Media Insider: Kiwi TV producer Charlotte Purdy’s battle for UK nurse Lucy Letby; Guyon Espiner’s Q+A return; Media reform paper considers RNZ funding regime; Sky tests new satellite
“The hysteria around the case reminded me of the ‘satanic panic’ around the Peter Ellis case,” says Purdy, referring to the 1990s Christchurch creche case.
“Immediately after the verdict, I read an article that said the world’s worst baby killer was beige and average, a diligent nurse with an idyllic childhood … and I was like ‘huh’?”
Over the following months, from her home in New Zealand, Purdy delved more deeply, researching Letby’s background, speaking to experts and investigating other cases.
She saw an interview with barrister Mark McDonald – now Letby’s lawyer – who said there was a chance the jury got it wrong, citing a similar case in the Netherlands, and she spoke to one of Letby’s friends.
Purdy watched a documentary on the police investigation – there was nothing in it that convinced her that Letby was guilty.
“When you watch that doco with the view she might be innocent, you’ll be left open-mouthed as it seemed clear to me that what the police thought was ‘clincher evidence’ is actually not. I felt they were applying ‘confirmation bias’ as they tried to make the theory fit.
“From there I found a report from the UK Royal Statistical Society advising the prosecution system to be wary of nurses (in particular) being accused of murder when a cluster of deaths happens, as the statistics are often misinterpreted.”
As she dug deeper, she became convinced the conviction was unsafe – the problem was, there were very few others who shared that view.
Even one of Purdy’s family members questioned why she would want to “support a baby killer”.
In the UK last week came a dramatic twist – a panel of renowned neonatal experts said not only was Letby’s conviction unsafe, but there was also no murder or deliberate harm. They highlighted, instead, hospital understaffing and a lack of medical skills in the ward where the babies were being treated.
Purdy – a former 60 Minutes, Sunday and 20/20 producer and whose documentaries include Erebus Operation Overdue – has been part of a small number of people working quietly in the background in the belief this could be a miscarriage of justice.
“Eighteen months ago, I came across a scientist based in the US who was raising the red flags in the case – she had been threatened by the Cheshire police to be arrested for contempt of court when she tried to alert them,” she says.
“A small ‘clandestine’ group had been pulled together by the scientist and a statistics expert – there was a neonatal nurse, a psychologist, a lawyer, an esteemed UK journalist and others – most of the people in the UK used false names to communicate as they were worried of backlash.
“The scientist and statistician did an immense amount of work but no one was interested or listening. They were completely dismissed as ‘conspiracy theorists, ghouls and misfits’ … ‘amateur sleuths’ at best. The UK press was viciously trying to discredit them.”
At one stage, the scientist who Purdy was talking to was “maliciously threatened” by a UK newspaper, who said it planned to expose an “aspect of her personal life … as a way to discredit her”.
With the help of a former TV colleague, Amanda Millar, Purdy found a New Zealand defamation lawyer because no lawyer in the UK would touch it – the newspaper article was never published.
‘The clincher’
Purdy said she knew she had to find someone who had seen the babies’ case notes, “as I was wary of any credibility issues undermining the case”.
“The clincher for me was when I tracked down a neonatologist, Mike Hall, who put together a report for the defence (but he was not called to the stand). I knew he was one of [the] few who had actually seen the babies’ case notes and if he believed there were different causes of death to murder, I knew we had a doco that could stand up to scrutiny.”
“He said: ‘If there had been experts defending her, the jury may have come to a different opinion’.”
By October 2023, Purdy wrote a 40-page-plus proposal for a documentary, outlining how all the evidence could be viewed differently – with experts lined up.
“I investigated and discovered all kinds of problematic aspects about the case and pulled together all the info in a way TV commissioners like to see it.”
After months of cold-calling networks, with little luck, came a breakthrough.
An American TV exec, who had read a New Yorker article on the case, took an interest and hooked Purdy up with UK contacts.
The result? Purdy did a commercial deal – selling her work – and now a major TV documentary is in the works in the UK, with Purdy remaining a consultant.
“The network was a bit nervous as the UK had not broken a story about this case potentially being a miscarriage of justice. I think they found it hard to trust this New Zealander with the claims in the proposal. It all moved pretty fast.”
