“Marian Hobbs’ brave new Television world is under threat because she has the structure wrong and the impotent Alliance is staging a hissy-fit,” New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters said in Tauranga today.

“TVNZ and Radio New Zealand need to be retained in public ownership but be combined as one state owned enterprise (New Zealand Broadcasting) modelled on similar broadcasting organisations overseas, Mr Peters said.

“The current structure of these organisations prevents them from fulfilling their necessary obligations. You also have a culture of profligacy in one, and a hand-to-mouth existence for the other. Neither are producing the quality current affairs, news, or cultural programmes that you would expect from first world broadcasters.

“Both channels and Radio New Zealand ought to share a common news service to enhance coverage and reduce administration costs. A certain weeding out of the grossly overpaid would also not go amiss, said Mr Peters.

“The Minister should not be diverted from her goal by Alliance politicking but needs to have another look at the structural changes. Why do we want to make a major part of TVNZ (the profitable Broadcasting Communications Ltd.) a separate entity? The solution is clear: one organisation with a clear charter and a culture of public service.” Mr Peters concluded.

ENDS

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Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>