Sean Plunket has left Magic Talk

Radio host Sean Plunket has “decided to leave” Magic Talk, according to the company.

He was off-air Tuesday and Wednesday, after Stuff reported crisis talks about his future with the station on Sunday.

Plunket and his bosses at MediaWorks initially declined to comment. On Wednesday afternoon, MediaWorks chief executive Cam Wallace issued a statement saying Plunket “has decided to leave”.

His exit comes after advertisers threatened a boycott of the station, with concerns about hosts allowing racist rhetoric to air on the station. The incident to spark the boycott, a caller who told fill-in host John Banks that Māori culture is “from the Stone Age”, did not involve Plunket.

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Shortly after the incident, which involved other deeply offensive comments going to air unquestioned, Wallace said Banks would not work at MediaWorks again as long as he was in charge.

Sean Plunket remains off-air.
Cameron Burnell
Sean Plunket remains off-air.

MediaWorks did not respond to questions on Wednesday about why Plunket was leaving. Plunket also declined to comment.

Wallace said it was his decision, and thanked him in a statement for his work.

“Sean has engaged his audience with many vibrant discussions and I wish him all the best for his future endeavours,” he said.

But that promise was not enough for some advertisers, such as Vodafone, which told Stuff it had not advertised on Magic Talk since January 27 and did not plan to restart. A spokeswoman said they had not pushed for Plunket to leave.

Former Radio Live host Mitch Harris says advertising boycotts are becoming increasingly common.
SUPPLIED
Former Radio Live host Mitch Harris says advertising boycotts are becoming increasingly common.

Mitch Harris​, who used to manage and host a show on Magic Talk’s predecessor Radio Live, said talkback hosts were being “hung out to dry” to appease advertisers.

Harris said the latest advertising boycott at Magic Talk appeared to have “rattled” management. However, he said threats from advertisers were becoming increasingly common – and meaningless.

“It happens all the time. It’s just a nonsense, they always come back. These are PR exercise for them, but we’re seeing hosts get hung out to dry because of inexperienced people who don't know how to handle advertiser boycotts,” he said.

“Remember, there was an advertiser boycott of Facebook a few months ago. It never went anywhere.”

Stuff earlier reported Plunket’s future with the company was uncertain as management reckoned with criticism over the tone and discussion points on Magic Talk.

Criticism about the “Stone Age” comments on Banks’ programme were not the first time the station had been accused of racism.

Last year, Plunket was censured and the company was fined $3000 for an “offensive and harmful” interview with an iwi spokesman. The Broadcasting Standards Authority, in its December ruling, said Plunket amplified racism and insulted Te Whānau ā Apanui during an interview about iwi-led roadblocks during the Covid-19 lockdown.

The ruling said it was rare for broadcasters to breach this standard and “an element of malice or nastiness” was required. It said Plunket’s interview crossed that line clearly when he insinuated Te Whānau ā Apanui did not care about child abuse.

On Wednesday, Stephen McIvor was filling in for Plunket on Magic Talk Afternoons. Mel Homer was filling in on Tuesday and said at the time she was “just here for the day for him”.

Wallace said no decision had been made about who would take over on Magic Talk Afternoons.

Stuff