Could Maharey be cleverer than he looks?
Well, I've been cross about the whole 'Kiwi FM being given public frequencies' debacle over the past 24 hours, and I've been receiving a whole lot of hand-wringing emails and comments on the blog that generally go along the lines of "Steve Maharey has betrayed us!" But wait a minute - let's not count Maharey out just yet.
I've been searching for coverage of this story everywhere - and while you might think "Minister donates $20M+ in public assets to a multi-national media corporation" might have warranted a paragraph or two in the mainstream press, comment seems to have been limited to four sentences in the Dominion Post.
The radio discussion groups have been interesting - and if I could publish some of the emails I've been getting... well, suffice to say that I can't publish some of the emails I've been getting. People seem to be even more annoyed about this than I am.
But amidst all the talk online (and the deafening silence from TV, radio and press), there was a comment made as a flippant throw-away line on the Low Power FM list yesterday, and it's been niggling at me since.
Now, I have to say I've always liked Steve Maharey and I've always rated him. In fact, I remember having suggested him as Helen's successor one day on this very blog. With that in mind, it's entirely possible that we may have overlooked his cleverness - and the real story here may yet be hidden from us.
This whole Radio Broadcasters Association versus the Broadcasting Portfolio has gone from open hostility during the early days of the Marian Hobbs era, to a game of suspicious but ultimately cooperative leverage: we give you this, but we get that.
And there is no obvious 'that' here.
Unless... (and this is what was suggested on the LPFM list) there's going to be an unexpected announcement shortly that will mightily piss off the RBA.
It might perhaps be that Radio New Zealand are going to launch a young brand. Not the YRN as we imagine it, but a hipper, younger version of National Radio. 18-35s.
Okay - so I have my doubts, but it's certainly not outside the realm of possibility. Let's just hope that if RNZ boss Peter Cavanagh goes ahead with that (and he's made it clear that he not only wants to, but intends to) that he spares a thought for the b-Net.
The Wire on 95bFM has been fulfilling this function admirably in Auckland and on the Interweb for quite some time.
If this is the plan, at the very least, do some wholesale headhunting, Mr Cavanagh.
But - perhaps more likely - are we going to see a range of mid-power frequencies go up for auction with CanWest and TRN ineligible to bid?
It might be wishful thinking on my part, but I've long held that it would be the best thing that could possibly happen to the LPFM sector - and probably to radio in NZ.
Put the low-power commercial stations (eg Base, KFM, Up, etc) on 100W and let them pay honest market rates for their licences... and make it a condition of the existing LPFM licences (down in the less-than 1W area) that the operator must be a non-profit organisation.
Ordinarily, Impey would be the first to fight this tooth and nail - but as things stand now, Maharey would be within his rights to say 'stop your whinging, Impey - you just got yourself a massive early Christmas present'.
Whatever happens, I'm starting to suspect that this is the beginning of an interesting story, rather than the story in itself.
What I don't get is where TRN falls in all this. Surely they can't be delighted that CanWest get to do The Breeze without losing Kiwi FM - and they secure another bunch of full-power Metro frequencies into the bargain.
Something doesn't add up. I clearly don't know the full story. And I'll be very happy if it turns out that all the aces are up Maharey's sleeve.
My overall perception of Maharey doesn't square with recent events - and I'd far rather the world shifted to match my perceptions than the other way around.
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Peter wrote:
