When a major regional broadcaster starts cutting jobs to recover from a financial crisis, the consequences rarely stop at its own doorstep.
Radio New Zealand’s (RNZ)$11.8 million ($14.8 million FJD) deficit and plans to eliminate 58 full-time equivalent positions by March 2027 has sent shock waves in the Pacific media sector.
For the wider Pacific, the concern is what those reductions could mean for regional news and journalism, particularly at a time when many Pacific newsrooms are already struggling with limited resources, with some reliance on Australian and New Zealand public broadcasters to supplement their coverage, especially regional news and analysis .
Dr Shailendra Singh, Head of Journalism at The University of the South Pacific (USP), believes the situation is much bigger than a New Zealand broadcaster massively failing to balance its books.
“Make no mistake, the consequences will be felt across the Pacific as well,” said the Associate Professor in Pacific Journalism.
One of the biggest casualties to watch, he believes, is RNZ Pacific, which has been producing valuable reporting on the region, often interviewing and quoting local experts.
Dr Singh said Radio New Zealand International remained important because it helped fill gaps in regional coverage that national media organisations across the Pacific were often unable to address, often to due resource and editorial capacity deficits.
It is a point worth considering in Fiji.
Our own newsrooms cannot always afford to maintain reporters across the region or follow every development in neighbouring island countries. Geographical challenges, transport costs and limited staffing mean some stories receive less attention than they deserve.
Regional coverage by broadcasters such as RNZ and Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), who were increasingly hiring and working with Pacific Island journalists, helped bridge some of those gaps, giving Pacific audiences access to reporting beyond their own national borders.
According to Dr Singh, the critical role of RNZ was evident when the Fiji media were suppressed by coups and restrictive legislation like the now repealed Media Industry Development Act.
“Broadcasters like RNZI and ABC covered issues that were risky for the Fiji media to touch,” said Singh.
He added that “in public interest journalism, there are no national borders, especially in a shared region like ours”, noting that other Pacific Island countries also benefited from RNZ coverage — especially given that digital disruption and the COVID-19 pandemic have financially weakened their media sectors.
Therefore, the effects of the RNZ debacle could be felt well beyond New Zealand.
Losing more than just journalists
RNZ’s financial problems emerged after the broadcaster recorded an $11.8 million deficit for the financial year ending June 2026, against an original budgeted loss of just $470,000.
Questions have since been raised about its financial reporting, internal controls and the oversight exercised by senior management and the board.
Chief executive Paul Thompson has accepted responsibility for the financial result, while the board has commissioned an independent review.
The proposed job reductions represent approximately one-sixth of RNZ’s workforce.
While the specific impact on its regional reporting operations remains to be established, Dr Singh believes the loss of experienced journalists is one of the biggest risks associated with newsroom restructuring.
He said staff layoffs were often among the first options considered when organisations faced financial difficulties.
But when experienced reporters leave, organisations lose more than the people occupying those positions.
“They also lose institutional knowledge, professional relationships and years of experience that cannot easily be replaced,” said Dr Singh.
The immediate consequence is reduced reporting capacity. Over time, the loss of expertise can affect the quality and breadth of coverage, particularly investigative and public-interest journalism, which require considerable time and resources.
Dr Singh drew comparisons with the ABC, which lost several seasoned Pacific correspondents during earlier restructuring exercises. He said the ABC would not have fully recovered its former level of Pacific coverage, particularly after some specialised programming was scaled back.
“Are we going to see a similar situation with Radio New Zealand?” he asked.
It is a question that should concern Pacific audiences who rely on regional broadcasters for information and perspectives that smaller national newsrooms cannot always provide.
A familiar connection for Fiji
Fiji also has its own connection with RNZ through journalists who have worked for or contributed to the broadcaster over the years.
Iliesa Tora, a familiar name in Fiji’s sporting and media circles, joined RNZ in 2023 and currently serves as a senior sports journalist and presenter.
