NewsHub's news director quits amid MediaWorks' TV sell-off

October 24, 2019

NewsHub's news director Hal Crawford is leaving the company - but says it has nothing to do with the sell-off at MediaWorks.

Mr Crawford is returning to Australia with his family, NewsHub reported, and will leave in February next year.

"This newsroom is very dear to me and very dear to New Zealand," Mr Crawford said.

"It's a special place and very hard to walk away from.

"I have felt supported by a very fine group of people from the moment I walked in in 2016, and together we have achieved a lot and told some very important stories."

Mr Crawford was given a wide remit to improve the state of MediaWorks' news division, and was responsible for launching The Project, The AM Show and for the overhaul of the NewsHub website.

He had been in the position since 2016, and was formerly the editor of NineMSN.

In August, Mr Crawford wrote a scathing open letter about the state of New Zealand's television industry, calling it "broken" and "anti-competitive" before calling for Government intervention.

"All our businesses rest on human behaviour, and that behaviour has changed," Mr Crawford wrote.

MediaWorks announced last week that it is selling off the TV arm of its business, leaving employees facing an uncertain future.

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