Campbell Live Dumped

Written By: - Date published: 2:42 pm, May 21st, 2015 - 83 comments
Categories: Abuse of power, censorship, Media, scoundrels, tv - Tags: ,

It’s just been announced that John Campbell will leave TV3 and the show that he has fronted superbly for 10 years is to be axed. It will be replaced with a co-hosted current affairs show, but any expectations that it might be any good will probably need to be seen in the light of the admission that it will be part of the comedy and entertainment arm of TV3.

Mediaworks  spokesman Mark Jennings weaselled “John has decided he wants to take a break from the job and we respect his decision”.

Mediaworks’s message to viewers: We hate you, we won’t listen to you, and if you choose to watch our channels, please switch your brains off, we just want your eyeballs.

John, if you’re reading this; good on ya mate. You were as good as gets. Hope we see you again soon.

Ka kite ano.

 

Edit: Media commentator Phil Wallington nails the political aspects of the axing on Radio NZ.

 

 

 

 

83 comments on “Campbell Live Dumped ”

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  1. mickysavage 1
    21 May 2015 at 2:44 pm

    Simultaneous post TRP! I will amend mine …

  2. Sable 2
    21 May 2015 at 2:44 pm

    I signed the petition. I do not watch MSM news at all but Campbell did a lot of good honest journalistic work. Its clear how much “value” that has in the context of the MSM in NZ but then that was hardly a secret.

    • Puckish Rogue 2.1
      21 May 2015 at 3:30 pm

      I’m sure the multi-millionaire will be able to find suitable employment elsewhere

      • McFlock 2.1.1
        21 May 2015 at 3:33 pm

        Sour grapes, pr? Are you envious of the cash, or just the fact that Campbell has actually managed to improve a lot of people’s lives rather than parasiting off them?

      • tracey 2.1.2
        21 May 2015 at 3:39 pm

        I’m not sure money was ever the point (from Campbell’s POV), was it? citation needed.

        • Puckish Rogue 2.1.2.1
          21 May 2015 at 3:49 pm

          Then it shouldn’t be a problem for Campbell to get a slot on another channel

  3. Clean_power 3
    21 May 2015 at 3:01 pm

    A commercial decision by TV3 , after all. Time to let JC find his political home.

    • One Anonymous Bloke 3.1
      21 May 2015 at 3:03 pm

      I look forward to you saying the same about Hoskings Henry and Plunkett. Nah, you’ll just exhibit some hypocrisy instead, eh.

    • tracey 3.2
      21 May 2015 at 3:06 pm

      It was making money when its ratings were 150,000. It must have made much more over the last few weeks, commercially speaking.

    • Ross 3.3
      21 May 2015 at 3:12 pm

      Well, TV3 has ended its contract with Mazda, if that’s what you mean by “commercial decision”. Apart from that, the decision to dump Campbell was political.

    • Ben 3.4
      21 May 2015 at 3:41 pm

      It was pretty clear he had already found it, moved in and redecorated.

  4. Joy Clark 4
    21 May 2015 at 3:03 pm

    The only reason to watch TV3 is going…. I quit Seven Sharp because of the Hoskings vitriole and switched to Campbell Live and LOVED IT ! TV3 have lost this family…. end of story… I hope you are reading this John Campbell… angry tears sting in my eyes right now… what is happening is wrong on many many levels and I am shocked…. I was naive enough to believe they would listen to the majority.

    • ianmac 4.1
      21 May 2015 at 3:49 pm

      A sad day. Bugger TV3. Some years ago we switched to the news there and watched avidly Campbell Live. Now? Never. I’m with you Joy but joyless.

      • mac1 4.1.1
        21 May 2015 at 6:32 pm

        Me, too. Campbell’s gone from TV3 and so have I. Had a look a week’s listings. Nothing there for me, so I suppose I’m no great loss, just the news and Campbell when I had time.

        A pity. Campbell was the only current affairs worth watching- genuine, warm, and socially conscious, and conscienced.
        If I want entertainment, I watch real entertainers on Sky, not the other ‘current affairs’ offerings.

