Top TV news job axed

Press, 11 June 1977, Page 9

Top TV news job axed

PA Wellington! ; The Broadcasting Corpora-; | tion has decided not to ap-| point a director of television! | news, its chairman (Mr lan I Cross) said. * The previous acting chair-] man of the corporation, Mr C.l J. Freeman, had announced* that a 8.8. C. television duty]' editor, Mr Peter Elliott, would:: be appointed director of New i Zealand television news. ;j Mr Cross said that he had' advised Mr Elliott by tele-*' phone that the job was no|< longer available. st “We found that the financ-j ial and other measures initi-|< ated by the late Ron Jarden* (former chairman of the cor-'l poration) and the acting, | chairman, Mr Freeman, had', already significantly met the* aim of reducing costs andll avoiding duplication in the*’ coverage of television news,”; 1 Mr Cross said. |< “We also took into account**

• the continuing pressing need upon the corporation to main-] ■tain a stringent control of its* (operating costs and found that the creation of a changed news administrative structure ] could, in the initial stages at I least, add to our existing] I costs of administration.” ■ Mr Cross said that cutbacks* ;in radio and television trans-j ]mission times and increases, in television-licence fees were' possible. The corporation’s priorities* would be to extend television* coverage, particularly of TV2,] throughout the country and to* protect local television pro-1 duction. The corporation hopes to, bring TV2 to 248,000 more people in the next year. Cov-| erage will be extended to] 100,000 people in Hawke’s Bay, 40,000 in the Gisborne-; Wairoa area. 32,000 in the* Wairarapa. 46,000 in Rotorua,] and 30,000 in South Canter- * bury.