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Native name | Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa (Māori) |
|---|---|
| Company type | Crown Entity |
| Predecessors |
|
| Founded | 1995 (1995) |
| Headquarters | Radio New Zealand House,Wellington |
Key people | |
| Owner | Minister of Finance (50%) Minister for Media and Communications (50%)[4] |
| Website | rnz.co.nz |
Radio New Zealand (Māori:Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa), commonly known asRNZ orRadio NZ, is a New Zealandpublic-service radio broadcaster andCrown entity that was established under the Radio New Zealand Act 1995.[5] It operates news andcurrent-affairs network,RNZ National, and aclassical-music andjazz network,RNZ Concert, with full government funding fromNZ On Air. Since 2014, the organisation's focus has been to transform RNZ from a radio broadcaster to amultimedia outlet, increasing its production of digitalcontent in audio, video, and written forms.[6]
The organisation plays a central role inNew Zealand public broadcasting. TheNew Zealand Parliament fully funds itsAM network, used in part for the broadcast of parliamentary proceedings. RNZ has a statutory role under theCivil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002[7] to act as a "lifelineutility" in emergency situations. It is also responsible for an international service (known asRNZ Pacific); this is broadcast to theSouth Pacific in bothEnglish andPacific languages through its Pacificshortwave service.[8]
The first radio broadcast in New Zealand was made on 17 November 1921 by radio pioneerProfessor Robert Jack.[9] Government-funded public service radio in New Zealand was historically provided by the Radio Broadcasting Company between 1925 and 1931, the New Zealand Broadcasting Board between 1931 and 1936, the National Broadcasting Service between 1936 and 1962, theNew Zealand Broadcasting Corporation between 1962 and 1975, and the Radio New Zealandstate-owned enterprise between 1975 and 1995.[10] The organisation placed a strong emphasis on training its staff inReceived Pronunciation, until it began promoting local and indigenous accents in the 1990s.[11][12]
As part of the process ofprivatisation carried out by thefourth National government, the government's commercial radio operations were sold to private investors asThe Radio Network in 1996, and the government's non-commercial assets (known previously as New Zealand Public Radio) became the current Radio New Zealand Crown entity.
RNZ had its headquarters in Broadcasting House in Bowen St,Wellington, behind theparliamentary buildings. Construction of the Bowen St building began in 1959, and it was opened in 1963. The building was demolished in 1997, and RNZ moved to Radio New Zealand House on The Terrace.[13][14] In 2025 a time capsule which had been buried in the tunnel between the RNZ building andParliament Buildings in 1996 was discovered and opened.[15]
The broadcaster is bound by the Charter and Operating Principles included in the Radio New Zealand Act, which is reviewed by theNew Zealand Parliament every five years. The Radio New Zealand Amendment Act 2016[16] received Royal assent on 1 April 2016.
Purpose:
RNZ broadcasts over three nationwide networks: RNZ National; RNZ Concert; and the AM network, which relays Parliamentary proceedings. RNZ Pacific (formerly Radio New Zealand International or RNZI) is its overseas shortwave service, broadcasting to the South Pacific and beyond, while Radio New Zealand News provides comprehensive, up-to-the-minute news and current affairs information. RNZ also allows for the archiving of broadcast material of historical interest.
It must also produce and commission high quality programming based on research of public needs, and balance mass appeal and minority appeal programming. In achieving these objectives, it must be socially and financially responsible.[5]
In February 2020, it was announced by Music Content Director Willy Macalister and Chief ExecutivePaul Thompson that RNZ Concert was to undergo major changes: it would be moved from the FM to the AM band, streamed online, and the current service replaced by an automated non-stop play format. Seventeen jobs would be lost from RNZ Music, including all the Concert presenters. It would be replaced on FM radio with music for a younger audience as part of a new multimedia music brand.[17]
The move was widely condemned across New Zealand, with many people seeing it as a gutting of the arts in New Zealand.[18] Former Prime MinisterHelen Clark issued a statement on Twitter saying that it "equates to a dumbing down of cultural life in NZ."[19][full citation needed] Two thousand protesters signed a petition.[20] The RNZ board reversed its decision when the government announced it would grant RNZ a third FM channel.[21]
On 23 June 2022, Broadcasting MinisterWillie Jackson introduceddraft legislation to formally merge public broadcasters Radio New Zealand andTVNZ into a new non-profit autonomous Crown entity calledAotearoa New Zealand Public Media (ANZPM), commencing 1 March 2023. Under the draft legislation, RNZ would become a subsidiary of the new entity, which would be funded through a mixture of government and commercial funding. The proposed ANZPM would be headed by a board, and operate under a media charter outlining goals and responsibilities including editorial independence.[22][23]
On 8 February 2023, Prime MinisterChris Hipkins announced that the merger of TVNZ and RNZ into ANZPM had been cancelled, stating that "support for public media needs to be at a lower cost and without such significant structural change." He confirmed that both TVNZ and RNZ would receive additional government funding.[24][25] Prior to the public media entity's cancellation, the two public broadcasters had spent a total of NZ$1,023,701 on the merger process, with RNZ spending NZ$431,277 by mid-November 2022.[26]