        Thank God for MySky, books, puzzles and newsprint.

    • Shedila 4.2
      21 May 2015 at 6:59 pm

      They probably did listen to the majority! I am sure there are more interesting things for your family to watch or do at seven p.m. which was obvious the only choice they had before. Don’t want to lose them, do you?

    • Macslernz 4.3
      22 May 2015 at 8:05 am

      Er… Campbell left on his own accord. Mediaworks offered him a position on the new four day a week show and Mr Campbell refused to accept. Mr Campbell turned down a job offer but I am sure he will find employment when he is ready to resume working.

      • Molly 4.3.1
        22 May 2015 at 9:59 am

        Hello Macslernz.

        Usually comments look past the narrative spun by the liars, fools and PR focus group briefings. But give it another go, you might end up debating yourself.

  5. Brillo 5
    21 May 2015 at 3:07 pm

    So the right-wingification of our media continues, flat tack.

    I no longer have any reason to watch TV3. Tara, chucks.

    That’s Me 1: TV3 0, I believe.
    But Shallow Arsewittery 1: Intelligence and humanity 0, also.

    • Ben 5.1
      21 May 2015 at 3:10 pm

      Arguably CL’s ratings were mimicking the Labour party’s – both on a steady slide to oblivion.

      • Ross 5.1.1
        21 May 2015 at 3:14 pm

        Actually they weren’t. Try again.

        • Ben 5.1.1.1
          21 May 2015 at 3:25 pm

          They were – the recent rise was due to people trying to save the show. Unless MediaWorks changed the format they knew that viewers would soon slip in to their old (no) viewing habits.

          • Colonial Rawshark 5.1.1.1.1
            21 May 2015 at 3:57 pm

            lol it’s a completely political decision and everyone can see that. Stop taking us for idiots.

            • Puckish Rogue 5.1.1.1.1.1
              21 May 2015 at 4:01 pm

              Yeah sure thats why he had his show for ten years…sheesh

            • Ben 5.1.1.1.1.2
              21 May 2015 at 4:48 pm

              Completely political? So are you saying that there was external influence from the Govt, or that the MediaWorks board are all right-wingers and simply didn’t like JC’s politics? MediaWorks is answerable to the shareholders (which I’m sure include left supporters), and if CL was turning a profit it would be a big call to forgo that profit due to political leanings. Irrespective of JC’s political bent, what it boiled down to is that he’d had his day and it was time to try something new. In case you missed it, MediaWorks is in financial strife.

              When Henry and/or Hosking get the axe, it will be for financial reasons, and even if Labour are in power at the time the last excuse you will hear from the right was that it was due to political influence.

              • Colonial Rawshark …
                21 May 2015 at 5:00 pm

                LOL what eva

              • amirite …
                21 May 2015 at 5:05 pm

                In that case, they should’ve ditched Paul Henry’s show already as it has failed dismally to match the ratings of their TVNZ competition.

          • Ross 5.1.1.1.2
            21 May 2015 at 4:06 pm

            You ignore the fact that CL has been, and continues to be, one of the highest rating shows on TV. Hardly sliding into oblivion.

            • James 5.1.1.1.2.1
              21 May 2015 at 9:56 pm

              You ignore the fact that its getting killed by 7 sharp. week in, week out.

              Thats the problem.

              • Stephanie Rodgers …
                21 May 2015 at 11:18 pm

                And as has been pointed out many times since the “review” of Campbell Live was announced, TV3 also gets “killed” by One News. This is possibly one of the biggest factors in Campbell Live’s lower ratings vs Seven Sharp because most viewers don’t change the channel after the news.

                If Mediaworks were smart they would’ve figured out what was working about Campbell Live to draw in extra viewers at 7 and applied it to their 6pm slot.

                But you know that. “Campbell Live didn’t have the ratings” is key line #1 on your crib sheet.

            • jane 5.1.1.1.2.2
              22 May 2015 at 12:09 am

              This is silly. The show remains 3rd out of 3, despite the recent bump. More people talk about it than actually watch it.

