One source said Chan-Green and Burr were “in the picture” to work alongside Chris Chang, potentially with the incumbent Breakfast host to read the news and cover sport. That reading role becomes an especially important one for TVNZ next year, as the state broadcaster holds the rights for the Football World Cup.
Another source said O’Brien was also in the frame.
Burr and O’Brien have the added advantage of extensive political reporting experience – a bonus as the country heads into election year.
Two more sources observed that the broadcaster had been advertising the role on Seek, citing one reason as past criticism that previous presenting vacancies were not advertised more broadly, notably when Kamahl Santamaria was hired in 2022.
It would be surprising – and probably troubling – if TVNZ did not have a plan for Breakfast with at least several candidates already in mind.
The Seek ad revealed a salary range of $250,000-$350,000 and that the role is for a fixed two-year term.
Santamaria – whose dispute with TVNZ is set to be heard in the Employment Court next year – told Media Insider that he wouldn’t be surprised if the role was advertised as a result of the Robins Review following his own recruitment. He has not seen the review.
“[It] certainly accords with everything I’ve seen about my own hiring and the opposition to it. It will definitely be interesting if another outsider is appointed to the role – even one hired through a full external recruitment process – and how that would be received.
“Most of the reporting at the time showed that there was plenty of criticism and scrutiny about the way I was hired. But from what I saw in the media, I think that was more to do with people within TVNZ who were unhappy they hadn’t been sufficiently consulted.”
A TVNZ spokeswoman said: “We run a confidential recruitment process, so we’re not providing details on who’s applied or how many people have applied.
“For 1News at 6pm we ran an internal process, for our new Breakfast presenter we’re running an internal and external process – both are consistent with our recruitment policy, which has been in place for a number of years.”
Jenny-May Clarkson’s confident next step
Outgoing Breakfast host Jenny-May Clarkson – whose final show airs this morning – has unveiled a new side hustle.
She has set up a website, offering a confidence training course.
On Instagram this week, Clarkson told followers that she wasn’t sure, work-wise, what her next step would be after almost 20 years at TVNZ, including the past six as Breakfast co-host.
She did say: “I have a little project simmering which I will talk about soon, though.”
That appears to be the new confidence training course, with her website outlining short, practical lessons “to help you show up calm, clear and confident – at work, with whānau and in life”.
The website is selling a daily confidence course for $199, and a “30 days to a stronger you” reflection journal for $25.
“Most people recognise me from the screen – the early mornings, the makeup, the cameras, the conversations,” Clarkson wrote on the website.
“But beyond all of that, I’m simply a woman, a wife, a mother, a daughter and a soul who’s still learning and unlearning every single day.
“We all walk through seasons of strength and struggle – times when confidence feels close, and times when it drifts away.
“Like many people, I’ve known moments of self-doubt, heartbreak and uncertainty, and through them, I’ve learned that confidence isn’t built by avoiding the hard moments, but by growing through them.”
On the website, she also wrote: “Confidence, I’ve learned, isn’t something we perform – it’s something we remember. It’s a returning to ourselves, to our truth, to our power.
“It’s not about becoming someone new. It’s about remembering who you’ve always been.”
Subscription scrap: NBR v IRD
The Inland Revenue Department (IRD), rightly, is normally quick to chase down any New Zealander it suspects of dodging the system.
But it faces itself on the other side of the table, with the National Business Review (NBR) threatening legal action for what it alleges could be a breach of copyright over the tax department’s use of a single subscription to the business news website.
The NBR has successfully settled with three companies – including a major law firm – over allegations they had been breaching the NBR’s copyright and subscription terms and conditions by sharing small numbers of subscriptions widely among their staff.
Now it has the IRD in its sights.
“The tax department previously had a group subscription of 220 users until March 2024, when they cancelled the group subscription and took out a single subscription for [an] IRD media principal…,” according to an NBR statement released to Media Insider.
“Following publicity of NBR’s settlements last month, IRD sought a quote for a group subscription allowing for up to 700 users, noting it distributes a media report to more than 600 staff every morning.
