Media Insider: NZ Cricket hunts media leaks; Goodbye NZR+; RNZ financials; TVNZ loses legal costs case; Magazine publishers target NZ Post fees; PR firm expands

The Herald understands law firm Simpson Grierson, acting as an adviser for NZ Cricket, has called in a forensic technology expert to try to uncover who has been leaking information to the media.

Simpson Grierson employment lawyer and partner Rebecca Rendle said: “Simpson Grierson is unable to comment or to confirm whether we act for parties or not unless authorised by our clients.”

Auckland-based forensic technology expert and cybersecurity consultant Campbell McKenzie also would not confirm his involvement. “Sorry, who’s given you my details? Sorry, your call is unexpected.”

He suggested that if the Herald wanted a comment, it should approach whoever it was that the Herald thought he was working for.

We did, and NZ Cricket wouldn’t comment.

In recent weeks, the Herald has revealed details of a scathing internal staff survey which eviscerated the NZ Cricket board, following the departure of chief executive Scott Weenink.

The Herald also obtained a letter to the board signed by NZC senior leaders in November, backing Weenink, a month before he was effectively ousted.

An NZ Cricket board paper was also leaked, highlighting potential sponsorship and rights holders’ sensitivities if Black Caps matches in January were disrupted by a new domestic T20 competition.

Those leaks are understood to have irked NZ Cricket chair Diana Puketapu-Lyndon and members of her board and have formed part of the forensic investigation.

NZ Cricket would not comment on the investigation, what it might have found to date, or the costs.

The Herald sent a list of questions about the investigation and any updates on outcomes from the staff survey to Puketapu-Lyndon through NZ Cricket spokesman Richard Boock.

Boock came back saying: “Neither of your ... questions involved matters we intended to discuss in public.”

McKenzie describes himself online as a forensic technology expert and cybersecurity consultant. He set up his own forensic and cybersecurity business in 2019, after 12 years at PwC, where he led the “forensic technology” practice and the Auckland “cyber security” practice.

Before that, he was with the police for almost five years, as a founding member of the police electronic crime laboratory.

The Herald can also reveal more leaked information today - that NZ Cricket has been having to carefully handle a number of figurative bouncers in the form of some tetchy and frustrated sponsors and rights holders in recent months.

Several were understood to be concerned about the impact on their brands and businesses as NZ Cricket considered options for a new T20 domestic competition.

The sponsors and rights holders were understood to have been concerned about the impact that the proposed NZ20 competition would have on the Black Caps’ schedule, with the possibility that some international matches might be pushed out of the important January window, or cancelled altogether.

That would obviously impact their own visibility as Black Caps sponsors – or, for the broadcast rights holders, their television coverage and audiences.

NZ Cricket and the organisers of the new NZ20 competition this week announced that it would be delayed a year, easing – for now at least – the sponsors’ and rights holders’ concerns.

NZ Cricket said in a statement to the Herald that it had been in “regular and transparent engagement” with its sponsors and rights holders, although this assertion was not wholly supported by sources outside of the organisation.

Some sponsors are understood to have been unhappy about communication with the sports body early on. “The worst thing about it all is that [the sponsors] were reading about everything that was going on through the Herald."

While there had been frustration and anger, NZ Cricket had calmed the waters since.

NZ Cricket has called in another law firm, MinterEllisonRuddWatts, to help it manoeuvre carefully through discussions and considerations.

Television rights holders Sky TV and Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI) – which paid lucrative sums to beam the Black Caps and White Ferns matches into India for the next seven years – as well as sponsors ANZ and Asahi, are all understood to have stated forthright views to NZ Cricket.

Sony is understood to have been firm that the Black Caps needed to be the priority. Otherwise, as one source said, the broadcaster could have a case to renegotiate its rights deal or seek compensation.

In a statement, Boock – answering Herald questions that were directed to Puketapu-Lyndon – said NZC had maintained “regular and transparent engagement” with its commercial partners and rights holders.

“We’ve been proactively engaging with key stakeholders, providing updates as the work has progressed and providing partners with the opportunity to raise questions and seek clarity.

“That feedback has been an important part of the process.

“As part of its due diligence, NZC has undertaken a comprehensive review of its commercial ecosystem, including existing contractual arrangements and the potential implications of NZ20.

“External legal support, including from MinterEllisonRudkinWatts, has been part of that process to ensure we’re appropriately considering our obligations, and the interests of our partners.”