  6. esoteric pineapples 6
    21 May 2015 at 3:23 pm

    John Campbell had about as much chance of staying with TV3 as Amanda Bailey had of keeping her job at that café.

    • One Anonymous Bloke 6.1
      21 May 2015 at 3:32 pm

      She’s no longer working there? Citation needed.

    • tracey 6.2
      21 May 2015 at 3:34 pm

      Yup, you can’t tell the truth to men in business, they just won’t have it.

    • Stephanie Rodgers 6.3
      21 May 2015 at 11:28 pm

      That’s a great point. Both are workers who have been unfairly treated because they dared to speak truth to power.

      • Macslernz 6.3.1
        22 May 2015 at 8:16 am

        How has Mr Campbell been unfairly treated? Mr Campbell was offered a job on the revamped show but he refused and decided to leave MediaWorks as is his right. What is unfair about that?

        • Dialey 6.3.1.1
          22 May 2015 at 11:21 am

          He was offered half of four fifths of a programme

        • Emalitza 6.3.1.2
          22 May 2015 at 12:31 pm

          He was offered a position, as one of two presenters, on a 4 day a week, ‘rival to Seven Sharp’ new ‘current affairs’ type show.

          Not a full time position, continuing as the sole presenter, on a self titled 5 day a week show that he has been heading for the last 5 years, that cannot be compared to Seven Sharp.

          Clear enough?

  7. thechangeling 7
    21 May 2015 at 4:05 pm

    Very sad news. Phil Wallington said it all really on RNZ today.

  8. Rosie 8
    21 May 2015 at 4:07 pm

    Bastards!!!

    We’ve lost a real broadcasting treasure, an advocate, a good hearted man with great integrity and professionalism and a one show telethon machine.

    I’ve watched Campbell Live for the whole ten years and am gutted he will no longer be around in my living room. The whole team are great too, a great group of talent. What a terrible family break up for them.

    In a parallel universe all NZ journalists and reporters would walk off the job for the day to show solidarity and support with Comrade Campbell and the team.

    Big hugs to you John and all the team. Go well.

  9. Once was Tim 9
    21 May 2015 at 4:08 pm

    I heard Russell Brown on RNZ this morning and I thought to myself …. Christ!!!! – and you’re the media pundit.
    It was ALWAYS going to be – all they were doing over the past few weeks has been looking for the easiest way to announce their intention (what better than Budget day).
    Welcome to the world of Jooolie Christie and Mark Walden ….. Masters of the Universe …. they who should not be challenged – no matter how cowardly they are.

    Btw….. can someone remind me – WHY do we actually NEED a stock exchange?

    • Molly 9.1
      21 May 2015 at 8:11 pm

      …”WHY do we actually NEED a stock exchange”…

      I can’t think of any good reason for it.

    • felix 9.2
      21 May 2015 at 8:41 pm

      My thoughts too on the Russell Brown commentary.

      I thought he was being sarcastic at first and then I realised fuck, he actually doesn’t have any idea.

  10. Tiger Mountain 10
    21 May 2015 at 4:22 pm

    Good night and good luck; John Campbell!

  11. Clemgeopin 11
    21 May 2015 at 4:34 pm

    If John Campbell goes, I will not only NOT watch ANYTHING again on TV3, I will also stop using any of the media works’ other outlets such as Radio Live too to show Media Works a lesson. Yes, I can live with that. Sure, my solitary action will not affect them much, but just imagine if 50% of their regular clients take the same action! Then it will be the crap biased useless management that will get the sack. That would be well deserved just desserts and sweet revenge. We are not beholden to those idiot managers there. They are to us!

    The Media Works management seem like a crooked bunch of despicable RW arseholes.

    Thank you John for the great meaningful worthwhile show you have produced for over ten years.

    I hope John Campbell will soon get some other avenue to host a show. Fingers crossed.

    • Sans Cle 11.1
      21 May 2015 at 8:01 pm

      Mediaworks probably wont care, once they are bought out by Oaktree Capital.
      Government subsidy for Steven Joyce’s (former?) company, to prop it up for a sell out.