“The following week, IRD said it had 130 names of staff who wanted access, while noting it may seek up to 199 subscriptions.
“However, IRD this week said there was no budget available for that many and instead it wanted 22 subscriptions for its executive leadership team, media team and a group of senior strategic advisors.”
NBR co-owner and publisher Todd Scott has now declined that request and cancelled IRD’s sole subscription, “with investigations under way into how that one subscription has been used by the department over the last 18 months”.
He said the NBR was taking legal advice “ahead of possible action”.
All of the NBR’s assertions and statements were put to the IRD for a specific response and for it to provide any other comment and context.
“As the NBR owner has indicated he plans to take legal action, it is not appropriate for Inland Revenue to comment,” a spokeswoman said.
Scott said: “NBR would welcome IRD’s business, but its request for so few subscriptions suggests it is not taking this issue seriously.
“IRD was one of the few Government departments to receive a boost to its funding in Budget 2025, being allocated an extra $35 million to collect debt and improve tax compliance.
“In April 2023, then Revenue Minister David Parker even said the NBR Rich List was a better data set than official statistics when announcing the launch of the IRD High Wealth Individuals Research Project.
“The NBR is clearly of much value to its staff and its operations as a government department.
“Following a couple of years in which several high-profile media businesses have folded in this country, New Zealand business and Government departments need to ensure they are backing the industry appropriately.”
Scott said last month that NBR had developed a “sophisticated system” to flag those who were breaching its terms and copyright conditions.
“We are now working through a list of member subscribers who have been flagged by the newly implemented system.”
He said NBR would give these firms until the end of November to put their houses in order.
He said the exact terms of the earlier three settlements, including the names of the firms, were confidential. But each firm had paid legal costs and agreed to buy an appropriate number of subscriptions.
NBR introduced a paywall 16 years ago, while the NZ Herald’s Premium subscription service launched in 2019. Stuff introduced digital subscriptions for its metropolitan titles in 2023.
Bunnings bounces out of NPC/FPC
Bunnings will no longer be the naming rights sponsor of New Zealand’s premier domestic rugby competitions – the men’s National Provincial Championship (NPC), the women’s Farah Palmer Cup (FPC) and the Heartland Championship.
The firm confirmed its departure after five years, without specifying why or what had led to the decision.
The move is particularly interesting in the context that many NPC and FPC games will screen next year on free-to-air TVNZ (alongside Sky), with likely audience gains and exposure.
New Zealand Rugby said it was grateful for Bunnings’ support of its domestic competitions since 2021.
“Provincial rugby and its competitions are critical to rugby’s continued success and we’ve seen great growth in engagement and viewership this year of the NPC, Farah Palmer Cup and Heartland Championship,” New Zealand Rugby community general manager Steve Lancaster said.
“We are excited about the increased visibility of these competitions from 2026, with a mix of these games broadcast free-to-air on TVNZ as well as on Sky, expanding the ways Kiwis can view grassroots and community rugby.”
Lancaster said the organisation had “strong interest” from prospective partners.
Bunnings New Zealand general manager Melissa Haines said the company had been proud to champion domestic rugby.
“We’re incredibly proud of what has been achieved through programmes like Bunnings Rugby Assist, with over $1.5 million contributed to club facility upgrades, more than 780 rugby community projects supported by our team and $300k donated to grassroots rugby.
“We know how much our customers and community love rugby, and we’re committed to continuing to support the sport at a grassroots level. While we’ll no longer be primary partner and naming rights sponsor, we will continue to support grassroots rugby through store BBQs and community projects.”
She thanked New Zealand Rugby “for a memorable chapter and the opportunity to contribute meaningfully to the game’s development”.
When pushed on why it would no longer be the main sponsor, a Bunnings spokeswoman said: “Nothing further to add to what’s included in the statement at this time.”
PM v the paper – a doctored photo and a physical incident
A stand-off between Samoa’s top newspaper and its Prime Minister has come to a head this week, with a physical confrontation outside the PM’s private home on Sunday in which the paper’s editor was allegedly assaulted by security staff.
