When Ingrid Hipkiss got the call to say she’d landed the role as co-host of Morning Report, RNZ’s flagship news and current affairs show in January 2023, she had no idea just how significant an impact it would have on her, both personally and professionally.
Fronting the show alongside Corin Dann and First Up host Nathan Rarere as part of the radio station’s refreshed morning line-up was an amazing opportunity for the TV presenter, who’d never done radio before, although she’d previously worked at Newshub for over two decades.
“As a career choice, it’s the peak,” she tells. “I consider it one of the best jobs in the country. I love the challenge of interviewing so many different people and no two days are the same.”
The role came just after Ingrid turned 50 – a milestone that came with a lot of soul-searching.
“A big birthday makes you stop and think,” explains Ingrid, who has two sons, Hunter, 17, and Brody, 13, with cameraman husband Jack Tarrant, 44. “I thought hard about what I was doing in my life and where I was going. My natural tendency is to stay in a safe space, so I had to push through that, and come to grips with the idea that I was being offered a great opportunity and I’d regret it if I said no.
“I’m naturally an optimist, so I believe things will work out. I also have a philosophy of saying yes to everything. I’m a pragmatist too – I don’t think worrying is going to help. You have to make the most of what you get. That’s how I ended up at Newshub for so long – I’d give anything a try.
“The thought of joining Morning Report was intimidating, but exciting. I realised the only reason for me to say no was because of fear and that’s not a good enough reason.”
As a woman who broadcasts with two men, and going home to an all-male house, you could be forgiven for thinking Ingrid spends all her time with blokes, but the presenter always makes time for her girlfriends.
“As you get older, you realise just how important female friendships are,” she muses. “They’re the cornerstone of my life really.
“I’m still close to some of my high school friends and I see my Newshub mates a lot. I also have a group of mum friends – the ones you’d meet at the school gate when the kids were little. The kids have moved on, but I’ve stayed in touch with a lot of the mums. Some of them have become good friends.”
And thanks to her brave move, she now has friends at RNZ too – including Nathan, 52, with whom she shares a studio in Auckland, and Corin, 49, who broadcasts from Wellington.
“Corin’s a genius in so many ways and I grew up watching Nathan on TV. He’s such a masterful storyteller – he can make any story entertaining, even sport, which is amazing!”
It’s a wonderful place for Ingrid after a successful 20 years at Newshub.
“I worked in pretty much every role except sport,” says Ingrid, whose roles at the now-terminated news platform included weather presenter, political reporter and newsreader. “I’m so sad about the decision to close Newshub. I thought there would be more stations for that train before it closed completely.
“Many people have said I was lucky to get out before the layoffs, but I don’t feel that way. I moved on because I’d been offered a great job, but I didn’t want to leave. I feel an irrational amount of guilt and grief about its closure. It doesn’t feel like a ‘lucky escape’ at all. I’m absolutely grieving for it.”
Part of that grieving includes the knowledge that many friends and mentors lose their jobs when Newshub closes its doors for good on July 5.
“Newshub is where I learned my craft and I met the people who shaped my skills, my world, my career,” says Ingrid, 51. “That’s where it all started for me. I’ll never have anything like that again. Career-wise, I grew up there. There are friends and colleagues who aren’t with us any more for whom Newshub was their legacy. I’m heartbroken that it’s gone.”
Despite Ingrid’s obvious and understandable distress at the loss of her beloved Newshub, it’s clear she’s happy where she’s landed.
“I truly believe in what I do. I think people are still curious about what’s going on in the world. That’s what drives the Morning Report team to do what we do. It’s about getting information to people in a way they can take it on.
“What we do is incredibly important – if I didn’t believe that, I wouldn’t be doing it,” she says. “It’s too easy to believe the end is nigh when you reach a certain age. And yes, the media landscape is changing, but I can’t see myself leaving. I love it with a passion. I’ll be here until the lights go out.”
Meet the Morning Report team
For many Kiwis, the voices of Corin Dann, Ingrid Hipkiss and Nathan Rarere on RNZ’s Morning Report is what they wake up to. Here we get to know them a little better…
Do you all share a studio?
Corin: Nathan and Ingrid broadcast from Auckland, but I’m in Wellington. We get to see each other on cameras though.
Nathan: I start my day doing First Up in a different studio before popping upstairs for Morning Report. Ingrid will often come into the First Up studio for a chat.
Ingrid: That’s one of my favourite parts of the day!
What’s the rapport like between you?
Corin: We work well together when I’m in Wellington, but it’s a different type of show when we’re in a room together. Auckland’s a great place, especially if you have young kids. I was there for five years before I moved back to Wellington in 2012.
What do you think each of you bring to the show?
Corin: It felt easy from day one. Ingrid brings such warmth, humour, intelligence and smarts. She’s brilliant.
Nathan: It’s difficult to describe what Ingrid does because it’s hard to do and very underestimated. She has an ability to guide the show from something very serious into a new segment that needs a completely different feel. Even the pattern of speech has to change and she’s amazing at it. Ingrid makes it look easy, but creating that gear change makes the rest of us relax.
What do you consider to be the most important part of the show?
Corin: Morning Report tells our audience the news and gives analysis where appropriate. It’s not for us to give our personal opinions, which can be hard. There are times when we’d dearly love to give our opinions!
You’re all journalists – what do you admire in each other?
Nathan: I don’t consider myself a credible journalist! I often call myself a “sayer”. I never have any idea what to write on my customs form when they ask for my occupation!
Corin: Nathan has the ability to interview people in a slightly different way and in doing so, often gets information that others don’t.
How scripted is the show?
Corin: We have an amazing team of news directors, reporters, producers and editors who create the bones of the show the night before. By the time we arrive in the studio for the broadcast, it’s pretty formulated…
Nathan: … Until it goes completely off script!
Who’s most likely to go off-script?
Nathan: On days when there’s a lot of news to cover, there’s no time to muck around. But there are days when there’s room for a funny story or anecdote.
Corin: Like when we ended up talking about your dog running out of the room with your pie last week!
How has radio evolved?
Nathan: I’ve been doing radio for more than 20 years and it’s changed massively. Not just the shows, but the audience too. If they don’t agree with something or they aren’t happy, they’ll let us know!
Corin: We’re also engaging with a whole different audience these days. We might interview up to 20 different people in one show. Our digital and social media teams then process that information and put them into other mediums like podcasts, Instagram, Facebook and the website.
Talking about difficult topics like war, inflation and crime can take its toll. How do you keep your mental health in check?
Nathan: My wife Kelly picks it up. She says she sees it in the way I sit – she can see the heaviness on me. On the whole, I’m pretty optimistic, but there are times it gets you down. One of my fail-safe fixes is hanging out with my girls Rylla, who’s 16, and Darcy, 13. They’re great fun. Darcy’s into sewing right now, so I’ve had to learn about fashion design. I’ve learned a lot about darts recently – and not the sporting kind! Rylla is in Year 12 at school and is into classical studies, which I enjoy. We’re currently comparing Heracles with Māui, which I think is cool.
Corin: I listen to music and play guitar. I have about five or six guitars and if you asked my three sons, they’d tell you I play a lot of Dad rock! It’s important to have an escape. We have to focus while we’re broadcasting, so having something that can lift your spirits and take you out of yourself is important.
Ingrid: Listeners don’t want too much doom and gloom, especially at the moment, so the team often includes an amazing character or story that lightens the mood, which can really help.
Morning Report is on RNZ National from 6am-9am every weekday.