Key Appointments Announced at Maori Television

Key Appointments Announced at Maori Television

Maori Television today announced two key appointments to its Executive team.

Veteran television broadcaster CAROL HIRSCHFELD (Ngāti Porou) will be promoted to the newly created position of General Manager Production and former TVNZ Deputy Chief Executive STEPHEN SMITH to the newly created position of General Manager Digital.

The establishment of the two new positions are part of a company-wide reorganisation that sees Maori Television move from a traditional broadcaster infrastructure to a more fit-for-future model. Both positions report to the Chief Executive.

With almost 25 years’ experience in the television industry CAROL HIRSCHFELD has worked as a news reporter, presenter, director, producer and executive producer. Carol joined Maori Television two years ago as the Head of Programming for the Maori Television channel. Prior to her appointment, Carol was with TV3 for 11 years where she co-presented 3 News and was an executive producer of Campbell Live.

STEPHEN SMITH rose to the position of Deputy Chief Executive and Head of Content at TVNZ after 16 years before leaving in 2006 to become Head of Media Entertainment for Vodafone. Stephen was then appointed Group Head of Digital for Fairfax Media, where he had oversight for the re-launch of their websites including www.stuff.co.nz.

Chief Executive, Jim Mather, acknowledges the experience and skill set that Hirschfeld and Smith bring to Maori Television’s Executive team.

“Carol and Stephen bring a wealth of industry knowledge to their new roles. These are significant appointments for Maori Television and will add further leadership depth and expertise to our organisation. Both bring with them a personal commitment to Maori Television’s kaupapa to revitalise Māori language and culture through our broadcast and online content,” he said.

The reorganisation, which comes into effect on 1 July, accommodates the implementation of Maori Television’s digital strategy and the further development of the Te Reo channel.

ENDS

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