On 9 June 2023, Radio New Zealand launched an investigation[27][28] after discovering several stories that it said gave a false account of theRussian invasion of Ukraine.Wire agency articles were said to have been "edited to align with the Russian view of events."[29] The editing was linked to one employee, journalist Michael Hall,[30] who subsequently resigned.[31] An RNZ audit identified 49 examples of what it called inappropriate editing on various international affairs. Nearly half of the affected content related to the war inUkraine, while others related toChina,Israel, and countries inEurope and South America.[32] AStuff reporter interpreted the edits to be broadly from atankie point of view, in which aggression fromauthoritarian governments with acommunist past are supported or downplayed, usually as part of opposition to theUnited States and its allies.[33]
In early August 2023, the independent review found that Hall had breached both Radio New Zealand's editorial standards and the company's contract withReuters. The review also criticised RNZ's management for overreacting to coverage of Hall's actions, and found that internal cultural, system, and teamwork issues contributed to Hall's inappropriate edits. The review's panel recommended that RNZ merge its digital news team with its main news team, and appoint someone to focus on improving the organisation's editorial standards. The RNZ board chairperson, Jim Mather, stated that RNZ accepted the report, and would implement its recommendations.[34][35]
RNZ National, formerly National Radio, is RNZ's independent news and current affairs platform, and offers both its own on-air and online services and those from third party services. It includes the news and current affairs programmesMorning Report (which began on 1 April 1975),[36]Midday Report, andCheckpoint, as well as having news bulletins every hour. Its news service has specialist correspondents, overseas correspondents, reporters, and a network of regional reporters. Magazine programmes include a broad range of contributors, interviews, music pieces, and dramas, with reports and regular features inEnglish andMāori. The network provides coverage of business, science, politics, philosophy, religion, rural affairs, sports, and other topics.
RNZ National broadcasts onAM andFM via mono terrestrial transmitters based around New Zealand and theOptus satellite. It is also available on Sky Digital TV channel 421, Freeview satellite channel 50, and is available in stereo on the terrestrial Freeview HD service.
RNZ Concert is an FM radio network broadcastingclassical andjazz music, as well as world music, specialist programmes, and regular news updates. Founded in 1975 as the Concert Programme,[37] the network was renamed Concert FM in the mid-1990s, and assumed its current name in 2007 as part of a wider name change within Radio New Zealand to associate Concert FM with the RNZ brand.[37][38] RNZ Concert was refreshed in February 2018, with several new programmes and presenters, and a renewed focus on live music and storytelling on New Zealand's music and arts communities.[39]
The station broadcasts inFM stereo via terrestrial transmitters located around New Zealand, as well as from theOptus satellite. It is also available on Sky Digital TV channel 422, and on Freeview's satellite and terrestrial services on channel 51.
TheAM Network is anetwork of radio transmitters operated by RNZ, which broadcast all sittings of theNew Zealand Parliament through a contract with the Clerk of the House of Representatives. Sitting hours are seasonal, and may be extended due to certain circumstances, but are generally 14:00 to 18:00 Tuesday and Wednesday, 14:00 to 17:00 Thursday, and 19:00 to 22:00 Tuesday and Wednesday.[40] AM Network Parliamentary coverage is also streamed online, withpodcasts andtranscripts available.
The House is broadcast on RNZ on the House sitting days at 6:55 pm and Sunday at 7:30 am and 10:45 pm. It looks at legislation, issues, and insights from Parliament.
To help fund the operation of the station, RNZ has leased the remaining hours to Christian broadcasterRhema Media since 1997, which uses the frequencies to broadcast the low-budget easy listeningStar network.[41] The transmitters were previously used by the Concert Programme before it moved toFM broadcasting.[42]
TheRNZ Pacific network (also known outside New Zealand as RNZ International, or RNZI) broadcasts onshortwave and viaDigital Radio Mondiale to New Zealand's neighbouring countries in the Pacific from transmitters located atRangitaiki, nearTaupō, in theNorth Island.[43]There also is a relay viaWRN Broadcast and alivestream on the internet.
RNZ has a wide variety of podcasts and series.[44] Series can be downloaded in Oggcast format.
RNZ's main news centres are located inWellington andAuckland, with additional newsrooms inWhangārei,Hamilton,New Plymouth, NapierHawkes Bay,Palmerston North,Nelson,Christchurch, andDunedin. There is also a Parliamentary Press Gallery office situated inthe Beehive in Wellington.
Before 1996, the News service provided news to all commercial stations operated by Radio New Zealand, as well as many independently owned stations. New ownerThe Radio Network launched its own news service.[45][46]
In addition to on the hour news bulletins, the RNZ News service provides 24-hour programming and news and current affairs scheduled—programmes such asMorning Report with Ingrid Hipkiss and Corin Dann,Nine to Noon with Kathryn Ryan, andCheckpoint with Lisa Owen.