Boock said that at all times, “our approach has been to provide partners with as much clarity as possible based on what is known, and to ensure any future decisions support the long-term strength of the game and its commercial relationships”.

NZ Cricket partners have played a straight bat this week to Herald inquiries.

Sky TV chief corporate affairs officer Chris Major said Sky supported NZ Cricket’s “right to make decisions about their domestic competitions, including looking at new models and revenue streams”.

“You’ll be aware that our new partnership is for international (Black Caps and White Ferns) matches, and never included domestic cricket – so we’re totally comfortable with NZC making their own choices on domestic rights.

“In the event that a domestic competition impacts international matches that we have bought the rights for, then of course we would have a conversation with NZC about the impact on those rights. That’s a normal commercial discussion between partners.”

SPNI did not respond to the Herald’s email inquiries.

ANZ said it was “deeply invested” in cricket’s long-term future.

“We have naturally engaged in discussions with New Zealand Cricket to understand the potential implications of NZ20 on the cricket landscape,” said spokesman David Rowe.

“We share a mutual objective that the NZ20 evolution will deliver positive outcomes for communities, fans and players as well as for commercial partners. As a long-time partner, ANZ would expect to be consulted throughout.”

Asahi’s Reid Sexton came back with a statement that did not address the Herald’s questions. He said Asahi was a proud supporter of NZ Cricket, enjoyed a strong relationship with the organisation and looked forward to “supporting the game for many summers to come”.

Meanwhile, NZ20 organisers now have more time to overcome one of their biggest challenges – securing investment from international and local parties to launch the new competition.

NZ20 establishment committee chairman Don Mackinnon indicated “strong progress” on that front this week.

“However, we are determined to ensure NZ20 launches without compromise and is set up for long-term success from day one,” he said in a statement.

“It is also critical that the competition sits alongside, not against, international cricket. With the international schedule now confirmed, the available window for 2027 is simply too tight.”

A small South Island newspaper has learned the hard way that you cannot trust AI. It’s stuffed up, and fronted up.

The Westport News has apologised after publishing fabricated and inaccurate quotes on its front page, and attributing them to two government ministers.

The quotes, attributed to Chris Bishop and James Meager, were used in a story about the Government’s plans to transfer 20 homes in Westport – delivered after flooding in 2021 – into local ownership.

Near deadline, a journalist did a quick internet search and cut and pasted the quotes from an AI response. The AI response and quotes were wrong.

The fabricated AI quotes that were published were:

Housing Minister Chris Bishop said in a statement the deal would help secure long-term housing for Westport.

“This agreement means these homes will stay in Westport and continue providing warm, dry housing for local people,” he said.

Minister for the South Island James Meager said the homes had originally been brought in as temporary accommodation after the floods but had become an important part of the district’s housing stock.

“The Government is pleased to work with BDC to ensure these homes remain available for the community into the future,” Mr Meager said.

“Basically, we stuffed up, we apologised and corrected it immediately,” Westport News acting editor Ellen Curnow told Media Insider.

“It was a simple case of human error. The journalist was under deadline pressure. We used a web-based AI search and it provided an AI-generated summary which we mistook for the ministers’ comments, and published.”

Curnow said officials had been understanding.

“We published an apology on the front page the very next day and the ministers’ actual release in full [on page 3]. They were grateful for the way that we provided a prompt apology and correction.”

She said it was “a learning experience” and “a scary experience”.

“This technology is changing every day; when you look at an AI search engine, it has a little warning on it which says ChatGPT can get it wrong ... and yes, it can.

“In the future, we will always go to the direct source regardless of deadline pressure.”

RNZ’s financial performance in its 2025/26 year had been “mixed”, officials told Media and Communications Minister Paul Goldsmith, in a document released to the Herald under the Official Information Act.

“For the six months to 31 December, 2025, RNZ recorded a $0.2 million deficit, which is $3.6 million favourable to budget due to income from the Titahi Bay land sale,” according to the aide memoire, before a meeting between Goldsmith and RNZ chief executive Paul Thompson and chairman Jim Mather in February.

“RNZ reiterated that a deficit was forecast for 2025-26 as it required a runway to implement the $4.6 million reduction in baseline funding from Budget 2025.

“RNZ has identified $6.4 million in savings, some of which are on-going, some of which are one-offs and some of which are a combination of both.”

The aide memoire said RNZ was confident it was “on track” to operate under budget in 2026-27.

