TV2 cuts current affairs feature

Press, 17 November 1976, Page 1

TV2 cuts current affairs feature

PA Auckland Television Two went through an agonising news and current affairs reappraisal yesterday, after a Broadcasting Council mandate that the two areas must be kept completely separate.

The network confirmed afterwards that Tom Bradley and Philip Sherry would be switched from “News at Ten” to “News at Six.”

The 6 p.m. programme will have a strictly “hard” approach, with "softer” current affairs items reserved for a shorter slot at 10 p.m. Details of current affairs programming and staffing were, it is believed, hammered out at the meeting, called by the DirectorGeneral of TV2 (Mr Allan Martin). The news director, Bruce Crossan, was there, but not the programme controller, Kevan Moore. The confirmation of details last evening was difficult, because the TV2 management was intent on keeping its decisions to itself until the weekly staff newsletter tomorrow. However, th» general impression was that staffers would be offered a choice, as far as possible, of working on news or current affairs.

The post of head of information services is being advertised within New Zealand, and J s expected to be filled in perhaps 10 days. The acting head. Tom Finlayson, is withdrawing from television for a year In putting its news and current affairs houses tn order for expected new

broadcasting legislation, TV2 will be approximating the aoproach TV] has used all along.

“It is a lot easier for us,” said Avalon’s news director, Doug Eckhoff, yesterday. “Let me emphasise, though, that there is nothing so far that would impair our ability to background events Our news people must move in to provide a service that their current affairs colleagues have supplied in the past.” Ho envisaged no major change at TV! except that “Tonignt” would give way to a “substantial news programme” at 9.30 p.m.

Television Two’s decision to drop its ‘News at Ten” was “nothing short of a tragedy” for the future of informed current affairs broadcasting in New Zealand, said two Opposition members of Parliament.

“It means theie will now be no daily in-depth analysis and scrutiny >of topical events on either channel, and for a country like this that is inexcusable,” said Messrs J. L. Hunt (New Lynn) and R. W. Prebble (Auckland Central). “The decision to drop the programme has apparently been made because its unique blend of news and current affairs will be outlawed under the National Government’s plan to return to the old N.Z.B.C. concept of a single monolithic news service,” they said.

“This means that in place ot an enterprising and highly competitive programme, viewers are asked to go back to a bland headline service churned out by a combined news department.