Inside the AM Show’s NZ tour

The MediaWorks crew operate in ‘‘effectively freezer-like’’ conditions to spread the news around the country, finds James Croot.

At 5.35am, it was -1.9 degrees Celsius. It would be the highest temperature the barometer would read until production for the day wrapped. And rather than looking glamorous, gloves, hats and thermal vests were the order of the day for the three hosts, lest they freeze in place.

Welcome to The AM Show – Queenstown edition. Part of a two-week, four-town road-trip (which also takes in Nelson, Napier and Rotorua), the three-morning broadcast from the Central Otago tourist town is no small feat. In fact, it’s a Remarkables one. The usually Auckland-based studio set has been fully replicated, massive outside broadcasting trucks have been hired, and around 45 of the regular crew are being shipped around the country.

It’s only day two and there has already been one significant challenge – Mark Richardson had to rush back to Auckland after Monday’s show to deal with an undisclosed crisis on his ‘‘other’’ programme, The Block.

Nicky Styris, who was scheduled to take over from Richardson for Wednesday’s show, was flown in early and placed on standby, just in case the former Black Cap’s taxi-plane-taxi-20-minute-jobtaxi-plane-taxi combo failed to get him back to Queenstown in time.

But he’s made it back, joining Duncan Garner and Amanda Gillies in the open-air marquee nestled in right beside Lake Wakatipu. It’s an environment a clearly chilly Garner describes onair as ‘‘effectively a freezer’’.

Speaking in the relative warmth of the main broadcasting truck, head of operations Darren Fouhy says their biggest concern isn’t the cold, but rather rain or snow, which could affect the audio of the show, that’s being simulcast on radio and television.

Time was of the essence, he says, with the ‘‘go button’’ on this project only pushed 12 weeks ago.

‘‘We did six flights in two days, going from city to city for meetings. There has been lots of red tape, building permits, environmental stuff and traffic management, but the biggest struggle we’ve had is trying to explain the scale of this. It was really hard to explain that we were going to bring in 15-metre and 12-metre trucks, generators and a marquee.’’ Negotiating locations was also key for Fouhy. ‘‘I made the mistake a few years ago with [former MediaWorks breakfast show] Sunrise when we set up at [Christchurch’s] Riccarton Racecourse and nobody knew we were there. We had beautiful shots and it was a beautiful day, but we may as well have been in the studio.’’

Hence, the central Queenstown location and other sites like Nelson’s Trafalgar St and Napier’s Marine Parade. The two Wednesdays will be the biggest days for the crew, Fouhy says, as they arrive at 4.30am to do that morning’s show then pack up and head for their next destination, where an entirely new replica set will be waiting for them. He expects they could be pulling 18-hour shifts on those days as they make sure everything is sorted for the following morning’s broadcast. ‘‘I’ve got to shout a lot of pizzas,’’ he laughs. Integral to the tour’s concept and logistics has been Kiwi telecommunications infrastructure company Chorus. MediaWorks chief customer officer Glen Klyne says Chorus was looking for a way to increaseits brand presence.

‘‘We said, ‘we’ve got a little show that goes onair five days a week’, and they said, ‘well, we really want to get some exposure in the heartland’, and we said, ‘well, we could probably take this show on the road’.’’

Having thawed out slightly after a rollercoaster of a show that included an acting prime ministerial snub, a stranded Thai football team, an amazing come-from-behind Belgian victory at the World Cup and yes, a certain amount of swearing, Garner says rather than feeling compromised by the commercial tie-up with Chorus, it was an opportunity because it meant this important tour could happen. ‘‘I was a huge advocate for it, but I thought it couldn’t be done in the end without a sponsor.’’

He says going out and introducing yourself to audiences and persuading them to be loyal is vital for a show’s longevity.

‘‘Our opposition has been around for decades and has loyal, strong followings. We are still very much in that challenger status, so wey have to say we are here, and convince them to come across – ‘please try us, like us, follows us’.’’

Delighted with the generous response to them so far, Garner says these tours are also good things to do because while radio is intimate to a certain level, ‘‘when you come into towns like this and get face-time with people, you can see what they really think of you, because you can see their eyes, see their expressions’’.

Gillies cites the example of a mother and daughter who flew from Christchurch to Queenstown just to meet them and were flying back the same day. ‘‘Were they disappointed? Underwhelmed?’’ asks Garner.

‘‘They were lovely,’’ Gillies responds. ‘‘They weren’t impressed that Mark wore jeans after he promised to wear shorts and jandals – they thought he was a bit soft.’’

A mock-indignant Richardson says, ‘‘I was keen to do it, but it would have been stupid’’.

When asked if touring together will make or break the hosting trio’s so far 18-month relationship, Gillies laughs that it helped that Richardson had to go back for a night on Tuesday.

‘‘It sounds a bit naff, but we’ve become a bit like a family and these two have become like brothers. There’s no tension, everyone tells it how it is, pokes fun at each other and has a laugh.’’

Garner takes the family analogy a step further, describing Richardson as like the ‘‘ageing brother’’ he never had. ‘‘Mark is one of the most-focused, resilient individuals I think I’ve worked with. He will always be there and you know you can rely on him.’’

Richardson says missing out on time with his colleagues was one of the reasons he was so

When you come into towns like this and get face-time with people, you can see what they really think of you, because you can see their eyes.

Duncan Garner