For now, Concert FM is safe. When the news broke that Radio New Zealand (RNZ) was considering turning Concert FM into an automated station on an AM frequency so it could use the FM frequency to establish a ‘youth oriented’ station, discordant notes immediately emanated from classical music fans all over the nation.
For those new to the story, let me recap. Radio New Zealand has for some time, under the capable leadership of its CE Paul Thompson, been trying to make itself more interesting to 21st century audiences: particularly younger audiences who will, hopefully, turn into lifelong faithful listeners.
This is a reasonable objective but not easy to implement when you have no money (1).
As any good CE knows if you are looking for real money from a tight budget the place to go is people. Accordingly, RNZ made it known that Concert FM staff would be made redundant, a new automated classical music service would take its place and new staff would be employed to run youth programming.
That any of the folks at RNZ thought this would be an easy sell is difficult to understand. They might have realised their mistake if they had made it clear to their Minister and the wider Government. It is a fact of political life that to touch Concert FM is akin to peeing on an electric fence.
It appears that RNZ thought that they told their Minister, but they now say the communication might not have been clear enough.
(A note about communication at this point might be useful. Informing someone is not communication. At a minimum, communication requires feedback from the person being communicated with to be sure they both got the message and understood it).
Back to the story. As a former Broadcasting Minister (disclaimer!), I learnt about the need to tread carefully around Concert FM from the formidable Right Honourable Jonathan Hunt. Rt. Hon. Hunt was the Minister who oversaw the market based reforms to broadcasting during the heady days of the fourth Labour Government. Significantly, despite the preferences of the day for throwing everything open to the market, Concert FM survived unscathed. When I asked how this happened, I was informed that the audience for Concert FM made it political suicide to do anything other than leave it alone.
I should note that Rt. Hon. Hunt was himself an enthusiastic supporter of Concert FM, as are many card carrying members of the National Party.
During my time as Minister of Broadcasting a significant number of changes were made to the broadcasting landscape, but Concert FM was never on the agenda (2). In fact, it got a small amount of extra funding.
A youth oriented station was the focus of a good deal of lobbying. Neil Finn of Split Enz and Crowded House was a particularly effective proponent of a station focused on contemporary New Zealand music. He even offered to support the station by providing a mobile studio to record the music of budding musicians. In the end a New Zealand music station was established with the wonderful Karen Hay at the helm (3).
Coming back to the present – once politicians found out what RNZ had been trying to communicate to them, frustration and annoyance quickly emerged from the Prime Minister down. It is an election year and the Government has enough problems to contend with, without antagonising such a vocal and effective constituency for no good reason.
Within days the audience of Concert FM mobilised, and a petition signed by thousands was presented to the Government. This same audience proved itself to have an impressive grasp of ‘earthy’ vernacular – see social media.
This was no ordinary petition. As has always been the case, among those who listen to Concert FM are heavy hitters from all walks of life. Former Prime Minister Helen Clark found it necessary to remind RNZ that they are a public broadcaster, and this meant they should be meeting the needs of all New Zealanders - including classical music fans.
Before this sounds in any way facetious let me stress that this is true. Concert FM does not just play classical music – it underpins the classical music scene in New Zealand. And that includes young people who are learning, listening to and making careers in classical music. An automated station pumping out Mahler et al might sound like a good idea until the breadth of activity undertaken by the extremely dedicated and knowledgeable Concert FM staff is acknowledged.
This is a national treasure we are talking about.
What then is the way forward? If I was advising RNZ (which I am not), apart from telling them to really ‘communicate’ with the Beehive, I would suggest they talk to their Minister about the massive plans he is contemplating for public broadcasting.
The merger of RNZ and TVNZ (which now seems on the cards even if the detail is proving challenging), is when any changes to programming might best be made. To put the cart before that Clydesdale sized horse seems premature in the least. Yes, RNZ is an independent body that needs to make plans for its future – but it surely must be aware something big might happen in the relatively near future.
Crucially, any changes might include funding levels. It may prove to be possible to do something new without pawning the nation’s silver.
As I have said in a previous post, I think the case for a new public broadcasting entity ready and able to operate and evolve in the context of the 21st century media environment is a good idea. I am also on record as saying that it is time to sell TVNZ. It is no longer a public broadcaster. Its value is falling, dividends are a pipe dream and there is no reason for ‘we the people’ to own it. This is a shame but efforts to encourage TVNZ down a public broadcasting line via a Charter and some pilot funding failed.
This is not a reflection of the talented people who run TVNZ – it is just that they are now commercial broadcasters to the bone.
Whatever emerges from the reorganisation of publicly owned broadcasting, it would seem reasonable to assume it will have an eye to the future. This will encompass youth oriented programming. And if it is wise it will encompass classical music, not just because its impressive audience, but because it matters.
1. I am thinking here of the nine years of the previous Government when RNZ was ignored. The current Government, at the time Clare Curran was Minister, indicated RNZ would receive an increase in funding - and they have. Until the planned reorganisation of public broadcasting takes place we will not know how significant any extra funding will be.
2. A short list of policies, in no particular order: the voluntary New Zealand music quota, digital television, Channels 6 and 7, auctioning AM frequencies, Maori Television (led by the Minister of Maori Affairs), increases in funding to RNZ and NZ On Air, community radio (and a little bit of television), the TVNZ Charter, funding for public service broadcasting to be piloted by TVNZ, Freeview.
3. Karen Hay can be heard currently on RNZ late at night.