Regional Reporters:
The RNZ website, rnz.co.nz (formerly radionz.co.nz), was launched in October 2005, and includes news coverage, programme information, online station streaming, and podcasting.RNZ National,RNZ Concert,AM Network coverage ofParliament, andRNZ Pacific are available asWindows Media Audio streams. Almost all RNZ-produced programmes are available dating back to January 2008, and haveMP3 andOgg Vorbis and download andpodcasts options. Some material is not available due to insufficientcopyright clearances.
The website was awarded theQantas Media Award for Best Website Design in 2007, aNew Zealand Open Source Award in 2008,[47] New Zealand Radio Award for Best Radio Website in 2009, and ONYA awards forBest use of HTML and CSS andBest Accessibility in 2010.[48] The site was re-launched on 26 May 2013 with a new design and a custom CMS built using the open sourceRuby on Rails framework.
The website was further redesigned and relaunched in July 2016, and the domain was moved to rnz.co.nz in May 2019.[49]
In July 2023, two news portals were opened forChinese andIndian New Zealander community audiences, with the Chinese section featuring stories inSimplified Chinese.[50]
In October 2013, Radio New Zealand launched the youth-focused and non-commercial website 'The Wireless.' The website emerged from the push for a youth radio station as part of Radio New Zealand's offerings. Instead of creating a youth radio station, RNZ decided to create a website or online magazine that focused on 18- to 30-year-olds, which would be more relevant to the demographic.[51]
Project manager Marcus Stickley noted that: "RNZ has had the wisdom to recognize that it didn't necessarily need to be under the RNZ brand. It needed to develop something specifically for that audience, and they've given us the freedom to go away and figure out exactly how to do that."[52] In April 2014, the CEO of RNZ commented that The Wireless was "the most exciting innovation from RNZ in recent years."[53][54][55][56]
The Wireless ceased operating as an independent publication in 2018, and was folded back into RNZ.[57]
Tahi,[58][59] a youth-oriented platform, was launched in December 2021.
Prior to 1996, Radio New Zealand operated a large number of commercial stations around New Zealand. These stations were typically local stations with their own local identity, with the origins of many stations going back to the 1930s up until more recent stations created in the 1990s. Stations in the larger centres were usually local 24 hours a day, and stations in the smaller centres featured a mixture of part-local and part-networked programming.
In 1996, theNew Zealand Government sold off all of their commercial stations to a syndicate that included United States radio companyClear Channel Communications and publisherWilson & Horton; in New Zealand, the new owner became known asThe Radio Network.
The following stations were previously owned by Radio New Zealand. Some listed stations were closed down before the 1996 sale, whileGore radio stationRadio Hokonui was sold privately in 1994.
All of the early local radio stations started by Radio New Zealand originally broadcast on an AM frequency. FM broadcasting did not begin in New Zealand until the 1980s. In the 1980s and early 1990s, most stations listed below switched to an FM frequency, but continued to broadcast on the original AM frequency. Some stations utilised the AM frequency for specialised shows, such as local talkback, sports talk, and local news shows. In 1993, the majority of these stations were split in two, with the AM frequency used to broadcast Auckland basedNewstalk ZB, which was originally Auckland's 1ZB. The local station on the FM frequency adopted a common format and brand calledClassic Hits, with all stations retaining local programming under Radio New Zealand's operation.
Radio New Zealand community stations operated in the heartland areas of New Zealand. These stations typically ran limited local programming, such as a local breakfast show, and at other times relayed a nearby station orNational Radio. Following the sale to The Radio Network, most of these stations became part of theCommunity Radio Network, with programming outside the breakfast show originating from Taupō. These stations later became part of theClassic Hits network in 2001.
Radio New Zealand operated a youth network of stations under theZM brand, with the three original stations being in Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch. The Auckland station,1ZM, changed format in 1987 to Classic Hits, leaving just the Wellington and Christchurch stations. Since the sale to The Radio Network, ZM has been expanded to a nationwide network based in Auckland.
Sports Roundup was a network which conducted seasonal sports broadcasts in the main centres during the 1980s and 1990s, particularly used to broadcastCricket matches in New Zealand. Following the sale to The Radio Network, Sports Roundup became known asRadio Sport, which went off the air permanently in 2020.
In August 2024,The New Zealand Herald reported that RNZ National's overall cumulative audience had fallen from over 700,000 in early 2020 to 529,800 in 2024. During that period, RNZ's flagshipMorning Report show had declined from a cumulative audience of 500,000 in early 2020 to 376,500 in 2024. Meanwhile, commercial competitorNewstalk ZB's breakfast show hosted byMike Hosking had risen from under 400,000 to 445,300. In response, RNZ chief executive Paul Thompson said that RNZ had distributed its output across other platforms, including its website,app, and podcasts, and also had content deals with over 65 partners. Thompson also said that RNZ had expanded its reach from 15% to 70% of the population over the past 15 years. He estimated that live radio now comprised 14% of its reach.[60]
As of July 2024[update], theMedia and Journalism Research Center evaluated RNZ to be "Independent State Funded and State Managed/Owned Media" under itsState Media Matrix.[61][62]
41°17′06″S174°46′27″E / 41.28500°S 174.77417°E /-41.28500; 174.77417
| International | |
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| National | |
