Radio New Zealand Launches THEWIRELESS

Up front, in-depth and in tune, Radio New Zealand’s new online network,
THEWIRELESS, delivers multi-platform public service media to a generation of New
Zealanders who have grown up in a digital age.

THEWIRELESS marks a significant break from the past for public broadcasting in this
country with Radio New Zealand using video, text, and audio content to take its
informative, insightful and entertaining storytelling to a new generation.

The innovative online approach developed from an original concept for a youth radio
network which has been kicked around in New Zealand for the past 20 years. But the
time for a traditional radio network has passed says project leader, Marcus Stickley:
“We live in an age where you can tell a story any way you want on one platform – the
internet. THEWIRELESS is online only and has been designed with mobile phones in
mind, as well as tablets, laptops and desktops with stories told in video, photos, audio and
text. Some will be told in two types of media, some will be told in all four, or maybe
more depending on where technology takes us.” “We’ll be bold and up-front, covering stories that ought to be told not just those that are being told by other media”.

Radio New Zealand CEO, Paul Thompson, has emphasised the importance of providing
high-quality, impartial content targeted to the interests of a youth audience and delivered
in a way they prefer to receive it – on smartphones, tablets, and computers. He says
THEWIRELESS is the most exciting innovation from Radio New Zealand in recent years:
“THEWIRELESS is run by young New Zealanders for young New Zealanders.

“This new service is about informing and empowering young people and providing them
with journalism that cannot be found elsewhere. It’s about encouraging informed debate
and helping them have a say in decisions that affect them.” “This is a concept that will evolve over time but it’s a terrific way of bringing the values and quality of what we produce to an audience that we don’t serve well at present “.
www.thewireless.co.nz