“We suggest you ask RNZ if there are any further opportunities to reduce overheads and operate more efficiently in 2026-27 to ensure future financial sustainability.”

RNZ and public broadcasting supporters are likely to be waiting nervously for the Budget on May 28, with the likelihood of further funding cuts on the table for many Government agencies.

The February meeting between Goldsmith and RNZ was followed up by a pointed letter of expectation from the minister to Mather in March.

Mather told Media Insider last month that it was his board’s duty to “ensure the investment in RNZ is managed in a prudent manner to achieve maximum value for the public”.

“I can assure you that RNZ’s public funding is treated seriously.”

He said that in the current financial year, RNZ was absorbing a 7% funding cut and had reduced expenditure accordingly.

“RNZ has reduced discretionary ($2.5m), marketing ($0.4m) and commissioning spend ($1.5m), reduced capital expenditure with new initiatives to be funded through internal change ($2m) and removed proposed healthcare benefit and performance-based payments ($1m).

“RNZ has focused its resources, controlled costs, and modernised the business. It has made significant savings and efficiencies while improving services. In terms of FTEs, as of 30 March, 2025, RNZ’s FTE was 342 – a reduction of 5.3% from the end of the last financial year.

“Looking ahead to the new financial year, RNZ will continue to live within its means and focus on providing value to the public through trusted content.”

In the business and entrepreneurial worlds, it’s known as the ‘fast fail’.

And while NZ Rugby isn’t prepared to use that phrase – after all, the product has been in market for almost three years – the organisation has blown the fulltime whistle on its streaming brand, NZR+.

NZR+ will be rolled into the much stronger All Blacks.com digital brand, with a new-look All Blacks/Black Ferns app to also launch in the next few weeks, and ahead of the All Blacks’ first test match of the year in early July.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

TVNZ has lost a legal bid to reduce the bill that another Crown entity charged for legal discovery work before a major defamation case.

TVNZ in December successfully won its High Court defamation battle against Talley’s, although the South Island-based food company is appealing that decision.

While the case is set to roll on, TVNZ has also been fighting the cost that the Government’s workplace and safety regulator, WorkSafe, charged it for the discovery of documents related to Talley’s before the defamation hearing.

Worksafe took five weeks to pore over 41,000 documents, eventually providing 1439 under discovery, including 777 that were subject to claims of privilege.

Worksafe charged TVNZ $53,494.90 for the work.

TVNZ told the High Court that it accepted WorkSafe was entitled to reasonable costs for compliance with a discovery order.

“However, it submits that various inefficiencies have resulted in the sum sought being unreasonable,” said High Court Judge Peter Andrew in a judgment.

“It says that the costs are much higher than what it contemplated; WorkSafe had initially indicated that only 7000 documents would need to be searched.”

Judge Andrew said WorkSafe’s discovery was “extensive and undoubtedly a complex exercise”.

He said that in all the circumstances, “I find that the costs and disbursements sought by WorkSafe totalling $53,494.90 are reasonable. There is no principled basis to reduce them.”

Judge Andrew also noted that context was important. “This was hard-fought, complex litigation and undoubtedly of considerable significance forTVNZ.

“It advanced defences of responsible journalism, and successfully defended an application by Talley’s challenging the confidentiality of its whistleblower sources. The general discovery exercise was extensive andTVNZ itself was obviously concerned to leave no stone unturned."

Talley’s sued TVNZ for defamation over a series of stories broadcast on the 6pm news and published on 1news.co.nz between July 2021 and May 2022.

The stories featured several allegations about the seafood, meat, dairy and vegetable company, including claims by a whistleblower of health and safety issues at the company’s Ashburton factory.

Another story reported on concerns at the company’s Blenheim site; and another focused on alleged concerns about the way Talley’s handled claims by injured workers.

Talley’s said the stories were false and defamatory but the High Court found comprehensively in TVNZ’s favour.

“Talley’s has filed an appeal against the High Court’s decision on its defamation claim against TVNZ,” a Talley’s spokeswoman told Media Insider in a statement in February.

NZ Post is under fire for the prices it’s charging to deliver magazines, with concerns that some titles could face closure or consolidation.

The Magazine Publishers Association and PrintNZ want the Commerce Commission to conduct a market study into postal services pricing.

The industry organisations say they have endured “a decade of extraordinary price increases” from NZ Post’s Publication Post service – the bulk mail product used by magazine publishers, charities, membership organisations and other regular mailers to reach subscribers and members nationwide.

