Análisis de raíces unitarias de las series

The ethnographic interviews with key informants (a method outlined by Fontana &

Prey, 1994) were designed to throw light on reasons behind the changes and choices made and to show why certain developments occurred, from decisions about who can own broadcasting outlets down to what subjects are deemed suitable for the news bulletins.

Interviews were planned from four major sources: political, broadcasting management including those at Board level, news executives, and journalists. The interview selection was not meant to be exhaustive, rather a few key figures were selected after extensive reading of news files and other historical sources. In all, 16 in-depth interviews were conducted, each lasting from one to two hours.

The researcher interviewed two people from the broadly political area. The first was Jonathan Hunt was Minister of Broadcasting from 1984-1987 and again from November 1988 after Richard Prebble left Cabinet. The other, Laurie Cameron, was a member of the Royal Commission on Broadcasting who wrote a controversial and influential addendum to the Commission's report.

Several interviews were conducted with those in the upper echelons of the BCNZ. These were: Hugh Rennie, chairman of the BCNZ from 1984 until its demise and also chairperson of the Rennie Committee on restructuring the BCNZ; Nigel Dick, chief executive of the BCNZ from 1986 to 1988; Bill Foster, general manager of BCNZ Corporate Services and member of Excom; and David Beatson, managing editor of The Listener and member of a BCNZ futures "think tank". From TVNZ, Graeme Wilson, director of planning and public affairs from September 1986 until 1992 when he became general manager of TVNZ Network, was interviewed.

Nine newsworkers were formally interviewed. These ranged from those in overall charge of regional news programmes to bureau chiefs, editors, reporters and presenters. The majority of these newsworkers were laid off or left TVNZ in 1990 or 1991. Others continued with TVNZ into the early and mid 1990s. To protect those who wish to remain anonymous the newsworkers are not named here. Where it is appropriate, names are included in the narrative. The researcher has spoken informally to other joumali�ts and also knew a number of TVNZ newsworkers during the study period. Their views inform the historical narrative although these journalists are not quoted directly.

The researcher generated a series of general questions developed after the document review and review of newspaper resources. Different question areas applied to political interviewees, management and newsworkers. These questions which formed a basic interview guide (Patton, 1 990) are attached as Appendix C. However, the conduct of interviews themselves varied according to the interviewees. Those with newsworkers, particularly, were of the informal conversational interview style as described by Patton. Jonathan Hunt was interviewed in a slightly more formal, broadcasting-style question and answer format and Hugh Rennie talked to a series of query points that had been

faxed to him. Others were asked to recall what they remembered about key issues and events, and some were taken chronologically through a period. Most interviewees were keen to share their view of events and the majority suggested other sources to interview.

Patton (1990) says "the quality of the information obtained during an interview is largely dependent on the interviewer" (p.279). Prior investigation, combined with the researcher's 15 years experience in radio broadcasting and close association with television reporters, editors and camera operators over nearly a decade, ensured both credibility and speedy rapport (Fontana & Frey, 1994; Lindlof, 1995) and improved the quality of analysis.

News practitioners are extensively cited in the following narrative. In fact, these details of conflict over newsroom practice and news values of TVNZ staff form the heart of the chapter. Cattle (1995), in examining news formats, calls journalists a rich source of insight and maintains that their accounts deserve "increased attention in the empirical examination and theorization of the production domain" (p.280).

Interviews were designed to throw light on sources of tension between the commercial and public service approaches to journalism. The interviews with journalists concentrated on the Wellington newsroom, as prior observation indicated that conflict between news styles became most intense over the reporting of political items, and output from Wellington was overwhelmingly political in nature.

5.2.3.1 Limitations of Interviews

However, access to current TVNZ reporters was severely restricted. Buchanan, Boddy & McCalman (1988) stress the growing difficulty of getting access to organisations who are "deluged with requests" from interviewers (p.55). Further, Barretta-Herman (1990) notes that organisations undergoing change are characteristically resistant to efforts to track the change process and in particular to outsiders doing the tracking. In addition a number of writers (Comrie & McGregor, 1992; Schlesinger, 1 987; Tiffen, 1989) have

commented on the reluctance of journalists and news organisations to be subject to scrutiny and their thin-skinned response to criticism. TVNZ proved no exception to this rule.

After a series of requests and a meeting, the researcher was denied access to management and newsworkers, although TVNZ networks manager Graeme Wilson granted an interview. This restriction required some adjustment to the study design, placing greater emphasis on the content analysis element, on secondary sources and outside interviews. The current views of key management figures were obtained from

sources such as Networks staff magazine, scripts of public speeches, radio interviews and

newspaper and magazine reports.

Using only former employees, of whom almost two-thirds were made redundant, raises the issue of bias. However, some points can be made. Individual bitterness was lessened because layoffs were widespread. The journalists interviewed generally saw their departure as part of a larger political and economic change. Nearly all had sought voluntary redundancy and received what they acknowledged as fair settlements. Some interviewees had left TVNZ as part of normal career change well after the restructuring layoffs.

As a result of restricted access, the narrative which follows is as much the tale of "the losers" as of "the winners". Since the chapter, in describing the transition to a commercially oriented organisation, also describes the demise of the public service approach, this emphasis is appropriate. It also provides a contrast to the currently predominant official market-oriented rhetoric of deregulation Gohnstone, 1995). The narrative below aims to cover not only the major decisions and their consequences but also paths not taken, because an important purpose in the research is to understand the change as a matter of choice, rather than of inevitable pressure.

The chapter now turns to the historical narrative, telling first the wider organisational story of deregulation, then focusing on the changes which took place in the newsroom.