95bFM Billionaire’s moves with NZME are ‘causing real concern’
16 March 2025
Interview by Joel Armstrong, adapted by Yesenia Pineda
Director of E Tū Union, Michael Wood, has expressed concerns over billionaire James Grenon’s purchase of 9.3% shares of NZME and his announcement to replace the board with himself and three other members, over a “lack of openness about what’s actually being planned here”.
Canadian-born billionaire, James Grenon, has recently purchased a minority stake at New Zealand Media and Entertainment, or NZME; the company that owns organisations such as the newspaper The New Zealand Herald and the radio station Newstalk ZB.
Grenon’s purchased share of 9.3% at NZME; roughly totalling $9 million, comes alongside his declaration to clear the NZME board, replacing it with himself and three other directors while only keeping one original board member.
Director of E Tū Union; the union representing many journalists working for NZME, Michael Wood, told 95bFM’s The Wire that these moves from Grenon are “causing real concern”.
“There's a lack of openness about what's actually being planned here, aside from the fact that Mr. Grenon does indeed now appear to be mounting a takeover, trying to mount a takeover of the company.”
This is not the first time Grenon has been involved with a media entity in New Zealand, having founded and served as the company director of the news aggregation site, The Centrist, until August 2023.
The Centrist, which claims to represent ‘under-served perspectives’ and ‘reason-based analysis,’ has run an article critical of The Herald itself, as well as articles critical of mainstream media’s coverage on a variety of topics, including the climate crisis, identity issues, and the country’s Covid-19 response.
Wood says Grenon is entitled to his own beliefs; however, he is concerned about whether Grenon will add his political opinions into the news coverage on NZME platforms.
“We're talking about NZME; one of New Zealand's biggest media houses that has a huge impact on public opinion, and [is] one of the cornerstones of healthy, free, and open media.”
“When journalists go out to do their job, they shouldn't be getting told what to do, what to say, who to talk to, or to push a certain line.”
Wood wonders if speculations about Grenon’s involvement with NZME turn out to be true, what this would mean for the revenue of the media platforms owned by the company.
“[NZME shareholders] could potentially see the long-term value of the company undermined if it just becomes the plaything of a billionaire.”
E Tū members have since sent an open letter to the NZME board and James Grenon, calling for Grenon to respect the editorial independence of NZME.
