John Drinnan
AUCKLAND (New Zealand Herald/Pacific Media Watch): COMMENT: Radio New Zealand has shifted current affairs programme Checkpoint host Mary Wilson (aka "Scary Mary") into Executive Row.
It is making room for a new show "with a visual element" featuring the "Marvellous" John Campbell.
The Checkpoint host has been taken off air and promoted to head of news programming in this, the latest makeover at RNZ.
Campbell's appointment has been rumoured all year. He has been hired as RNZ faces a ratings slump across the day, and as his old employer, TV3, struggles in early prime time and is about to launch a replacement for Campbell Live.
That show starts on August 10.
It is understood the deal was agreed two weeks ago.
Campbell's appointment is part of a long-in-the-planning shakeup to fix some of the problems with the changes to RNZ's Morning Report.
Simon Mercep was pulled from the morning show and placed in Afternoons, but he never really fitted there and Jesse Mulligan took over last month.
Jim Mora was moved off Afternoons to make way for Mercep and has not been happy co-hosting Checkpoint. Under the new arrangement he will continue to host the afternoon panel, one hour each weekday.
Visual aspect
Campbell has qualifications in spades for the undefined new show, though I hope he will temper some of the stylistic tics he developed on Campbell Live.
While the new show will have a visual aspect - radio with pictures, a bit like the Paul Henry show - RNZ chief executive Paul Thompson said the focus would be on Campbell's interviewing skills and passion for journalism, not his TV skills.
An RNZ source said Campbell, who starts in a month, did not have issues about pay, but wanted to maintain editorial independence.
In my opinion the change may bring a new edge to Radio NZ.
Taking Wilson off air may be a relief to some politicians, but the fact that the changes include appointing political editor Brent Edwards as director of newsgathering will do nothing to ease National Party tensions with RNZ.
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Pacific Media Watch
