The Changing Face of Current Affairs Television Programmes in New Zealand 1984 – 2004 Sarah Jane Baker PhD 2012 School of Communication Studies Faculty of Design and Creative Technologies A thesis submitted to the Auckland University of Technology in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of a PhD. i TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................ vi ATTESTATION OF AUTHORSHIP ............................................................................... viii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................. xi ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................... xii CHAPTER ONE: NATIONAL AND INSTITUTIONAL CONTEXTS OF CURRENT AFFAIRS TELEVISION .................................................................................................. 1 British public service broadcasting ........................................................................... 2 The history and conception of ‘current affairs’ television programmes ................... 10 Current affairs programmes in Australia ................................................................ 13 Public affairs television in the United States .......................................................... 17 Current affairs programming in New Zealand ........................................................ 22 The 1990s and 2000s: Current affairs in crisis ....................................................... 31 CHAPTER TWO CONCEPTUALISING THE CHANGING GENRE OF CURRENT AFFAIRS TELEVISION ................................................................................................. 34 The political economy approach ............................................................................ 34 The critical political economy research tradition ..................................................... 41 The political economy approach and commodification/ commercialisation of Media ............................................................................................................................... 42 Deregulation ........................................................................................................... 47 Panorama/World in Action ..................................................................................... 54 Market driven journalism ........................................................................................ 60 Tabloidisation ......................................................................................................... 62 The rise of infotainment ......................................................................................... 65 A changing genre ................................................................................................... 70 Research on the news and current affairs genres in New Zealand ........................ 73 Charter principles versus commercial news and current affairs ............................. 80 after 1999 ............................................................................................................... 80 Summary ................................................................................................................ 84 CHAPTER THREE: SCOPE OF METHODOLOGY ...................................................... 87 Content analysis of news: Quantitative and qualitative approaches ...................... 87 ii The British template: Barnett & Seymour’s study (1999). ...................................... 90 New Zealand research ........................................................................................... 97 Comrie’s analysis of TVNZ news ........................................................................... 98 Comrie’s qualitative methodology .................................................................... 101 A summary of Comrie’s findings .......................................................................... 104 The study by Cook ............................................................................................... 105 The design of this content analysis study ............................................................ 106 The combination of approaches and the New Zealand current ............................ 113 affairs study .......................................................................................................... 113 Programme selection ........................................................................................... 114 Programme types ................................................................................................. 115 The sample and coding ........................................................................................ 116 Subject categories ............................................................................................... 116 Summary .............................................................................................................. 121 CHAPTER FOUR: QUANTITATIVE FINDINGS ........................................................ 122 Research Question One:...................................................................................... 122 Current affairs television 1984: Pre-deregulation, item lengths ..................... 123 Current affairs television 1984-1994: Before and after deregulation, ............ 125 a comparison of item lengths for Close Up and 20/20. .................................. 125 Current affairs television 1984-1994: Before and after deregulation, ............ 126 a comparison of item lengths for Sunday and 20/20. ..................................... 126 Current affairs programmes 1994: Following deregulation. ........................... 127 Current affairs television. From deregulation to the Charter. A ......................... 128 comparison of 1994 and 2004 current affairs programmes. .............................. 128 Current affairs television: Pre-Deregulation, de-regulation and the ................... 129 Charter: A comparison of 1984, 1994 and 2004 current affairs ......................... 129 programmes. ..................................................................................................... 129 Research question 2: ........................................................................................... 134 Current affairs television: Pre-Deregulation-deregulation, 1984- .................. 134 1994. Close Up and Sunday 1984 .................................................................. 134 A comparison of Close Up / Sunday 1984 and 20/20 1994 ........................... 135 A comparison of Close Up / Sunday 1984 and Holmes 1994 ........................... 137 Current affairs television: Deregulation-The Charter, 1994-2004. ................. 138 iii A comparison of 20/20 1994 and Sunday 2004. ............................................ 138 A comparison of Holmes 1994 and Holmes 2004. ......................................... 140 Research question three: ..................................................................................... 143 Close Up 1984 and Sunday 1984 ................................................................... 144 Close Up and Sunday 1984 compared to 20/20 in 1994 ............................... 144 Close Up and Sunday 1984 compared to Holmes 1994 ................................ 145 Current affairs television: Did entertainment-oriented subjectmatter increase; de-regulation- charter period, 1994 and 2004 ................................................ 146 Holmes 1994 compared to Holmes 2004 .......................................................... 147 Holmes 2004 compared to Sunday 2004. ......................................................... 147 Overall trends .................................................................................................... 148 Research question 4: ........................................................................................... 150 A comparison of Close Up and Sunday in 1984- pre-deregulation ............... 152 A comparison of Close Up/Sunday in 1984 and 20/20 in 1994 ..................... 153 A comparison of Close Up/Sunday in 1984 and Holmes in 1994 .................. 154 Source changes from deregulation to the Charter-1994-2004. ..................... 155 A comparison of 20/20 1994 and Sunday 2004. ............................................ 155 Holmes 1994 and Holmes 2004. ..................................................................... 156 Source Types for Holmes 1994 and Sunday 2004 ......................................... 157 Research question five: ....................................................................................... 158 A comparison of Close Up and Sunday in 1984. ............................................... 159 A comparison of Close Up and Sunday 1984 and 20/20 in 1994. ................. 160 A comparison of Close Up and Sunday 1984 and Holmes in 1994............... 161 A comparison of 20/20 in 1994 and Sunday in 2004. .................................... 162 A comparison of Holmes in 1994 and Holmes in 2004. ................................. 163 General trends in 1984, 1994 and 2004. ........................................................ 164 Summary.............................................................................................................. 164 CHAPTER FIVE: QUALITATIVE FINDINGS..............................................................