      • dukeofurl 11.1.1
        22 May 2015 at 9:34 am

        Exactly, older males are not wanted in audience, female , 25 to 35 are the hot numbers for advertisers.

        Oaktree Capital is a vulture private equity group, it scavengers the carcass after ordinary private equity ( Ironbridge and banks) have lot a bundle.

        They will try in wrap it up in another media group, possibly radio and flog it off in a public shareholding. But as we know Key/Joyce like funding their mates, so some government cash somewho

  12. Melanie Scott 12
    21 May 2015 at 4:40 pm

    The last few comments have said it all. I will not be watching TV3 again. I preferred it’s 6pm news programme and of course Campbell was great. Also John’s assistants – I came to really like Ali Ikram’s whimsey and the jolly duo of Tristram and Lochlan – and Billy Weepu and Fenna Owen – great team. I am sure they are all very sad.
    Those bloodless, devious bastards who conspired to do this deserve a special place in hell.
    My other faves are Grand Designs and 7 Days. I’ll have to give up 7 Days and Graham Norton (not as good as he used to be anyway) but can anyone suggest a way of watching Grand Designs without going to TV3?
    All the best Mr Campbell, I hope this is not the last we will see and hear of you. Thanks for being a great TV presenter and all the issues you have championed.
    Irony indeed that Campbell Live’s continuous exposure of child poverty in NZ will have gone a long way towards ramping the pressure that has led to some, albeit measily, increase in financial support for the most disadvantaged.

    • BrianBoru 12.1
      21 May 2015 at 6:11 pm

      RE: grand designs

      http://www.channel4.com/programmes/grand-designs

      you’ll need a reasonably fast internet connection + vpn client though.

    • Invisible Axe 12.2
      21 May 2015 at 6:13 pm

      search grand designs torrents, plenty there. I’ve changed my viewing habits already, watching tv1 news, so bye bye tv3 from me.

    • lprent 12.3
      21 May 2015 at 6:24 pm

      Avoid sky unless you want to get repeating repeats of ads about repeating repeats…

      In the likely absence of it being on any of the internet services (quickflix, netflix, apple, and the like), your best bet is a buying the series on DVD or Bluray via fishpond or the like and even Amazon.

      I’d say video stores, but they appear to be just closing down.

      And of course if you get desperate and noone is willing to sell it, you could try a cry for better TV distribution channels. That is at eztv.it, but get a VPN first

      • Daveinireland 12.3.1
        22 May 2015 at 12:54 pm

        Doesn’t buying things from Amazon make you a tax avoider? Not to mention supporting a company that destroys jobs and pays no tax at all.

        • lprent 12.3.1.1
          22 May 2015 at 5:38 pm

          I think that the last time I brought something from Amazon was at least 2 years ago. It was some light dimming patches to put over the LEDs that seem to be breeding in my apartment and making the night go light. I couldn’t find anyone with them in NZ.

          The last time I brought from eBay was at Xmas. I got a USB3 powered screen for my partner’s laptop that ASUS had chosen not to sell here, and hadn’t since the previous Xmas.

          You will note a trend here. Locally for me means that it is available fast. I am highly price insensitive, so paying or not paying taxes is just part of the price. I buy locally because I can get it without delays – like it being held at customs for the GST that should be on it.

          In political action, the idea is to get some results. It isn’t there to provide some holier than thou stupidity. Rather than reflexively doing things because they sound good and trendy (the Fashionista fallacy), the best idea is to do things because they are effective.

          Trying to boycott companies who provide a service providing goods that aren’t available locally isn’t effective. All it does is reward local distributors stupidity.

          The reason to pay local suppliers is if they provide their market with locally held local stock. It is not that they pay taxes. Apart from anything else, even kiwi companies tend to go to considerable lengths to avoid paying taxes here.

          Companies either do things legally or someone (like the IRD) winds up laying a complaint and dragging them into court. Since the cost risk of that is so high (ask comrade Cameron Slater what being embroiled in the court system is like 😈 ), almost every company plays pretty much by the rules, or at least to the lighter side of the grey line.