Koroi Hawkins, who was born in Nadi to a Fijian father and a part-Fijian, part-Solomon Islands mother, joined RNZ International in 2014 and became RNZ Pacific’s first Melanesian editor in 2023.
Kelvin Anthony, currently serving as a lead digital and social media journalist for RNZ Pacific based in Wellington.
Other journalists with Fiji connections include Rachael Nath, Christine Rovoi, the late Sri Krishnamurthi and Tongan-Fijian broadcaster Indira Moala.
Fiji-based journalist Ricardo Morris also previously served as a correspondent for Radio New Zealand International.
Their professional journeys reflect the longstanding relationship between Fiji’s media industry and regional broadcasting.
They also illustrate how journalists move across the Pacific, carrying with them local knowledge, professional experience and an understanding of the issues affecting island communities. That regional network is something worth protecting.
The communities that risk being overlooked
The potential impact of newsroom restructuring is not limited to investigative journalism.
Dr Singh said rural communities were already receiving limited media attention, largely because of the costs involved in reaching geographically dispersed populations and the focus on “bread and butter news”— politics, crime and court reporting, business, entertainment and sports.
In contrast, covering maritime communities, rural settlements and smaller provincial centres requires time, transport and resources. Stories from these areas can be expensive to pursue, even when they involve important questions about development, public services and the environment.
Dr Singh believes that when newsrooms become smaller, these assignments can become increasingly difficult to sustain.
He suggested one way of improving rural coverage was to engage part-time correspondents and stringers based within local communities.
Apart from being more affordable, he said, these individuals would have a better understanding of local issues and easier access to the people affected.
It is an approach worth exploring, provided community correspondents receive proper training, editorial guidance and support. After all, the people living in these communities often have stories that deserve to be heard.
Who should pay for journalism?
The RNZ crisis also raises the wider question of how media organisations can remain financially sustainable.
While state broadcaster receive government funding, traditional media businesses are facing declining advertising revenue as more advertising spending moves towards global digital platforms.
The COVID-19 pandemic added another financial blow to an industry already struggling with digital disruption.
Dr Singh believes news media should be treated as a public good and that taxpayers should help subsidise private news organisations.
He argued that a functioning media industry is ultimately in the public interest.
However, he is wary of governments using financial assistance as leverage to influence editorial coverage.
“There is always the risk that governments will want their pound of flesh in return for any financial assistance they provide,” he said.
Dr Singh believes any public funding should be unconditional and governed by clear safeguards against political interference. He also said media organisations had a responsibility to diversify their revenue sources rather than become overly dependent on a single funder, including foreign donors.
Alternative revenue models, partnerships and private-sector support could help reduce that dependence. The challenge is finding sustainable funding without compromising the independence that makes journalism valuable in the first place.
The buck stops at the top
While the impact on journalists and audiences deserves attention, Dr Singh believes the primary issue in the RNZ case remains the financial and governance failures.
“The buck stops with the CEO, the management and the board,” said Dr Singh.
He added it was unfortunate that journalists who had nothing to do with the financial problems could become among the first casualties.
The deficit highlights the enormous responsibilities facing management and governing boards of publicly funded broadcasting organisations.
They are accountable not only to their organisations but also to the taxpayers who fund them and the audiences who depend on their services. Dr Singh said the appointment of qualified and capable people to management and board positions was essential to reducing the likelihood of similar failures.
RNZ must establish how its financial position deteriorated so significantly, strengthen its internal controls and ensure those responsible are held accountable.
As Dr Singh warned, the consequences of this catastrophic failure are regional, becoming visible in the stories that are no longer investigated, the communities that receive less attention and the Pacific voices that gradually disappear from public conversation.
The proposed RNZ job cuts have raised concerns across the Pacific, with smaller island nations potentially facing reduced access to regional news, investigative reporting and coverage of communities often overlooked by mainstream media. Picture: NEWSROOM/RNZ