The following day, Samoa Prime Minister Laʻauli Leuatea Schmidt banned Samoa Observer journalists from his future press conferences. He later said the ban was temporary, although it remains in place today.
The stand-off appears to have been brewing for several weeks, with Observer editor Shalveen Chand saying that the Prime Minister had taken issue with an article that appeared last month.
The Prime Minister – the leader of the Fa’atuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (Fast) party – has just returned from eight weeks in New Zealand, recuperating after surgery in this country for a leg injury.
During his time in New Zealand, he met Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters – a meeting that was subject to an Observer story after it highlighted what it reported to be a fake photograph that the Samoan Government had posted on its Facebook page.
The photograph showed the Prime Minister sitting in a leather chair opposite Peters. It appears his wheelchair was Photoshopped out of the picture and replaced with a leather chair.
The remnants of a wheelchair can still be seen in the photograph.
“I can’t vouch for this photo,” a spokesman for Peters told the newspaper.
Other photographs from the meeting showed the Prime Minister in a wheelchair.
That story appeared in the Samoa Observer on October 26, forming a tense backdrop for when the Prime Minister arrived back in Samoa last Sunday.
A Samoa Observer reporter missed him at the airport – Chand says the PM was whisked away – and so she went to his house.
Chand said the newspaper was doing its public duty, seeking to inquire about the PM’s health after being away for two months. “We went with the intention to ask how he was,” Chand told Australia’s ABC radio this week.
It was there that trouble unfolded, when Chand himself turned up – he says he was simply delivering camera lenses to his reporter.
As he was returning to his car, he alleges he was accosted by two unidentified security staff and pushed. He told the ABC that he still had a sore jaw after a car door was slammed on his face.
He has laid a complaint with police.
On Monday, the Prime Minister announced he was banning the Samoa Observer from future press conferences.
The PM’s move has been criticised by media freedom supporters in Samoa; others say the newspaper crossed a line.
“Shame on them — it was really disrespectful to interrupt the Prime Minister right after he arrived, especially on a Sunday,” said the co-founder and director of Talamua Media, Angie Kronfeld Polu, as reported by the Observer itself.
“If they had been beaten badly to the point where they had no face, it would have been better. Who do they think they are?”
Another Samoan journalist told the Herald that the clash occurred after a series of articles spotlighting La’auli.
The presence of the journalists outside his house was “the last straw for La’auli” – he had apparently only just arrived home himself and barely seen his family and children or had a meal.
An argument ensued between the journalists and security representatives.
“I know there is now a lot of talk online, including among our own journalism circles in New Zealand and in the Pacific, claiming that this is La’auli acting like an authoritarian.
“But if you try to understand it from another angle, in this case a Samoan cultural context, this is the height of rudeness.
“Rocking up to not just the leader of the country’s private home, but also La’auli as an elder or a matai (chief).
“One of the journalists (a young woman) was wearing shorts. Again, in a cultural context – very rude. She should’ve been wearing a lavalava or a skirt.
“The fact that La’auli was very sick as well, in a cultural context, you would go with something to give them – ie, food, a bunch of bananas or flowers, even. Yes, they are working, but they are also Samoan. It’s just how our culture is, as the same for many cultures.
“It’s that thing like, don’t demand respect because of your job title – ie, your right to be there as a journalist – and yet not show the same respect.
“I think even from a New Zealand/Western perspective, I’m pretty sure we have unwritten rules about this sort of thing as well with our own Prime Minister. There’s a mutual respect.
“The Observer got the photos they wanted – at La’auli’s property. They could’ve easily just left it there and written up a story that he’d arrived back in the country. There was nothing more to be gained by pushing for him to come out to talk to them.”
The journalist says it would be a different story if there had been a major incident that required the PM’s urgent comment or attention.
The journalist also pointed out that his press conferences are livestreamed “so they’re not being shut out completely”.
“Anyone can watch the press conferences – media and ordinary members of the public.”
TVNZ stalwart departs
One of TVNZ’s longest-serving and most respected advertising sales leaders is departing.
