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OPINION: Ashley Church
If the recent Newstalk ZB claim that “there is no bias in our newsroom” – attributed to TVNZ CEO Jodi O’Donnell – was intended as a joke, then it revealed an extraordinary sense of humour and a missed career in comedy.
If it wasn’t, then it leaves only two other possibilities: either a level of naivety that is concerning in someone holding such an important role, or a belief that the public are too stupid to recognise what is going on front of them.
Because the ‘fact’ of bias at TVNZ is no longer in serious dispute. That question has been long settled – not by commentators, politicians or patsy ‘reviews’ – but by the viewers themselves. The sheer scale of feedback, frustration, and disengagement, reflects a public resignation toward the decade-long shift from balanced reporting to an exclusively one-sided narrative that clearly rejects the existence of anything other than ‘approved positions’.
The impact of that shift can be directly measured in rapidly declining viewer numbers, shrinking revenue, and a massive collapse in public trust – all flashing red indicators that the audience and customers of TVNZ are voting with their remotes.
If the CEO of TVNZ can’t see what a large portion of the audience sees – that’s a problem – not just for state-owned TVNZ, but for those responsible for holding it to account on behalf of the public.
Because the only ones laughing, right now, are the leftwing political parties, ‘progressive’ activist groups and ideologically driven single causes who are in on the joke…..
