Breakfast host Paul Henry has resigned from TVNZ, half way through a two-week suspension without pay.TV3 reported that Mr Henry and his lawyer met with TVNZ chief executive Rick Ellis this afternoon. Mr Henry offered his resignation, which Mr Ellis was co
Breakfast host Paul Henry has resigned from TVNZ, half way through a two-week suspension without pay.
TV3 reported that Mr Henry and his lawyer met with TVNZ chief executive Rick Ellis this afternoon. Mr Henry offered his resignation, which Mr Ellis was considering.
In a 6pm report, TVNZ said that Mr Ellis had accepted Mr Henry's resignation.
In a statement released by the state broadcaster, Mr Henry wrote: "I have apologised twice, and have meant every word. I again apologise to all those who were genuinely hurt by what I said.
"However, it is clear that things have now reached a point where my actions will have to speak louder than my words.
"I am astonished and dismayed that my comments have created a diplomatic incident. My style is conversational and of course unscripted. I walk the finest of lines and accept that I have inadvertently crossed it from time to time."
Escalation
Mr Ellis initially stood by Mr Henry, describing him as a "terrific" broadcaster overall.
But in the days following the Breakfast host's suspension, hundreds of view complaints continued to flood in.
More, Mr Henry's comments implying that Sir Anand Satyanand did not look or sound like a New Zealander became the subject of a diplomatic incident between New Zealand and India as foreign affairs minister Murray McCully became involved.
The affair also prompted a number of media outlets to repeatedly replay Mr Henry's greatest hits, including his school-boy delight in mis-pronouncing Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit’s name as “Dick Shit”, calling singer Susan Boyle retarded, laughing at a female Greenpeace advocate's "moustache" and calling gays "unnatural".
Many favoured a time-out rather than the Breakfast host being fired, with many commenters on NBR saying they missed his irreverent sense of humour.
In his resignation statement, the controversial Breakfast host said "I am grateful to the many thousands of people who have offered their support to me".
Not all were so accommodating.
Cabinet minister Steven Joyce told NewstalkZB that Mr Henry was becoming a potential liability.
Mr Joyce said he knew from his own radio career that while the best breakfast shock jocks “walked the line”, they did not last if they crossed it too often “because it’s not worth the hassle”.
“So I think the difficulty for Paul Henry is the frequency in going over the line is becoming a problem for him and his employer,” Mr Joyce told NewstalkZB.
Politicians' attention will now turn to whether their was a systemic failure at TVNZ, with the Breakfast co-host given too much latitude, and encouragement to follow what prime minister John Key described as a "shock jock" style.
Another question: was there any pay-off and, if so, was it the John Hawkesby league?