Purdy is thrilled with the latest developments in the case. She says the latest announcement is a game-changer.
“It was exciting but mostly frustrating to try to get this story to the UK public for the last 18 months,” she says.
“It was interesting to watch this small group of people and experts trying to raise the alarm that this conviction is unsafe to now see the network of experts has grown internationally into hundreds.
“You cannot discredit the international expertise now involved.”
The UK Criminal Cases Review Commission now has the international experts’ evidence – it will shortly decide whether to refer the case back to the Court of Appeal.
Guyon Espiner back on Q+A
Former TVNZ political editor Guyon Espiner is back with the state broadcaster from this weekend, hosting Q+A for a short period while regular host Jack Tame is on paternity leave.
At this stage, Tame will be away for the next three weekends, while he and his wife Mava Moayyed welcome the birth of their child.
Espiner, a fulltime RNZ reporter and presenter, was at TVNZ from 2006 to 2011 and worked in a number of roles during his time there, including political editor and Q+A host.
RNZ funding: Where to from here?
Buried in a tranche of the Government’s “media reform” documents this week was a scenario which might well raise eyebrows for RNZ executives and listeners.
NZ on Air currently funds RNZ – $66.6 million in 2023/24. This is effectively “pass-through” funding from the Government of the day – the Media and Communications Minister generally outlines the level of funding in a post-Budget letter to NZ on Air.
However, under the new “media reform” proposals announced this week, there are plans to merge NZ on Air and the New Zealand Film Commission.
And one of the two preferred future options is for the new-look agency to provide content funding only.
That means platform funding – such as that for RNZ – would need to be administered by another government agency.
“Further work would be required on whether, how and to where other existing platform funding would be transferred,” says a Ministry for Culture and Heritage (MCH) regulatory impact statement.
“Initial discussions with some relevant entities suggest it may be feasible to, for instance, transfer RNZ funding to the ministry or the Treasury.”
The idea that Treasury officials and accountants might handle RNZ’s funding is intriguing – and might have RNZers reaching for the smelling salts.
Even MCH raises some flags.
“Transferring platform funding to entities with priorities other than ensuring a range of content is available for and reaching NZ audiences may present risks to audience outcomes – however, this risk would be mitigable via careful and design and transition planning,” says the MCH document.
On the other hand, the document says there would be advantages to having the newly merged entity focused on content only.
“Excluding media platform funding from the entity’s formal remit would support a more internally cohesive focus (on content); retaining a wide remit for content forms would recognise ongoing convergence and potential future shifts.”
The paper notes that the proposed merger will need “careful management to minimise transition costs and industry disruption”, noting the “significant uncertainty” caused by the cancelled TVNZ-RNZ merger in early 2023.
“The ministry notes previous examples of this disruption have involved the explicit prospect of change to funding; it is possible the impacts in this case would be less severe if it can be made clear that funding levels and specific initiatives such as the NZSPR [screen production rebate] and GDSR [game development rebate] are not part of the change proposal.”
The ministry notes on its website: “Any proposals that are ultimately agreed by Cabinet would require legislation to implement. They would come into force in 2026 at the earliest.
“Media Reform proposals do not include changes to funding levels. Options are designed to withstand changes in funding – up or down.”
Submissions on the proposed merger – along with the four other media reform initiatives – close at 11.59pm on March 23.
The other initiatives include a requirement on global streamers such as Netflix, Apple, Disney and Amazon to invest in New Zealand productions and content; a new media regulator; requiring smart TV manufacturers to showcase New Zealand apps on in their content menus; and stronger audio captioning.
One Good Poll
Advertising green shoots in ‘bloom’
Advertising agency GroupM says the “green shoots” are in bloom.
Certainly, many of the media industry’s advertising sales managers will take heart from the latest Standard Media Index (SMI) data, showing the New Zealand market ended 2024 on a high.
Net market ad revenue for December totalled $81.6 million – a 3.7% year-on-year (YOY) increase, “making it the highest monthly growth of 2024 and the second consecutive month of revenue gains over 2023″, says GroupM head of business intelligence Harry McFall.
“Thanks to this late recovery, overall advertising spend for the year reduced to a -1.6% YOY decline and if the Government category is excluded, this loss narrows to just -1%.”