          A failure to pay taxes is something that you boot politicians out for. They are failing in their job if the tax burden of society is inequitably spread.

          In this case, I suspect that the optimal person to target would be the Minister of Revenue. Successive holders of that position have consistently and for a long time failed to plug the online tax loophole of internet purchases.

          Incidentally, the blindingly obvious thing to start with would be require GST to actually be paid on ALL purchases before goods are allowed into NZ. The burden of proof should be on the purchaser, not the supplier. Because then they will demand that the supplier provides that service (or they use a competitor).

          If required taxes paid isn’t shown on the invoice and packing slip, then the goods should be seized by the state without compensation, and sold to collect the taxes. There is most of the collectable tax right there.

          In the absence of that, then I’d suggest that the person to work against is Todd McClay, our very slack Minister of Revenue. I’d also suggest that Peter Dunne, a long time holder of that position would also be a person of interest to blame. Michael Cullen? Ummm… probably before these kinds of purchases became a real issue. But also not that useful as a target as he hasn’t been a targetable politician fro 7 years.

          http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inland_Revenue_Department_(New_Zealand)#List_of_Ministers

      • Melanie Scott 12.3.2
        24 May 2015 at 12:42 pm

        Thanks for all the suggestions, but I am pretty internet illiterate. I will have find out what VPN means for a start! It’s great that a network like The Standard provides a platform for people to share like this. Much appreciated.

    • Ovid 12.4
      21 May 2015 at 7:53 pm

      I recommend unotelly – which is about $5 a month. I use it to access overseas channels (BBC iPlayer is amazing) and flip between Netflix iterations.

  13. Tiger Mountain 13
    21 May 2015 at 4:40 pm

    Hunter Thompson goes in and out of fashion, being known for the odd spot of hyperbole but this from “The Gonzo Papers Vol#2” is fitting indeed; “The TV business is uglier than most things. It is normally perceived as some kind of cruel and shallow money trench through the heart of the journalism industry, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free and good men die like dogs, for no good reason”

    I watch very little broadcast TV and it will be less now. Fuck ’em, the bloated reality queens and the suits a size too small execs at media works.

    • felix 13.1
      21 May 2015 at 5:04 pm

      The next bit of that Thompson passage is particularly fitting:

      Which is more or less true. For the most part, they are dirty little animals with huge brains and no pulse. Every once in a while, they will toss up a token human like Ed Bradley or Hughes Rudd… and there are others, no doubt, like Studs Terkel in Chicago and the twisted Rev. Gene Scott, who works like a sleepless ferret in the maniac bowels of Southern California….
      But these are only the exceptions that prove the hideous rule. Mainly we are dealing with a profoundly degenerate world, a living web of foulness, greed and treachery… which is also the biggest real business around and impossible to ignore. You can’t get away from TV. It is everywhere. The hog is in the tunnel.

  14. One Anonymous Bloke 14
    21 May 2015 at 5:04 pm

    There are two reasons to watch TV3: live sport, and the other one.

    I forget the other one.

  15. dukeofurl 15
    21 May 2015 at 5:08 pm

    So the people who said Campbell Live would be replaced by Jono and Ben:

    The replacement show will be 4 days a week [ and on Fridays will be replaced by Jono and Ben]

    • James 15.1
      21 May 2015 at 9:58 pm

      I think you will find the only people who said that were the herald – and they made it up.

  16. Mark Craig 16
    21 May 2015 at 5:31 pm

    Have been a great fan of JC and his style of journalism ,gutted to see him go.Also enjoy Radio live ,except Plunkett .Hmmm what to do ,I cannot stand the dross on ZB.

  17. Ross 17
    21 May 2015 at 5:47 pm

    Mark Weldon and John Key are as thick as thieves. To suggest Campvell’s dumping is simply a result of poor ratings, and is not a political decision, is naive in the extreme.

    http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2015/04/10/guest-blog-rex-widerstrom-thirteen-things-you-probably-didnt-know-about-mark-weldon-ceo-of-mediaworks/

  18. Richard Christie 18
    21 May 2015 at 5:51 pm

    The cretin that is Garner had already caused me to abandon TV3 news.
    Now my TV will simply stay off until 8pm

    I refuse to buy that rag named the NZ Herald.

