Pictures: Emily Chalk
“Sitting on the beach on New Year’s Day, I was thinking of all the exciting things to come, including finally revealing what I’ve been doing since AM finished. But in that moment of bliss, I was oblivious to the awful news that was about to strike our family.
My husband Caspar and I were watching our kids play happily in the sand. Then, in came a message from Dad to our family group chat: ‘Happy New Year family!!! Let’s all thrive in 25 🙂 x’
‘I’ll respond later when we’re home from the beach,’ I thought to myself. I sent a ‘Happy New Year!’ reply back that afternoon. I still feel sick now, knowing that I responded too late. He never read it.
The following morning, I was standing in the foyer of the Auckland Museum, juggling two kids and their snacks, when I got a call from my aunty. I assumed maybe she was keen to catch up as it was her 60th birthday that day. So I answered cheerfully, ‘Happy birthday!’ But I knew from her silence that something terrible had happened.
Dad – Malcolm Davies – was just 61 when he died of a heart attack. It’s an understatement to say it was a shock. He had only just retired from playing touch rugby after 40 years, so we all thought he was still so full of energy. As Poppa to our kids and their five cousins, he had just bought a boat so he could start taking them out on fishing trips.
As it turned out, he never even got to see my son start school this year. I’m just so thankful Busby, five, knows that his Poppa got to see him perform in his very first school production with his kindy a few months before.
Caspar and I had to go along to the production dressed to the nines because we were having to go straight afterwards to the NZ TV Awards ceremony. But we felt reassured knowing Busby was excited Poppa was there to congratulate him at the end of his performance.
For clarity, I should explain here that technically Malcolm was my stepdad. He came into my life when I was just three and treated me as his own ever since. He never offered any other explanation other than I was his daughter. So, many only learned at his funeral that we weren’t biologically related.
Sadly, our family was too well versed in organising that funeral, having also lost our Grandpa Jack Davies (Malcolm’s dad) only four months earlier. So the start of 2025 really put 2024 into perspective.
Losing my dad and losing my job don’t even belong in the same sentence. Dad was one of the many people I turned to for advice in the months following the decision by Warner Bros Discovery to stop producing news and AM, which I was co-hosting with Lloyd Burr.
It has been just over a year now since we had to make that announcement on air. Kind people still regularly stop me to tell me they miss the show.
I do too. What I miss most is that sense of community that we were able to build beaming into people’s homes every morning. Connecting and having conversations with people all over New Zealand who we might not have otherwise heard about.
But in saying that, even amongst the initial sadness of the closure, there was much to be grateful for.
Our AM team is tight-knit and we keep in touch regularly, whether it’s a pool party at Nicky Styris’ or as the ultimate hype squad on group chat whenever someone has done something to celebrate.
Of course, I’d be lying if I said it’s been sunshine and roses every day. There were moments where I had to plaster on a smile to mask a bit of a crisis in confidence. Those particularly came in the early days.
Having worked in broadcasting for two decades, I was doing my dream job. I didn’t want to have to walk away from that for anything less than something I felt equally enthusiastic and excited about.
In my soul-searching, I turned to family, friends and some mentors who reached out. Many people had very generously offered me the pep talks I needed.
What I came to realise is that I absolutely loved that part of my television journalism career. It had spanned just over 20 years at both TVNZ, then Three. I’ll always be grateful for the privilege of reporting on some of the biggest moments in world history.
But I also have a passion project I have wanted to pursue and in many ways, the timing to push me out of my comfort zone was just right.
As a journalist, the stories of our declining literacy rates were constant. I developed a keen interest in researching the way literacy was being taught in our schools. With a then-four-year-old at home begging me to help him read, I also had a personal reason for wanting to know what to do at home that would help and not hinder what teachers do at school.
There has been so much focus and pressure on teachers to deliver a new ‘structured approach’ to teaching the new literacy and maths curriculum this year. I know how hard teachers are working on this because I’ve been taking part in some of the courses they’re doing.
I also know there’s a whole community of parents, grandparents and caregivers who care so much about their children’s education. They are their children’s greatest advocates.
So I’m launching School Shorts. ‘Shorts’ – as in bite-sized video and social media content – to arm families with practical advice for learning. Not sit-down homework, but simple things like games and conversations that can help children reach their full potential.
In the School Shorts podcast, I’ll be talking with educators around the world and parents like Gemma McCaw, who is a wonderful advocate for reading and connection.
My goal is for this to evolve into something that could make a difference in the equity challenges across education. Only six countries globally have a worse rating than us when it comes to the gap that exists between socioeconomic groups.
It’s all launching this March, but it’s been months and months of research and planning. Please do follow @schoolshortsnz and let me know what you think!
Dad was a wonderful sounding board for me, especially when it came to the development of the School Shorts graphics, with his experience in the label-making industry.
I know he was proud of me taking the leap into something I hadn’t done before. Regardless, I’d have loved him to see it all roll out.
Years of working to news deadlines means I thrive on being busy. ‘Stop’ doesn’t really exist in my vocabulary, even when I’m on holiday. But there were days after Dad’s death when I experienced a heavy fog that prevented me from being very productive.
I pushed back the School Shorts launch date to give myself some space. In the hardest moments, even considered if I should just park it for now.
But I constantly think back to his message, sent just hours before he died. ‘Let’s all thrive in 25.’
And so I’m determined to do just that for myself and my family. After all, I have so much to be thankful for and so much to look forward to.”
Visit schoolshorts.com and @schoolshortsnz for more.
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