re_covering

After his bride’s death just hours after their wedding, a devastated groom struggles to process his grief. Five years later, he turns to Melissa Chan-Green to tell his heart-wrenching story for the first time. Content warning: contains discussion of death and loss, and sexual assault. Watch the video version of the episode here. A day after their wedding, a mourning groom struggles to process the...

Standing at Hillary Clinton’s election night ‘victory’ party in 2016, Jack Tame realised the real winner was elsewhere. Donald Trump’s rise to power exposed his blind spots as a reporter and fundamentally changed his journalism. Watch the video version of the episode here. On election night 2016, Jack Tame joined the throngs of media at Hillary Clinton’s victory party. But as the results filtered...

Amanda Gillies was on the way to an interview when she got a call confirming Newshub’s closure. Despite the shock, she continued on – and in the telling of a brave Te Kūiti amputee’s story was reminded what had first drawn her to journalism. Watch the video version of the episode here. After a tip-off, Amanda Gillies drove to Te Kūiti to meet Bev McIndoe – a woman who had survived a catastrophic a...

A late-night dispute ended in tragedy when a young man killed his abusive father. Tommy Livingston’s sensitive reporting of the ensuing murder trial captured its emotion and complexity – and ultimately led him to leave journalism for good. Content warning: Discusses suicide, domestic violence, abuse and violent themes. Watch the video version of the episode here. While reporting on the trial of a...

As politicians lost interest in seeking a resolution for the Pike River families, Lloyd Burr took up their cause. His tireless reporting exposed injustice and turned a waning news story into a pressing election issue. Watch the video version of the episode here. Six years on from the Pike River Mine disaster, hope was fading that the remains of the 29 men who lost their lives would ever be found....

The death of Olympic cyclist Olivia Podmore confirmed warnings journalist Dana Johannsen had long been hearing about the mental health risks for elite athletes. Her reporting would go on to expose the dark underbelly of high-performance sport in NZ. Content warning: This podcast discusses mental health and suicide. Watch the video version of the episode here . When Olympic cyclist Olivia Podmore d...

Sixty years after the Battle of Crete, a Kiwi WWII veteran travelled back to Greece to find the family of the men who sheltered him from Nazi soldiers. Journalist Jonathan Milne chronicled their emotional meeting. Watch the video version of the episode here . On a flight to Greece in 2001, journalist Jonathan Milne met a Kiwi veteran determined to find the Cretan locals who sheltered him from Germ...

When Te Aniwa Hurihanganui received a leaked document revealing details about the Government’s ill-fated Treaty Principles Bill, it sparked a political firestorm that would dominate headlines in 2024. Content warning: contains violent and racist language. Watch the video version of the episode here . TVNZ Māori Affairs Correspondent Te Aniwa Hurihanganui was on her way to a hui-a-motu when she rec...

When Elesha Gordon opened up publicly about her workplace anxiety, she discovered many other journalists in the same boat. Now she’s leading Media Chaplaincy, tackling burnout, trauma, and stress in the industry. After years of threats, stresses and traumas as a reporter, Elesha Gordon shared her personal story in a blog. She was surprised to see how many fellow journalists had similar struggles,...

Struck by the disconnect between Wellington bureaucrats and frustrated Aucklanders stuck in Covid lockdown, Heather du-Plessis Allan held the country’s leaders to account in tenacious style. When Heather du-Plessis Allan visited the capital in 2021, she was taken aback by how indifferent Wellington bureaucrats seemed about the frustration building among Aucklanders trapped in a months-long Covid l...

When the call came in about a mass shooting, visual journalist Abigail Dougherty jumped on the first plane to Christchurch. The images she captured powerfully communicated the sorrow of New Zealand’s darkest day. As Abigail Dougherty prepared to clock off for the week, a call came in about a mass shooting in Christchurch. Put on the next flight with nothing but her camera, her task was to capture...

As broadcaster Simon Barnett came to terms with his wife Jodi’s fatal illness, Shayne Currie came alongside the family to tell their story. His tender piece allowed the family to process their grief and honour Jodi’s life. When it was clear his wife Jodi had just weeks to live, broadcaster Simon Barnett called NZME Editor-at-Large Shayne Currie to let him know it was the right time for an intervie...

