing things that are useful for audiences overall,” Thompson told Mediawatch.
“That’s about being ourselves on air and having the freedom to do it. But it’s mainly about being relevant and useful to audiences. Human connection is a vital part of RNZ… and making sure we continue to make that a strength is a really good idea,” Thompson told RNZ.
“Look, radio is an intimate medium and people expect us to be human beings on-air. But our presenters are authoritative, and we will always have substantial interviews and substantial programming as well.”
What does Auckland want?
Paul Thompson (second left) at a ‘State of the Media’ discussion during the Word festival in Christchurch last Friday – and event publicised with the image of a newspaper on fire.
Photo: Word
RNZ has signalled its intent to increase its presence in Auckland and its focus on Auckland issues to tackle its persistent under-performance in the region.
But does RNZ know what an Auckland audience wants that’s different?
“It doesn’t mean that every story will be about Auckland, but it’s making sure… we do understand what the issues are for that large community. And we can’t thrive as New Zealand’s public media organisation without thriving in Auckland,” Thompson told Mediawatch.
“This is not about becoming Auckland-centric, but Auckland is a really important and vital and growing market and we do need to do better there while keeping that overall national coverage.”
Thompson has set a target now of half a million listeners for RNZ National by November next year – and then 520,000 in November 2027. What will RNZ National sound like by then if the new plan succeeds?
“It’ll feel and sound – even more than it does at the moment – that it’s resonating with all of the major issues and all of the major topics. It’ll be delivering our Charter very powerfully. The talented people who work at RNZ will be shining on-air. The station will be really useful and relevant.
“There’ll also be lots of elements that are familiar because the station still has a large and very engaged audience.”
And if the RNZ National doesn’t hit the self-imposed targets, is Thompson’s legacy or his job at risk?
Thompson didn’t directly answer that, but insisted he’s up for the challenge.
“We’re starting to see some growth – modest, but still growth – in our audience. So it shows that we can do it. I think New Zealanders will respond,” Thompson said.
Even in Auckland?
“Everywhere.”
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