“The cost of mailing a magazine (depending on weight) has risen from 63 cents in 2014 to $3.68+GST from 1 July 2026, an increase of 584% over 12 years,” the MPA and PrintNZ said in a statement.

“Over the same period, cumulative consumer price inflation was approximately 33%. In the past five years alone, Publication Post rates have more than tripled, with annual increases averaging 28%.”

MPA chairman Stuart Dick said these were not normal prices.

NZ Post mail general manager Matt Geor acknowledged the cost pressures and “the important role magazines and specialist publications play in New Zealand communities”.

“NZ Post is committed to continuing to provide a commercially sustainable mail service for New Zealanders, and we will continue to deliver mail as long as Kiwis are sending it.”

READ THE FULL STORY - AND THE COMMERCE COMMISSION’S POSITION - HERE

Two of New Zealand’s most successful editorial start-ups have this week made direct pleas for more financial help.

The Spinoff is seeking an additional 5000 members by the end of the year to combat what it calls a “volatile” digital media landscape. It currently has a membership of about 13,000.

It said external challenges facing New Zealand journalism had only intensified this year.

That included the rise of generative AI, which had “fundamentally altered how audiences find news”.

“As AI models scraped original reporting to provide instant summaries, referral traffic from search engines to local news sites had plummeted. International data cited by the outlet shows a decline in referral traffic as high as 33%.”

The Spinoff chief executive Amber Easby said: “The content we generate is now being used to train the very tools that threaten our livelihood.

“... the commercial landscape remains incredibly volatile. The vast majority of digital advertising spend is disappearing offshore to big tech companies who remain largely untaxed on their New Zealand profits.”

Meanwhile, in an email to followers the day after The Spinoff’s campaign launched, Newsroom website co-founders Tim Murphy and Mark Jennings wrote that “serious journalism is under immense pressure all around the world and even more so in a small economy like New Zealand”.

They wrote of the importance of independent journalism at a time when trust in the media was “a concern for many people”.

“It is not helped when clickbait headlines, algorithm-driven content and AI news summaries flood information channels, or when the pressure to publish fast comes at the expense of accuracy and depth.”

They made a direct plea for a donation or to sign up for a cut-price Newsroom Pro annual subscription.

NZME’s legal team has been named the small in-house team of the year at the In-House Legal Association NZ (ILANZ) Awards.

Genevieve O’Halloran, Paul Gillick, Isabella (Bella) Ieremia, and Lucy Fea were recognised for a huge 12 months at the media firm, owner of the NZ Herald, Newstalk ZB, BusinessDesk, OneRoof and a suite of other media and radio brands.

Judges said the quartet’s work included their leadership in a landmark judicial review, successfully challenging suppression orders to enable a high-profile NZ Herald investigation, navigating corporate governance matters and delivering significant commercial agreements.

Ieremia also received a highly commended recognition in the new in-house lawyer of the year category.

PR agency Pead is moving into the creative space – another sign of the rise of New Zealand-owned independent agencies in the media world.

The agency, launched by Deborah Pead more than 25 years ago, is announcing today a new standalone creative agency, All Eyes.

“Pead has supported clients on creative work for years ... Now we’ve launched All Eyes to scale that offering and refine it further,” said Pead partner and All Eyes leader Sarah Munnik.

“The new agency removes the barriers and layers clients often experience with traditional advertising models, by bringing together a team of specialised and experienced contractors based on the brief and problem the client needs to solve.

“Our network of experienced specialists means that regardless of the size of the brief, we’re able to move quickly and efficiently ... It means clients pay for the work, not layers of a big team,” said Munnik.

The agency is launching with two foundation clients, Lodestone Energy and Best Foods, alongside a number of other businesses.

All Eyes would have a core team of four fulltime staff and a network of more than 20 partners. Its creative director is Genevieve Chunn.

Chunn said brands that did not include earned attention in their marketing strategy were simply buying space in the same feeds as everyone else.

“The rules are shifting. More than ever, if your brand isn’t being talked about, referenced and shared, it’s not going to show up where people now go for answers.”

Editor-at-large Shayne Currie is one of New Zealand’s most experienced senior journalists and media leaders. He has held executive and senior editorial roles at NZME, including managing editor, NZ Herald editor and Herald on Sunday editor and has a small shareholding in NZME.