RNZ chief executive Paul Thompson to leave the organisation after 13 years
Radio New Zealand chief executive Paul Thompson has announced he will leave the public broadcaster after 13 years. The decision comes at a critical moment for the sector ahead of the government's planned media funding reform in the next Budget.
Radio New Zealand chief executive Paul Thompson has announced he will leave the public broadcaster after 13 years. Thompson's announcement comes at a moment when the government is expected to submit a proposal in coming weeks to reform the public media funding framework. He said 'the organisation's next growth phase deserves a new leadership vision'.
Media and Broadcasting Minister Paul Goldsmith said that RNZ's annual NZ$67 million direct government funding will be reviewed in the May 2026 Budget, while opposition media spokesperson Willie Jackson said any cut 'would seriously weaken public broadcasting'. RNZ board chair Jim Mather announced an interim CEO will be appointed and that an international search process will begin in mid-June.
Under Thompson's tenure RNZ grew its monthly digital audience from 480,000 to 1.4 million, and the 2024 launch of a trilingual (Maori-English-Pacific languages) broadcasting structure was described by the NZ Herald as a 'foundational transformation of public broadcasting'. Stuff chief executive Sinead Boucher and Mediaworks chief executive Cam Wallace both publicly acknowledged Thompson's contribution. Auckland University academic Gavin Ellis said the search process will run in parallel with the media funding debate.
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