Andrew Dickens Afternoons by Newstalk ZB
Newstalk ZB
Radio: NewsTalk ZB Network
Categories: News & Politics
Listen to the last episode:
Since we were last together, the collapse of television news and current affairs has continued.
And with it, we have been subjected to a lot of highfalutin thinking about the metaphysical and cultural reasons why linear TV is dying.
You know - go woke go broke. Or- this is because nobody trusts you, because you're all raving lefties.
Meanwhile, Melissa Lee has been asked what she is going to do about it, when it's obvious that there's very little she can do.
These are commercial entities that are suffering at the hands of market forces that have been long predicted to hit.
Commercial broadcasting and journalism is an easy business model. Inventory control and labour costs. In other words, you can't employ any more people than the money you make from the advertising.
Hearing that more than 300 were employed by Newshub was pretty revealing. That's a lot of salaries.
For some perspective, NZME employs just over 200 for it's papers and radio and digital content. And the lid has been sinking steadily for a years now.
That's because digital players are siphoning off $100 million a year in advertising content
Despite the 6 o'clock news having the highest spot rates, they were unable to make the budget balance
Faced with this environment I was confused after Warner took over 3 that they added to the news output with full-service late-night shows and more. They increased their costs at a time when revenue was going down.
It seemed to me that no matter how woke or unwoke or how biased or unbiased, Newshub was increasingly modelled to lose money without a huge recalibration.
Meanwhile, despite warning bells sounding about the theft of revenue by digital companies, our TV operators seemed timid to adapt.
Facebook and Google sell clicks. They gain news content and then clicks when punters repost links. Yet the links from so many news operators continue to be free.
There's a reason the Herald is now behind a paywall, so at least we can clip the ticket. When we did it the industry thought we were audacious. It's beginning to look very smart.
Furthermore, TVNZ in particular has made a foray into the digital world with TVNZ+. But it's free to air and the ad inventory is so low it's better to watch it online with time shifting, thereby missing out on the ads that pay for the whole shebang.
The model is broken not because of politics or bias but because of fear.
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Previous episodes
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673 - Andrew Dickens: The media model is broken because of fear Mon, 15 Apr 2024
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672 - Andrew Dickens: New Zealand knows the price of everything and the value of nothing Mon, 08 Apr 2024
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671 - Andrew Dickens: Let's put SailGP on at an appropriate venue and move on Mon, 25 Mar 2024
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670 - Andrew Dickens: Did the Government know that their pre-election promises were unaffordable? Mon, 11 Mar 2024
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669 - Andrew Dickens: National's state of the nation address was blame game politics Mon, 19 Feb 2024
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668 - Andrew Dickens: This weekend showed the Greens are fast becoming unelectable Mon, 12 Feb 2024
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667 - Andrew Dickens: The Government has to learn perceptions stick Mon, 04 Dec 2023
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666 - Andrew Dickens: Is this what we can expect for the next three years? Mon, 27 Nov 2023
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665 - Andrew Dickens: There's big stones in the path to coalition Mon, 20 Nov 2023
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664 - Andrew Dickens: Enjoy this respite from criticism of New Zealand, it won't last Mon, 30 Oct 2023
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663 - Andrew Dickens: New Zealand is confused Mon, 16 Oct 2023
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662 - Andrew Dickens: We've got an incompetent cohort of politicians Mon, 09 Oct 2023
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661 - Andrew Dickens: National has abandoned their plans for social investment from 2017 Mon, 02 Oct 2023
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660 - Andrew Dickens: I don't know why National is so wedded to these tax cuts Mon, 18 Sep 2023
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659 - Andrew Dickens: Luxon shoots himself in the foot, time and time again Mon, 11 Sep 2023
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658 - Andrew Dickens: New Zealand needs smart leadership- but no one's offering Mon, 04 Sep 2023
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657 - Andrew Dickens: Misguided, naïve, or just plain timid Mon, 28 Aug 2023
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656 - Andrew Dickens: This country won't survive drastic cuts to the public workforce Mon, 21 Aug 2023
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655 - Andrew Dickens: Will they have any mandate at all come October? Mon, 14 Aug 2023
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654 - Andrew Dickens: There's one piece of infrastructure working well- Eden Park Mon, 07 Aug 2023
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653 - Andrew Dickens: We're not nearly as bad as so many make us out to be Mon, 31 Jul 2023
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652 - Andrew Dickens: Hipkins is a lame turkey waiting for Christmas Mon, 24 Jul 2023
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651 - Andrew Dickens: Matariki is not going away Mon, 17 Jul 2023
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650 - Andrew Dickens: Cancel culture continues to grow Mon, 10 Jul 2023
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649 - Andrew Dickens: The treatment of the Police is regrettable Mon, 26 Jun 2023
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648 - Andrew Dickens: This policy should've been placed in the "not now, not ever" pile Mon, 19 Jun 2023
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647 - Andrew Dickens: Green's tax policy is barely worth the paper it's written on Tue, 13 Jun 2023
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646 - Andrew Dickens: A bit of a culture shock Mon, 29 May 2023
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645 - Andrew Dickens: Why did so many mainstream outlets miss the point of the coronation? Mon, 08 May 2023
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644 - Andrew Dickens: King Charles makes a useful sideshow from the drudgery of everyday life Mon, 01 May 2023
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643 - Andrew Dickens: We need to pay people more Mon, 24 Apr 2023
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642 - Andrew Dickens: Infrastructure planning is a lesson we fail to learn Mon, 17 Apr 2023
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641 - Andrew Dickens: It's time for politicians to back away from the bluster Mon, 03 Apr 2023
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640 - Andrew Dickens: Posie Parker's visit and the fallout played out exactly as predicted Mon, 27 Mar 2023
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639 - Andrew Dickens: We ignore what's possible when we talk about crime and policing Mon, 20 Mar 2023
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638 - Andrew Dickens: We have to admit our health system is broken Mon, 13 Mar 2023
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637 - Andrew Dickens: How can you reduce both public servants and consultants if you want anything done? Mon, 06 Mar 2023
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636 - Andrew Dickens: Tribute to Chester Borrows Mon, 27 Feb 2023
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635 - Andrew Dickens: I won't be voting for a party that doesn't have a cogent water reform policy Mon, 27 Feb 2023
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634 - Andrew Dickens: It's time to stop doing only enough to get by until tomorrow Mon, 20 Feb 2023
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633 - Philip Duncan: WeatherWatch Mon, 13 Feb 2023
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632 - Andrew Dickens: Much to unpack from the Auckland Floods Mon, 30 Jan 2023
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631 - Andrew Dickens: It's making for a great election Mon, 23 Jan 2023
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630 - Andrew Dickens: The by-election needs to be taken with a grain of salt Sun, 11 Dec 2022
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629 - Andrew Dickens: Saturday's Billy Joel concert gave me perspective on transport investments Mon, 05 Dec 2022
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628 - Andrew Dickens: We've been used as a rubbish bin and the Aussies know it Mon, 28 Nov 2022
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627 - Andrew Dickens: Qatar's money has taken their humanity Mon, 21 Nov 2022
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626 - Andrew Dickens: Co-governance should be the least of your worries Mon, 14 Nov 2022
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625 - Andrew Dickens: I warned you that Winston is back and I was right Mon, 31 Oct 2022
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624 - Andrew Dickens: Put worldwide battle against emissions into perspective Sun, 09 Oct 2022