Highlights in December were outdoor and radio media – they had experienced “massive” YOY growth, reports McFall, with revenues surging by 24.9% and 29.3%, respectively. All other categories were down – interestingly, digital remained sluggish, down 1.8%.
More positively, McFall noted that SMI’s forward pacing data “confirms that ad demand is strengthening. Interim data for January 2025 has already surpassed 2024 spend levels, marking the third straight month of market growth”.
And just which industries were spending in December? Out of 36 monitored product categories on the SMI, 19 had YOY revenue increases in December, said McFall.
“The categories which had the largest YOY spend reductions in the month were alcoholic beverages (-$798,000), retail (-$573k) and organisations/associations (-$471k).
“Conversely, the biggest gains in ad investment came from food/produce/dairy (+$1.1 million), banking (+$780k) and communications (+$738k).”
The SMI data accounts for about 30-35% of the total market spend and acts as a guide for the industry – it does not include direct advertising spending.
Sky tests a new satellite
We’re about to get an even clearer indication of how the media industry is faring, with the financial performances of publicly listed companies Sky TV and Herald publisher NZME to be announced over the next fortnight.
Sky will deliver its half-year results next Friday, followed by NZME’s full-year results on the following Wednesday, February 26.
Sky’s result comes amid a backdrop of consumer anger over poor TV reception caused by the ailing Optus D2 satellite, and the sudden resignation of its chief financial officer.
Sky has been testing a new satellite this week – and plans to have its customers migrated to it in the next two months. The KoreaSat 6 satellite will be used as a makeshift solution before a longer-term fix in the form of a new Optus satellite.
“We’re pleased to confirm that the new Sky satellite is in place at 160 degrees east, and last night we did some early engineering testing and it went well,” a Sky spokeswoman said yesterday.
“Testing will continue ahead of migration in early April.”
Those in the know say the signal from the makeshift Korean satellite appears to be strong – things are looking positive for April.
Meanwhile, NZME’s financial result comes amid up to 38 job losses from its newsroom and as it plans a new livestream video brand, called Herald Now.
The MAFS-Miss NZ inquiry
After an extensive – some might even say exhaustive – investigation, Media Insider can reveal the truth behind the “Miss New Zealand” contestant featuring in this year’s Married at First Sight Australia.
Former Aucklander Jacqui Burfoot, 29, has mentioned on the show a couple of times that she was a Miss New Zealand – that raised the eyebrows of fans of the show in the NZ Herald newsroom.
Their part-time sleuthing failed to uncover Burfoot’s name in the official Miss New Zealand competition lists from 2012 and 2013.
So they dug deeper.
Her Instagram account shows that she did once wear a “Miss New Zealand” sash – at a beauty pageant called Miss Yacht International in Sanya, China.
Sadly for her, she did not place in the contest.
So, yes, she was called a Miss New Zealand contestant but in a slightly obscure, maritime-themed competition.
The winner of the official Miss New Zealand 2012 pageant was South African Avianca Böhm, who was stripped of the title due to not being a citizen – she was replaced by Talia Bennett.
Meanwhile, Burfoot, who is paired with 36-year-old Ryan Donnelly on MAFS, took aim at producers on social media this week – she said in an Instagram post that her character made “no sense” and that her portrayal on the show was “misleading and deceptive”.
According to some reports, she allegedly broke the rules of her contract to post the comments.
Warner Bros Discovery, meanwhile, is delighted by the “massive” ratings for MAFS. “Only two weeks into its run, the show has already attracted more than 1.5 million streams on ThreeNow,” says a spokeswoman. “On Three, the show is seeing consistently strong audiences, with an average 32 share in the 25-54 demographic.”
TVNZ’s top news role
Interviews are getting under way for one of the most critical roles in New Zealand media – TVNZ’s new executive role of chief news and content officer.
The person will have responsibility for the state broadcaster’s newsroom and programming.
A range of names from the fields of journalism, screen production and programming have been linked to the role, including TVNZ’s Nevak Rogers, Phil O’Sullivan, Melodie Robinson and Carol Hirschfeld; South Pacific Pictures’ Kelly Martin and Andrew Szusterman; and former New Zealand Rugby commercial boss Craig Fenton.
“Applications have closed and we’re now moving through the interview process,” says a TVNZ spokeswoman.
