Newstalk ZB at 100: The broadcasters behind a century of Kiwi radio

I remember my first day just being in awe of the long legacy of iconic broadcasters who’d stacked this place with so much mana and hard work. It was sobering to be part of such a juggernaut. 

To be part of ZB is to be part of history It’s just a huge success story, and it takes so many different parts to bring it all to life and I love the team aspect of it – even the people who aren’t directly associated with your show are working hard for the brand and to make it the industry leader it is.

The audience that makes ZB special

I think ZB feels special to so many New Zealanders because they’re truly a part of it. Not just a part of it – they are it. Our audience is everything. They’re engaged, smart and informed. They’re not shy to tell you what they think. They’re happy to hear out both sides of an argument, which
is rare these days!

It’s an honour to “mind the shop” for something that is bigger than any given individual. Newstalk ZB has longevity, consistency and professionalism.

A career of unforgettable interviews

The advantage of having been around a while is you pretty much interview everyone… Taylor Swift, Johnny Cash, every prime minister and Keith Richards – too many names! The thrill is the access to pretty much anyone you want.

If listeners were to remember one thing about me, it would be that basically that I was who I was.I didn’t pretend, I didn’t make it up for good or bad and everything in between. You knew who I was and what I was about.

A friend of mine was doing the graveyard shift [midnight to 6am] for a local music radio station and invited me in at 1am to watch. By around 1.15am, I knew it was the job for me, although not necessarily at one in the morning!

Learning from radio legends

From the start, I met radio legends Justin du Fresne, Graeme Moody and Sue Burgin, and was blown away by how helpful, supportive and friendly they were to an utter novice like me. It was an honour and privilege to turn the microphone on just once on this iconic radio station. To be trusted with it every week is something I will never take for granted.

Carrying the legacy forward

I love coming to work every day and carrying the legacy of this radio station. In many ways, we’re like the All Blacks – they always say they’re only caretakers of the jersey they wear and I feel the same about our microphones. No one is bigger than the radio station. We all can and should strive to contribute our chapter and leave it better than we found it.

Coming from television, I’d always been a bit of a snob about radio – TV folk tend to believe television is the superior format. But all it took was one show and I was hooked on the immediacy of radio. 

One of the biggest changes during my time is having to put lippy on because we film everything now! So the biggest recent change is the realisation the content we create can be used across different mediums in different ways. 

An unforgettable interview with Jane Goodall

In 2021, I was fortunate enough to interview [Dame] Jane Goodall. It was a late-night interview because she was so busy and about half way through, she slowly dropped her head and fell asleep. Never before had one of my interviews put a guest to sleep. I gently tried to wake her, sat there awkwardly for a while and then let her sleep. She contacted us the next day, apologised and insisted on re-doing the interview. She was fabulous. 

Matt Heath

I had never done a talkback radio show before. So my first day, I was wondering if I could even do it. I thought there might be some training. But no. It was straight on air and talking to callers. That was scary, but awesome. Luckily, I was great immediately. 

I think talkback is an amazing medium. There are issues that pop up in this country. Anyone can call in and have the conversation in front of a large audience. It’s live. The stakes are high. You get amazing, smart people and crazy people too. That’s so much fun, but also important. 
It’s intense.

The news keeps coming every day. You find your angle on it, deliver it to the people, then talk to them on the phone about it. You have to know something about so many things. If you get it wrong, you hear about it on [Newstalk ZB text line] 9292, that’s for sure. 

Tyler Adams

Radio gets in your blood like no other medium. I knew it was for me when I changed jobs for a brief time. It was like an old flame I couldn’t stop thinking about. It gets its hooks in you in all the best ways.

The technology will change, but the need for radio won’t. People will always want a human voice they trust, telling them what’s happening and why it matters, without needing a screen. It might come through a different box, but the job stays the same. Turn up, be honest, challenge ideas, have fun and be company for someone on their own.

I started working as the afternoon newsreader at ZB in Auckland 29 years ago. As soon as I stepped into the radio station, I knew I was “home”.
I loved the vibe and energy – the newsroom was bustling with very loud people, all chatting at once, and broadcasters with personality to boot.

Reporting through a national tragedy

Growing up, my parents always said I talked too much, so it came as no surprise to my family I ended up with a career talking for a living. The biggest story I’ve been part of is the Christchurch earthquake on February 22, 2011, which claimed 185 lives. I was working when the quake struck at 12.51pm. As a newsreader, I focused on being calm, accurate, clear and authoritative to keep listeners informed of the latest developments. 

My advice to someone hoping to work in radio would be to put in the hard yards. Say yes to every opportunity, be flexible with your skills and never stop learning. Surround yourself with positive people and get a mentor. Oh, and don’t forget to have fun! 

Technology is the biggest change in radio since I started, which was probably best brought home to me when I was standing on the White House West Lawn, holding a brick phone and being interviewed by Paul Holmes and thinking how advanced it was to be talking to a New Zealand audience.

When radio made history

I remember well the beginning of talkback radio in the 1970s and had a stint as a morning host in Wellington at the same time I was working at Parliament. Radio Pacific was a precursor to Newstalk, which became the dominant player, a role it’s maintained in New Zealand radio for decades. The biggest honour I had for the station was covering the inauguration of Nelson Mandela as South Africa’s first Black president and interviewing the Reverend Desmond Tutu as South African military jets flew overhead with him declaring with watery eyes, “They are ours.”