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RNZ reviving a national news wire as it aims to be journalism's cornerstone
MediaRoom column: Public broadcaster RNZ plans to launch a national news and content 'wire' service this year, bringing together at least 30 other media partners.
The wire – which would be the country's first substantive news sharing-system since the NZ Press Association was closed in 2011 – is in the early stages of development by RNZ as it pursues 'digital acceleration'.
RNZ says raising new revenue 'is not a motivation behind the work'. If it were to charge news organisations, or other entities or individuals to sign up for the new service it could open up subscription income, a central element in most successful online news operations.
The broadcaster's forecast profit and loss table for next year includes a new, 'other' income stream for the year ahead of $2.05m, helping towards a projected ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) surplus of $2.53m.
The plan is disclosed in RNZ's statement of performance expectations for 2025/26, tabled in Parliament.
The news wire is set to launch by the end of this calendar year as part of RNZ's goal of creating 'new audience experiences'.
RNZ had its annual public funding cut in May's Budget by $18m over the next four years, and is conducting a cost-cutting round now to find more than $4m in savings for the coming financial year.
The broadcaster is under pressure from the Government, through Media and Communications Minister Paul Goldsmith, to increase its radio audiences, which have been falling stubbornly since a listenership boom during the pandemic. RNZ National now ranks the eighth-highest station in the country, after being a clear first five years ago, when commercial radio brands are included.
RNZ's expectations document doesn't talk up a quick return to bigger radio audiences. 'Simply maintaining cumulative weekly live radio audience and time spent listening is difficult in a tough market, which is suffering incremental long-term decline.'
Goldsmith also wants RNZ, and the other major public broadcaster TVNZ, to improve their 'trust' ratings with their audiences in light of industry-wide declines. The company is targeting an increase in the next year from 55 to 60 percent of New Zealanders who say RNZ is an organisation they can trust.
'RNZ will focus even more tightly on providing information people can trust and making our editorial processes as transparent as we can,' the tabled document says.
RNZ wants to be a 'public media cornerstone and provider' by investing in quality journalism and content, ensuring there is strong regional NZ coverage and providing the new wire service.
How the national news wire service, making RNZ journalism more easily available to third parties to publish or broadcast, would assist either the radio audience or trust goals is unclear.
An RNZ spokesperson told Newsroom: 'It would be an RNZ-run and operated news wire service, and it would draw on RNZ news and content, including the copy provided by the 17 Local Democracy Reporters.'
The wire service would be an extension of existing (free) agreements with individual partners (such as Newsroom) to share RNZ content.
'At this point the news wire is in its preliminary stages of development. Simply put, we are looking at developing a platform which is accessible and allows us to distribute a consolidated supply of the news and content we already have.'
The Local Democracy Reporting initiative and a separate publicly funded team of journalists working from the nation's courtrooms were winners of extra funding in the Budget so could provide RNZ with a more substantial, consolidated daily news menu for partner/customers.
Another of RNZ's objectives under its digital acceleration programme outlined in the report to Parliament is to increase its monthly number of users of its website to 1.6m from the current 1.5m in the Nielsen Online Ratings measure. That is on top of a 400,000 rise from 2024.
It also intends to develop an AI 'query tool for surfacing content', with a prototype under way within the year. RNZ has employed a senior Stuff editor, Patrick Crewdson, as its new AI development chief, and will no doubt argue the careful adoption of AI tools will allow it to continue to operate at a high output with lower Government funding.
It wants to get to a model of committing at least 90 percent of its operational spending on the production and distribution of content – and thus under 10 percent on back office or overheads. It is nearly there, sitting at 89 percent in 2024/25.
TVNZ's building on Victoria St in central Auckland. Photo: Tim Murphy
TVNZ will 'demonstrate' closeness to RNZ
RNZ is set to move its Auckland operations into the TVNZ centre on Victoria St in Auckland within the year, and despite a failed merger proposal under the former Labour government, closer co-operation seems possible.
TVNZ's similar Statement of Performance Expectations for 2025/26 pledges to report on 'initiatives that demonstrate a closer working relationship with RNZ in line with the Government's expectation'.
TVNZ outlines a projected net financial loss for the coming 25/26 year of $48m, but some of that seems to include the cost of money to be invested by the company into its digital transformation.
It says it will have operating revenue of $272.5m and operating expenses of $312.1m. A note in the document says there will be 'significant investment in TVNZ's digital technologies with further investment required in FY27 to complete the project utilising existing cashflows'.
TVNZ wants to double its digital audiences by 2030 and triple its digital revenue by the same year, from base figures in 2023, meaning revenues would jump from $55.6m then and around $67.7m this year to $150m at the end of the decade.
The broadcaster has set a target for its 1 News audience at 6pm nightly on TV which drops slightly from around 588,000 so far this year to 582,000 next financial year. Streaming of the news on TVNZ+ is predicted to go up from 191,000 to 220,000.
The state broadcaster has set an aim of topping the AUT Trust in News report, with a target of 6 points (out of 10), up from third-equal the past two years with 4.8 and 5.6.
It commits to commissioning an independent review of its news, looking at balance and bias and to 'constantly monitor for the separation of fact and opinion'.