TVNZ sales general manager Aaron Dawson has been appointed head of client partnerships for Cartology, the retail media arm of Woolworths.
“Opportunities like this don’t come around often, and so as much as I’ll miss my TVNZ family, it was time to try something new,” Dawson AKA “Daws” told Media Insider.
“Looking forward to getting stuck into the growth and opportunity of retail media. I’ve done all I can to bring Teletext back, but I’ve accepted that we have moved on. The team will smash it without me anyway.”
Latest magazine, newspaper readerships
Several titles have enjoyed strong success in the latest magazine readership results.
All four weekly magazines measured by Nielsen – the NZ Woman’s Weekly, Listener, Woman’s Day and the TV Guide – have enjoyed year-on-year print readership increases.
The Woman’s Weekly and the TV Guide also enjoyed increases over the previous quarter, according to the latest Nielsen readership numbers released on Thursday.
Are Media – which publishes the Weekly, Listener and Woman’s Day – is also celebrating a big year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter readership increase for its monthly title, the Australian Women’s Weekly.
Are Media general manager Stuart Dick said the “exceptional” results, paired with ongoing momentum digitally, delivered scale and engagement for advertisers.
AA Directions and NZ Geographic were up year-on-year but back on the last quarter, while Rugby News was up strongly on both.
Meanwhile, New Zealand’s five main metropolitan daily newspapers have all come back, slightly, on the previous quarter, but are championing digital growth.
The NZ Herald’s daily brand audience (digital and print) is up year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter to 1.181 million and its weekly brand audience is 2.37 million, an increase of 96,000 compared with last year.
Stuff is also celebrating increased digital readership: The Press has grown to reach 881,000 New Zealanders each month, 65% more than 12 months ago. The Post increased its audience by 150,000 readers to 906,000.
In the separate Nielsen-measured monthly numbers, stuff.co.nz has a unique audience of 2.23 million, nzherald.co.nz 1.96 million, rnz.co.nz 1.698 million and 1news.co.nz 803,000.
IAB grand awards
Agencies Dentsu and Together and media firms NZME and TVNZ were among the big winners at last night’s IAB New Zealand digital advertising awards.
Among the night’s grand awards, Dentsu Media Aotearoa won best in show, Together won media agency of the year, NZME was named media publisher of the year, Infinitum won digital product or service of the year, and TVNZ’s Blacksand won creative agency of the year.
Dentsu took home the grand award for The Export Ultra “cold callback service”, an advertising campaign featuring Vanilla Ice. The campaign also won gold awards for best use of digital audio, best use of social, best brand campaign and best retail/ecommerce campaign. In total, Dentsu received seven gold and six silver awards.
Together – which has just won the Kiwibank account – took media agency of the year for its work “leveraging innovative data and technology developments to drive business growth”. The agency won four golds and two silvers in total.
NZME won media publisher of the year for the second year in a row and NZME’s Ester Monti won the grand award for emerging talent.
NZME chief executive Michael Boggs said the publisher of the year win was a “testament to our unwavering commitment to digital innovation and excellence”.
“We’re so proud of Ester for her emerging talent win. Ester ensures our cross-channel digital advertising surpasses client objectives…”
Infinitum – an analytics platform for streamed broadcast video ad campaigns -won the grand award for 2025 digital product or service of the year.
TVNZ’s Blacksand was named creative agency of the year – TVNZ received four gold awards and one silver in total.
Kate Grigg, the head of Publicis Media Exchange, Publicis Media and chair of the IAB digital effectiveness council, was awarded the grand award for service to the industry and Tina Trenkner-Meade was named IAB council member of the year.
“The digital advertising industry brought its A-game this year. The standout campaigns were the ones that combined technology, creativity and consumer insights to make a real impact,” said convenor of judges and MediaWorks general manager of technology, product and data Gareth Codd.
Editor-at-Large Shayne Currie is one of New Zealand’s most experienced senior journalists and media leaders. He has held executive and senior editorial roles at NZME including Managing Editor, NZ Herald Editor and Herald on Sunday Editor and has a small shareholding in NZME.