“We’ve had strong interest in the role and we’re pleased with the high calibre of candidates. It’s important to us that we conduct a rigorous and fair process, so we’re unable to say much more while it’s under way.
“We hope to be in a position to make an appointment late next month. To facilitate this, Brent McAnulty moves to the role of chief news and content officer in the interim from the end of February.”
Former TV3 news boss’ new role
Former Newshub boss Hal Crawford has a new role – editorial director of Australia’s Mumbrella Media.
Crawford left MediaWorks and Newshub in early 2020, after nearly four years as chief news officer, to return to his native Australia. As well as an extensive CV in news management, he has been a newsroom consultant, media commentator, podcaster and writer.
Mumbrella co-founder Tim Burrowes, who has just bought back into the company, said: “I’ve been a fan of Hal’s work for as long as I’ve known him. As anybody who has followed his writing and podcasting will know, he’s a thoughtful, funny journalist who understands where Australia’s media landscape is heading.”
“We have big ambitions for Mumbrella Media as the key agenda-setting voice in the market. I believe Hal’s appointment will make it clear just how serious we are in that ambition.”
Crawford said: “This is dream-come-true territory for me – to be back on the tools in an industry that matters a great deal to me personally and the world in general. Media and marketing is undergoing massive upheaval and there is just so much happening.”
TV3 buildings for sale
The set of buildings that has hosted more than 35 years of television memories – including thousands of episodes of the evening news, hosted by Philip Sherry, firstly, in 1989 through to Mike McRoberts and Samantha Hayes for the last bulletin in 2024 – is for sale.
Before TV3 moved in, the main building at 2 and 3 Flower St, in Auckland’s Eden Terrace, was once a cheese factory.
Now those buildings and adjacent ones on New North Rd are up for sale.
Bayleys is pitching the 4358 sqm footprint – including more than 100 car parks – as a “truly unique add-value opportunity in this tightly held precinct”.
“This portfolio is in a prime position to benefit from the emerging City Rail Link (CRL) infrastructure around the Maungawhau (Mt Eden) Station and rezoning under the Council’s Auckland Unitary Plan (AUP).”
In an interview last year, Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) boss Juliet Peterson had hoped the company might stay in the buildings, although they wouldn’t need as much space following the closure of Newshub and the loss of almost 300 jobs.
The company still has about 130 staff.
“We are looking for flatmates,” Peterson said at the time, saying the buildings were meaningful to her.
“I would really like to [stay] if we can make it work. Obviously, there’s too much space for us. We can’t afford that. But I have a real affinity – I started my career down the other end of the hall.”
Since that interview, however, a new building has been found for the WBD staff. They will move in with the Warner Bros International TV Production team, in Hargreaves St, St Mary’s Bay, later this year.
MP’s fight for Radio Hauraki in Timaru
National MP James Meager has taken up the fight for one of the media industry’s biggest outrages – the lack of a Radio Hauraki frequency in Timaru.
The Rangitata MP has written to NZME chief executive Michael Boggs to offer his help – and he’s appeared on Hauraki’s breakfast show, telling Jeremy Wells and Manaia Stewart that it was definitely in his top 100 priorities.
“To my surprise, I was shocked to learn that Radio Hauraki does not broadcast over a frequency in South Canterbury,” Meager wrote in his letter.
“Having relied on streaming services for my NZME and Hauraki content, I was unaware that the dulcet tones of Wells and Stewart (a proud South Cantabrian himself) weren’t being broadcast across the rolling green meadows and alpine streams of the Riviera of the South.
“To confirm this, today I attempted to tune in to Radio Hauraki in my truck while driving through the tree-lined boulevards of Timaru, with no luck.”
He said some people had suggested a special fundraising Hauraki breakfast show from Caroline Bay.
Wells pointed out to Meager on his show this week that the Government controlled the frequencies. “Would it kill you to hand over one to a bunch of battlers trying to make their way in the world like us?”
Meager responded: “I’ve been told you don’t have the money, Jerry, but the problem is this isn’t about money. It’s about mana.”
He said he would go on a fact-finding mission.
“I’ll start a working group. I’ll put a proposal in for Budget ‘25, and then when I get roundly told to sod off, I’ll come back to you guys and say, ‘Well that was the end of my career. Have you got any internships?’”
Timaru-born 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.