Carol Hirschfeld could be in line for top TVNZ role

Comment: There is a reason why TV networks around the world separate their news and programming departments. One deals with facts the other with fiction – well mainly. Reality TV involves a bit of both. 
Sometimes the two departments clash. An example is when news wants to break into scheduled programming with a breaking news event. Programming will argue that it throws the schedule out, annoying loyal viewers of particular shows and hurting advertising revenue. News will argue they are acting in the national interest, particularly if it is an event like a major earthquake.
Friction between department heads (usually) helps the network make a considered decision. The separation also means that news doesn’t end up being a promotional tool doing patsy stories on the network’s own programmes or stars. Independence of news is often enshrined in a TV network’s culture or, in the case of publicly owned broadcasters, a charter.
The skill sets required to run a news division are very different to those required to programme a channel.
At most networks, the heads of both news and programming will sit on the executive and have a close relationship with the CEO. They are the big spending departments, and their performance is crucial. 
So, TVNZ’s decision to scrap the two department head roles and have one chief news and content officer is a significant decision albeit one that hasn’t resulted in much media scrutiny. 
There is no doubt that TVNZ is on its way to becoming a much smaller outfit.
The executive team is being slimmed down in the same way as the rank and file while it tries to close the gap between declining revenue and rising costs.
Two executive roles, marketing and HR, have already gone, with those responsibilities handed to other department heads. A lot of the work has no doubt been picked up by the next tier down – a group of lower-paid general managers.
The current head of news, Phil O’Sullivan, and the current chief content officer, Nevak Rogers could end up in general manager roles if they miss out on the combined role and decide to stay.
Of the two, Rogers looks marginally more qualified for the top job having some journalism experience to complement her programming background. She was once an intern at the NZ Herald and worked for five years at Mana Magazine.
O’Sullivan doesn’t appear to have any programming experience. He is a long-time career journalist who, outside his time at TVNZ, has held senior roles in several CNN bureaus.
One person within TVNZ’s ranks who has held senior positions in both news and programming is the current executive producer of Breakfast, Carol Hirschfeld. Hirschfeld took the unglamorous early morning role after Today FM folded.  
Hirschfeld was head of programming and production at Māori TV between 2009 and 2014. During this period Māori TV was a broadcasting force rather than the underpowered player it is now.
Hirschfeld left Māori TV to be head of content, and later, head of news at RNZ. Her career at RNZ came unstuck when she attended an undeclared meeting with the broadcasting minster of the time, Clare Curran.
The former 3 News journalist and presenter has a solid news and production background and plenty of management experience. If she throws her hat in the ring and is successful, Hirschfeld would bring far greater expertise to the news part of the business than Rogers.
While 1News journalists won’t like the idea of not having their own dedicated department head on the executive team, TVNZ can point to the structure of one of its competitors, NZME.
The NZ Herald’s editor, (although he is now called chief content officer – publishing) Murray Kirkness, reports to the chief digital and publishing officer Carolyn Luey, who in turn reports to the CEO, Michael Boggs.
Like all TVNZ executive roles the job will be advertised externally. The specifics of the job description will be a strong indicator of who is in the running and who is not.