NZ Media and Entertainment consolidating print, digital and radio together in one newsroom
New Zealand Media and Entertainment (NZME) will be bringing its print, digital and radio news teams together as one integrated, multi-platform operation with the company constructing a purpose-built centre in Auckland.
The integrated newsroom will be led by managing editor Shayne Currie, currently editor of NZ Herald which was named Newspaper of the Year at the PANPA Awards last week.
Currie
Asked if any redundancies will be made as a result of the integrated offering, Currie said the company is “currently consulting with our newsroom teams to ensure we create a newsroom with the appropriate skill sets to deliver the best news, sport and entertainment content across all platforms”.
“We intend to have our plans finalised by mid-October. Overall the newsroom will be larger than it currently is, including the insourcing of our subediting operation.”
The company is recruiting for the new roles of head of sport, to combine all radio and publishing resources into one sports team, a new creative director for the digital team and a planning editor.
Hastings
NZME CEO Jane Hastings is confident the new structure will set NZME up for the future.
“It will strengthen the quality of our news and information products. We have spent time over the past 12 months testing the model and we are confident of the benefits it will deliver,” she said in a statement.
Journalists who have been assigned to the New Zealand Herald or the Herald on Sunday will in future work across all platforms while radio breaking news reporting will also be embedded into the digital news stream.
“It will unlock the talent and energy of separated news teams to more efficiently contribute news reporting, feature writing, video, photography, design and production to wherever it is needed,” said Hastings.
The company will be focused on implementing an integrated, seven-day newsroom at the New Zealand Herald’s current location in Albert Street with NZME saying the integrated approach will not impact impact on individual brand’s perspectives and tone.
The alignment between journalists at Newstalk ZB and Radio Sport, the New Zealand Herald and Herald on Sunday, will be fully implemented when the two teams move into the purpose-built newsroom in Auckland towards the end of the year.
“The judges’ comments indicated that the Herald is leading the way in how it presents the news in print and online. The campaigns and stories they referred to are all part of our new strategy and direction, proving we are absolutely on the right track with our approach,” said Hastings.
Miranda Ward
Miranda Ward worked for Mumbrella from 2013 to 2017, eventually becoming deputy editor. Miranda joined Mumbrella in September 2013 from Sky News.
Linkedin