As politicians argued about solutions to poverty during the election cycle, Indira Stewart took the discourse to street level, giving a voice to teens working full-time on top of schooling to support their whanau. Most aspiring reporters don’t have to juggle university, solo motherhood and a benefit to get their start in journalism. But Indira Stewart knew she was born to be a storyteller, and her...

When Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, Lisette Reymer risked her own safety to report from the frontline. Her empathetic, award-winning coverage expertly captured the human face of the conflict. When Lisette Reymer landed her dream job as Newshub’s Europe Correspondent, she had to hit the ground running amid massive stories like the Covid-19 pandemic, the Queen’s death, and humanitarian cri...

A surprise phone call from a sister Aaron Smale never knew existed led to an investigation into state abuse. His questions would ultimately result in an award-winning exposé of the heinous goings-on at Lake Alice Hospital. When Aaron Smale received a phone call from a sister he never knew existed one Christmas Day, it left him with more questions than answers. Aaron’s subsequent investigation into...

With decades of experience as one of New Zealand’s most prominent television journalists, Mark Crysell recounts gaining unprecedented access to follow a set of unlikely New Zealanders into North Korea. Mark Crysell’s love of television and passion for telling a good yarn has led to him becoming one of New Zealand’s most prominent journalists. He has reported for TVNZ’s Sunday programme since 2003,...

After decades as one of the country's best-known journalists, Cameron Bennett took on a unique new challenge: to educate the nation on the New Zealand Wars and help tell Māori stories. A legendary figure in New Zealand journalism across several decades, Cameron Bennett is revered for his ability to tell a compelling story, his courage to report from some of the world's most dangerous places,...

As fast-food workers suffered under the indignity of zero-hour contracts, Anna Burns-Francis stepped up to tell their stories. Her tireless reporting forced corporations to put employee welfare over greed. When Anna Burns-Francis began her investigation into zero-hour contracts, she was gobsmacked. Fast-food giants had been hiring Kiwis without guaranteeing them any work, all while preventing them...

A shock diagnosis forced Simon Wilson to come to terms with his own mortality. Rather than let it derail his work, the veteran journalist made the bold call to bring readers along on each step of his gruelling cancer journey. Just before Christmas 2017, veteran journalist Simon Wilson received a life-changing phone call. He had prostate cancer, and it wasn't looking good. Having just taken a...

As stories tumbled out about ACC's handling of sensitive client data, Anusha Bradley was there holding the agency to account. Her award-winning coverage prompted an independent review, policy changes and legal reform. When Anusha Bradley first reported on ACC staff's mishandling of a couple's sensitive case details, she had no idea she was about to be inundated with story after story abo...

Plunged into lawless South Sudan in 2017, Michael Morrah overcame danger and personal trauma to report on the brutal realities of life in the wartorn nation. When Michael Morrah was plunged into lawless South Sudan in 2017, evidence of brutality was everywhere - from filthy protection of civilian camps, to malnourished families, to child soldiers wielding assault rifles. Spurred on by a desire to...

A wheelchair user all her life, Olivia Shivas' coverage on people with disabilities suffering horrific abuse in care hit uncomfortably close to home. Her courageous reporting would help expose injustice and give survivors a voice. Having used a wheelchair all her life, Olivia Shivas' coverage on people with disabilities suffering horrific abuse in care hit uncomfortably close to home. But pus...

Long before it made national headlines, Justin Latif faced an uphill battle to convince his bosses the occupation of Ihumātao was worth covering. The ensuing reportage opened up a national conversation about identity, land ownership and Māori rights. Long before it made national headlines, Justin Latif faced an uphill battle to convince his bosses the occupation of Ihumātao wasn't just some &...

During the 2019 measles outbreak in Samoa Barbara Dreaver reported on an ill-equipped healthcare system, complex tensions between traditional and western medicine, and the tragic and preventable loss of life. When the measles virus travelled from New Zealand to Samoa in September of 2019 Barbara Dreaver followed. On the ground, she found herself telling stories of an ill-equipped healthcare system...

Through the telling of one couple's devastating story, Susie Ferguson lifted the lid on the grief suffered by the hundreds of Kiwi families who lose a baby each year. The veteran broadcaster reflects on helping break NZ's final taboo. Horrified at witnessing multiple friends and co-workers grieve the loss of a baby, veteran RNZ broadcaster Susie Ferguson struggled to understand why it seemed to be...