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RNZ Chief Executive Paul Thompson told the Ministry of Culture and Heritage in November that he did not need an additional FM radio slot to launch his youth music service plan.
The disclosure was contained in a series of documents released under the Official Information Act by RNZ on Tuesday.
Its importance is that an additional FM frequency could have allowed RNZ to launch its youth service without pressing on with the plan it unveiled in January to shut down its FM Concert radio channel and greatly downsize the station.
Subsequently, RNZ canceled its plan to switch Concert to AM and make most of the station’s staff redundant after a backlash from listeners and influential figures, including former Prime Minister Helen Clark.
The reaction caused the government to offer RNZ an additional FM frequency to 102FM that the ministry had earmarked for youth radio.
READ MORE:
* RNZ originally considered removing the Concert channel from radio entirely
* The future of the RNZ Concert lights up when staff tell you to prepare to ‘focus on growth’
* The Ministry of Culture and Heritage does not say anything about whether it gave the “clear direction” mentioned by the head of RNZ
Thompson told Parliament’s select committee on Economic Development, Science and Innovation in February that while RNZ had not submitted a formal request to the ministry last year for the 102FM frequency, “they clearly gave us the address that was unlikely to be achieved.” .
Dominion-Post
RNZ chief Paul Thompson told a select committee that he was given a clear idea that he was unlikely to get 102FM.
Things He submitted a request for communication from the OIA between RNZ and the ministry after the executive director of the Ministry of Culture and Heritage, Bernadette Cavanagh, repeatedly refused to confirm that she had given Thompson that command.
Documents released by RNZ on Tuesday included an email sent by Ministry of Culture and Heritage official Colin Holden to Thompson dated November 7, 2019.
Holden noted in that email that he had met with Thompson in July to discuss RNZ’s plans for a new music and youth-focused station and asked if Thompson “was still interested in exploring the use of spectrum on 102 FM” .
“If you intend to go ahead, we will have to think a little bit about a process to assign this spectrum and engage with the Minister, etc.,” he said.
Holden closed the “Happy to chat” email.
Thompson responded in an email that same day, which was also released under the OIA, confirming that RNZ planned to move forward with the launch of its youth music service in mid-2020.
But he said to Holden: “The plan does not require the new spectrum, but if that is an option, we would like to explore it with you.”
RNZ spokeswoman Charlotte McLauchlan said Thompson would not be available for an official interview on Tuesday.
But he said RNZ “could not have been more explicit in his desire to explore the option of FM frequencies.”
“This wish was expressed in writing to Bernadette Cavanagh in May and July 2019 in correspondence with MCH,” he said.
RNZ reiterated its desire to explore the option in November 2019 in the email exchange with the ministry, he said.
“After a discussion with MCH about the practicalities of accessing the spectrum and after weighing the probability that they will be released, RNZ decided to move forward on a plan that would not require it,” he said.
McLauchlan said the discussion was verbal, so it is not documented in OIA statements.
