The announcement follows an attack on the CEO by deputy PM David Seymour, but the decision, the chair stressed, was taken earlier.

The CEO and editor-in-chief of public broadcaster RNZ, Paul Thompson, has announced his resignation. Appointed to the role from Fairfax, then publisher of Stuff, in 2013, Thompson will depart at the end of the year. 

The RNZ chair, Jim Mather, said that Thompson had notified the board before Christmas of his intention to leave. The announcement had been brought forward “as there has been recent unhelpful external commentary about his future”.

The external commentary refers to remarks by David Seymour, deputy prime minister and a shareholding minister in RNZ. He made a range of pointed criticisms of RNZ editorial standards, management and governance on The Platform, saying, “it’s really critical that we are ensuring that we get better people on the board, and those people will change the management”.

He said of Thompson, “Look, that guy’s got an awful lot to answer for, and I suspect that he won’t be answering the call at RNZ for much longer”. 

Jane Wrightson, who completes her term on the RNZ board in the coming weeks, told The Spinoff last week: ”I found those comments distasteful and unnecessary, and I don’t think that picking off individuals is the right thing to do.”

In a statement today, Mather said: “This was Paul’s decision alone. Over his 13 years in the role, he has been an outstanding chief executive who has led a challenging transformation of RNZ into a multimedia public media organisation that now reaches more people than ever before. His commitment to high quality public media and to an independent and relevant RNZ will leave the organisation in good stead. The Board is grateful for his excellent service and appreciative that he let us know late last year of his plans.”

Thompson said he was “incredibly proud of what RNZ has achieved and the value it now brings to the public it serves. The end of the year is the right time for a change for both me and RNZ”.

Thompson departs with RNZ on a steep growth curve for its online news output and consolidation as the country’s most trusted news brand, according to AUT’s Trust in News study. He oversaw a bold “radical sharing” initative, which sees RNZ copy appear in newspapers and online across New Zealand. 

Audience numbers for its core radio product have stabilised after several years of erosion. The severity of that decline precipitated a blistering report by the broadcaster’s former head of news Richard Sutherland, commissioned by Thompson, that found the organisation had neglected its core on-air products, with staff perceiving radio to be a “sunset activity”, and there were serious talent gaps.

Other controversies Thompson navigated across 13 years in the seat include the fizzled “RNZ-plus” project, the debacle that followed an Astoria coffee between then broadcasting minister Clare Curran and an RNZ executive, the aborted plan to replace Concert FM with a new youth network on the FM frequency, a storm around pro-Kremlin edits to wire copy and the public media merger, championed by Thompson, that never happened.

Thompson’s resignation “comes amid some highly irresponsible statements from government ministers regarding the board, management and appointment of presenters at RNZ”, said Peter Thompson, spokesperson for the Better Public Media advocacy group and an associate professor at Victoria University of Wellington.

“Even if there has been no direct political pressure applied to Thompson or the RNZ board, it is incumbent on ministers not to invite such speculation,” he said in a statement. “It is ironic that the very channel that could have been legitimately employed to challenge any perceived bias (ie the BSA complaints process) is due to be axed by the government. BPM calls for a wider public debate about media regulation and the legitimate scope of ministerial relations to public sector media.

“RNZ has grown in leaps and bounds under the tutelage of Paul Thompson, with the help of adequate funding, and is now a thriving and secure asset for New Zealand’s culture and democracy.”

Thompson revealed the mantra that guided his approach to RNZ in a 2014 speech, after a year in the role. He read aloud to the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association Conference in Glasgow the four sentences that comprised his “call to arms”, which he would repeat daily to RNZ staff.

“The evidence is clear that traditional media are in decline. Radio, television and newspapers are merging into digital devices that are always switched on. The future of content delivery is multi-media, multi-platform, personalised, mobile and social. To stay relevant and continue our mission of serving the public, and to maintain and grow our audience, we must become and are becoming a multimedia organisation.” 

New board members are understood to have been appointed to replace Wrightson, Mather and Irene Gardener, with Brent Impey tipped to succeed Mather as chair. Recruitment for a new CEO will begin once that process is complete.