Job cuts to leave Radio Dunedin with no journalist

Job cuts at Radio Dunedin will leave the station with no journalist, MediaWorks has confirmed.

As well as its only journalist, the station will lose a production engineer.

Lyndsay Rackley's afternoon show would be scrapped, but Mr Rackley would still be employed at the station, a spokeswoman said.

A new show with a ''strong Dunedin flavour'' would take its place.

The station would call on MediaWorks' Dunedin-based TV3 journalist for local news, the spokeswoman said.

''From October 30, there will be no local radio journalist based there.''

It remains unclear whether a second Dunedin-based TV3 journalist will be replaced.

Yesterday, the Otago Daily Times reported that Television New Zealand was considering disestablishing one of its Dunedin reporter roles, a part-time role, and a full-time cameraman-editor role.

Dunedin South MP and Labour's broadcasting spokeswoman Clare Curran said TVNZ's proposal would have a negative impact on news coverage in Otago and Southland.

''TVNZ is cutting around 10 positions nationwide in a cost-cutting exercise affecting backroom news production and regional news gathering.

''It beggars belief that you would axe two frontline positions which covers an area of 65,000sqkm,'' Ms Curran said in a press release.

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