Layoffs in the media: How many roles went and where

There has been no shortage of layoff news over the past few weeks. File photo.
Photograph: 123RF

Layoffs are underway at most of the country’s major media outlets, and there are warnings that legislation we hope could help the industry could be a death blow for many participants.

There has been no shortage of layoff news in recent weeks.

Here is an overview of what has been reported.

Thing

Stuff has abolished video journalist roles in Auckland while adding new ones in Wellington and Christchurch, cutting audio roles, removing two senior roles to create a new head of multimedia content and strategy, and is understood to be holding meetings with other teams about the cuts.

It appears that it has severed ties with style platform Ensemble, which it acquired in 2021 as part of its “life and style revamp”. Things did not respond to requests for comment.

NZME

New Zealand Herald Focus has discontinued its video feed and host Cheree Kinnear’s role has been removed. Earlier in the year the company cut nearly a dozen roles as it moved resources from the regions to Wellington and Christchurch.

Whakaata Maori

Whakaata Māori said it was still working on a “reorganization process” and would not comment further until final decisions were made. It was previously reported that staff had been warned of layoffs and the possibility of the daily newsletter being canceled. The plan is expected to face a funding reduction of more than $10 million by 2027. A spokesman said the plan was expected to be finalized by November.

TVNZ

TVNZ looks to cut even more costs once this situation is over Fair Go And Sunday at the beginning of the year. Looking to save $30 million or generate extra revenue next year, the company has announced plans to shut down its website. A spokesman said it was still working on a “feedback process”.

media studies

Mediaworks is proposing job cuts for the second year in a row. But a spokesman said the situation may have been exaggerated with reports that “dozens” of staff could be affected. “At MediaWorks we are simply looking at the function and future of the two roles in different areas of the business. We will not speculate on the outcome while it is currently in consultation.”

Decline in advertising

Industry sources say one of the few bright spots is advertising from TAB, now Entain’s new owners.

Asked if he would be available for an interview about the job cuts and the country’s media, a spokesman for Media Minister Paul Goldsmith said the job cuts were operational matters that media outlets could talk about.

Newsroom co-founder and former TV3 head of news Mark Jennings said the industry was still suffering from the impact of the decline in advertising.

“This is a very bad situation for companies that are completely dependent on advertising. The only answer is actually to constantly reduce costs.”

He said Warner Brothers Discovery is trying to buck the trend by closing its newsroom and outsourcing production of its news to Stuff.

“It’s struggling in the ratings right now. It’s lowered its cost base, but whether it’s been able to maintain the revenue it’s making is probably debatable.”

He noted Sunday’s ratings in a Newsroom column. The most watched program of the night was ThreeNews. “But it was watched by 26,300 people in the demo, and 1News managed to achieve more than six times the viewership. A 56-point share to Three’s nine. When Newshub ended in July, the 6pm news was rated around 20, and in the years before that it was in the 30s .”

He said TVNZ would probably need to find another $40 million rather than $30 million to break even.

“It appears to be very slow in doing so and will deplete its cash reserves.”

These cash reserves were originally allocated for a digital transformation that was planned to begin pre-Covid but failed to make progress, Jennings said.

“I’d say it’s probably two or three years behind where it needs to be. That’s problematic. It’s struggling to optimize its audience on TVNZ+. It’s got good content and it’s doing well but it’s not matching the international broadcasters.”

Jennings said he would need a subscription model, but that’s probably not possible with the current technology stack.

He said smaller players like Newsroom were able to survive thanks to their relatively low cost base, but it was difficult to grow in a stagnant economy.

What’s the future?

He said that in 10 years there will likely be further rationalization of the market, particularly around free-to-air TV stations.

“It’s hard to imagine either of them being there in their current form. They’re facing ever-shrinking audiences for their streaming models. They’ll move to on-demand streaming, but there’s a lot of competition in that space.”

Jennings pointed to the Fair Digital News Bargaining Act, which requires players like Google and Facebook to pay news organizations for content.

Google warned that it would “re-evaluate the way (Google) operates in New Zealand” if the law comes into force.

“We will be forced to stop linking to news content on Google Search, Google News or Discover platforms in New Zealand and end our existing commercial agreements and ecosystem support with New Zealand news publishers,” said Caroline Rainsford, Google’s New Zealand country director. In a statement on Google’s own site.

Jennings said the bill in its current form could be “very bad” for much of the nation’s media.

“The NPA, which includes NZME and Stuff, is backing this and I think they might feel like they could be the last men standing if Google and Facebook pull out of news in this country.”

RNZ chief performance officer Glen Scanlon said RNZ was concerned about the disruptions facing the wider media sector and the impact on both people and journalism.

“Our view is that society and democracy will be better served by a strong and vibrant sector. This disruption highlights the importance of having a core public media service. RNZ is focused on sharing content and partnering with other media it helps. A great example is Local Democracy Reporting positions that we fund in newsrooms through the program.”

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