Public media policy put out of its misery

The PM has confirmed what pundits have predicted for weeks: the plan for a public media entity has been scrapped - before they even settled on a name for it. It's the second time in five years Labour's backed away from its public media policy, leaving RNZ and TVNZ in limbo again.The PM has confirmed what pundits have predicted for weeks: the plan for a public media entity has been scrapped - before they even settled on a name for it. It's the second time in five years Labour's backed away from its public media policy, leaving RNZ and TVNZ in limbo again.Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has confirmed what pundits have predicted for weeks: the plan for a public media entity has been scrapped - before they even settled on a name for it.It's the second time in five years Labour's backed away from its public media policy, leaving RNZ and TVNZ in limbo again - along with less-heralded overhauls of the media. The assumption the government would drop its plan for a new public media entity to be launched on March 1 was sparked by the then-PM Jacinda Ardern last December. She signaled reforms diverting ministers from the cost of living and post-Covid recovery would be shelved. She told Newsroom the so-called RNZ/TVNZ was "not number one on the government agenda".The broadcasting minister Willie Jackson had already made a mess of explaining the policy in a now-notorious TVNZ interview, which also amplified sideline concerns about possible political influence. Earlier in the year on Mediawatch, Jackson dismissed criticism of the proposed legislation, some of it coming from strong supporters of public broadcasting. That came back to bite him last month when the parliamentary committee scrutinsing the Bill rewrote important parts of it. Recent opinion polls revealed both low levels of support for the merger and little understanding of it, while rival media lobbyists called the new entity "a monolithic monster bad for the country".The formerly non-committal opposition leader declared it, not just bad but mad, repeatedly labeling the policy "insane." This year Ardern's successor Chris Hipkins also spoke of the urgent need to "reprioritise spending" while recent reporting has almost universally described the merger as "on Chippy's chopping block". Today the axe fell, finally and formally, putting a policy five years in the making out of its misery after millions of dollars and years of effort.He said RNZ's funding would increase in the short term "around the $10m mark" and this could be done before the next Budget process. …Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details