    Now of the daily MSM, it’s RNZ only.

  19. travellerev 19
    21 May 2015 at 6:25 pm

    The moment he held Simon Bridges and John Key’s feet to the fire he was a dead man walking.

    But conspiring? Our governement with the MSM Ceo’s all owned by one corporation? Never. Our government loves us and they represent us and make decissions for the best of all of us!

    I hear RT is hiring and maybe Campbell should start an RT NZ Divission here. Just imagine and content that actually means something!

    • tc 19.1
      22 May 2015 at 10:29 am

      Yup the last thing key and ministers needs is to be held accountable so off Campbell goes at the hands of shonkys little henchmen banksta buddy boy Weldon

  20. Southern Man 20
    21 May 2015 at 7:20 pm

    To all those hand-wringers I say this – don’t get angry, get even. I have deleted TV3 from the channels on my TV and will boycott those restaurants that stock Weldon’s ‘Terra Sancta’ wine.

    • One Anonymous Bloke 20.1
      21 May 2015 at 7:41 pm

      Supposing for a moment that getting even* is the goal, that’d be a piss poor way to do it.

      A good thing to do would be to return employment law to no-brainer principles such as living wages and freedom of association: a rising tide lifts all boats.

      It’s tempting to seek vengeance on the incompetent instead.

      *getting even with wingnuts is your benchmark?

      • Southern Man 20.1.1
        22 May 2015 at 9:42 am

        I have already acted and achieved my (modest) objectives. In a years time you will still be whittering about changing employment legislation, not realising that the majority of New Zealander’s simply don’t agree or care.

  21. RedBaronCV 21
    21 May 2015 at 10:10 pm

    And if I were Mazda the sponsor I would take my money and drive away and find a worthwhile programme to sponsor somewhere else. Even if I didn’t put the same dollars, in something on Maori TV that caters for all might be a good idea. JC resurrected. It doesn’t seem very businesslike to turn down cold hard sponsorship cash. That really surprises me about TV3

  22. emergency mike 22
    21 May 2015 at 10:40 pm

    While I’m sad to see him go, and it does matter, TV has been dead to me since they started making reality shows about people renovating their kitchens. Showed it the door years ago. Recommended.

  23. BG 23
    22 May 2015 at 8:37 am

    What many on the vocal left don’t understand is that there is a silent majority. This is seen by the ratings that Seven Sharp has held over Campbell Live for quite some time. We have so many people telling us that Hosking is a right-wing sycophant, but the bottom line is that more people want to watch him, as they find him more appealing (that there is no argument)

    It’s funny but during the election the noisiest group were the ‘hate the govt left’ yet the majority who voted, voted right. Real middle NZ does not appeal to Campbell Live but they don’t make a song and dance about it (or climb trees, or #ourhatred). Don’t believe me?…look at the Campbell Live vs Seven Sharp ratings and compare them the results of the last election (they correlate well) .

    TV3’s Campbell live has been pandering to the minority and that’s why the ratings for the show have stagnated.

    All the vitriol against Paul Henry (and Hosking) is from the vocal minority, and mediaworks understand this. If it wants more viewers it needs to appeal to the majority. Just saying.

    • dukeofurl 23.1
      22 May 2015 at 9:43 am

      Wrong .

      Hosking and Co have lower ratings than Paul Holmes etc did.

      TV1 has higher ratings from One News and the flow through effect is well known.

      Your ideas about middle NZ are just fantasy, the biggest rating show at 7Pm is Shortland St. According to you thats Middle NZs favourite ?

      Ratings are often counting 5 years up, its demographics that matter, and female demographic in 20s and thirties that really matters.

      National voting people 45 and older may make up numbers but arent wanted, except for pharmaceuticals.

  24. SMILIN 24
    22 May 2015 at 11:19 am

    This is what happens to honest people with this govt

    Im sorry our signatures mean nothing

    GOOD LUCK TO YOU HONEST JOHN CAMPBELL

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