“What is so unique about public radio that it needs so much of our money?”

This was a question from top rating Newstalk ZB breakfast announcer Mike Hosking in a regular segment called Mike’s Minute. It stemmed from an interview New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister and NZ First Leader Winston Peters had done with RNZ presenter Corin Dann. The conversation was not going to Peters’ liking and alongside accusing Dann of political bias Peters said:

“Sooner or later, we’re going to cut that water off too, because you’re an abuse on the taxpayer. You’re not hearing both sides of the story.” 

The interview was about the NZ First party’s private member’s bill defining men and women. Peters said later that the comment was not made from any previous discussions about RNZ or public radio funding with his cabinet colleagues, but did add:

 “Are we getting good value for money here?” 

That was Hosking’s question too after reflection on the incident, the backlash from those that took Peters’ comments seriously, and on President Donald Trump‘s active orders to “cease federal funding for NPR and PBS,” both the main US public broadcasters, claiming ideological bias.

Over in England the BBC is undergoing a massive changing of the guard with both its highest paid talents stepping mostly away from the organisation.

Top of the list, earning £1,350,000-£1,354,999 (around $2.5 million AUD – and then some for his side projects like podcast house Goalhanger Podcasts), Gary Lineker, a former soccer star for those who don’t follow the English Premier League, was already planning to step down from hosting Match of the Day at the end of the 2024/25 season this month but after an ill thought out social media post looks likely to cut ties with the network completely.

Second was Zoe Ball, former BBC Radio 2 breakfast host. She is staying with Radio 2 to do a Saturday lunchtime show. Her salary was £950,000-£954,999 or AUD$1.9 million. It had been higher than Lineker’s, £1.36m. Her program was the UK’s most popular, reaches 8.1 million listeners a week, but during the pandemic Ball instigated a £380,000 pay cut, to save her breakfast role and because she felt it inappropriate to get a pay rise during a time when people were struggling. Her salary had not increased since.

That’s near $4 million a year in savings, but what will the BBC do with that, after announcing the cutting of around 500 jobs on the same day that that the highest salaried were declared?

In Australia our recent Federal election saw Prime Minister Anthony Albanese returned in comprehensive fashion. There is a new communications minister Anika Wells who takes over from now Attorney-General Michelle Rowland who had been active in her presence and support for commercial and community radio achievements and milestones.

In the most recent GfK Radio 360 Survey 2 the metro ABC stations struggled in every city except Perth. In the most recent regional Xtra Insights survey, of Karratha in WA, ABC Pilbara breakfast dropped from an 11% audience share to just 2%.

While it appears the ABC has avoided cuts to “wasteful government spending” promised by ousted Liberal leader Peter Dutton, Former ABC Radio Melbourne breakfast host Red Symons told the Herald Sun (subscription required) after the release of GfK Survey 2 that it wasn’t that ABC radio listeners were switching off, but rather they were switching over to what they perceived a better alternative.

ABC Chair Kim Williams said in an address to the Melbourne Press Club last month:

“The ABC’s funding level remains extremely low by historical standards. In real terms it is more than $150m per annum less than it was in 2013.

In the Year 2000, funding for the ABC comprised 0.31% of Commonwealth outlays.

Today that is around 0.12%, and we are called upon to do much more with it.

As a result, Australia currently invests 40% less per person in public broadcasting than the average for a comparable set of 20 OECD democracies.” 

That’s as may be, but it does come back to Winston Peters’ comments: “Are we getting good value for money here?” 

Jen Seyderhelm is a writer, editor and podcaster for Radioinfo.