Protesters hope to save Campbell Live

John Campbell
John Campbell
Hundreds of protesters are expected to gather across the country today in an attempt to save current affairs programme Campbell Live.

Protests are scheduled in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin throughout the day, calling on MediaWorks to save the daily programme, which was placed under review two weeks ago.

In Auckland, protesters will gather on the corner of Karangahape Road and Symonds Street at 11.30am before walking up to TV3 headquarters on Flower St, Eden Terrace.

There, the protesters will gather for speeches outside the offices and present three petitions to news boss Mark Jennings, which have been signed by more than 100,000 people.

In Christchurch, a march will begin on Hagley Avenue at midday, heading to the MediaWorks office in Addington. More than 370 people have confirmed their attendance on Facebook.

Likewise, in Wellington protesters are set to meet at 4.30pm at Te Aro Park.

In Dunedin, a protest will begin at 4.30pm in the lower Octagon but so far only 39 respondents have confirmed they are going, according to the event Facebook page.

The event, Speak Up to Save Campbell Live, has been organised by Campbell supporter Jo Bond, who stressed the event is politically neutral.

Campbell Live staff were told the programme was being placed under review two weeks ago, due to declining ratings.

Since then, a wave of public support has seen the ratings increase, however, some media commentators believe it's not enough to secure the show's future.

Throng founder Regan Cunliffe has been tracking Campbell Live's ratings and yesterday posted that the programme's average audience is now tracking higher than the same week in 2014.

However, he wrote topping 2013 is still a stretch.

"In the key demos, the decline for Campbell Live is very real and very apparent. Even with the impressive 5+ growth of 2013, the trend is heading in the wrong direction.

"That long term trend is what MediaWorks is needing to turn around. Protests, rallies and petitions aren't going to change that fact."

Last night, the programme attracted 293,000 viewers, compared to Seven Sharp's 409,000.

- nzherald.co.nz

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