The rise, rise and eventual fall of TVNZ news supremo
The news chief who exited TVNZ following the departure of Breakfast host Kamahl Santamaria is a loss to the newsroom, former colleagues say, but another claims he oversaw a team with low morale.
Paul Yurisich, a former member of the TVNZ executive team and head of news and current affairs, resigned on Wednesday following an independent review into the hiring of Santamaria.
Yurisich brought Santamaria to TVNZ after previously working with him at Al Jazeera in Doha, but the failed appointment lasted just 32 days before Santamaria quit in May amid allegations of inappropriate behaviour.
Yurisich went on leave while the review was carried out over the past two months by senior employment lawyer Margaret Robins, who looked into TVNZ’s recruitment policies, processes and practices.
His career now in limbo, Yurisich declined to comment on the furore that led to his resignation when Stuff approached him at his home on Waiheke Island yesterday.
Yurisich was a former Auckland Star journalist of the late 1980s, who moved into television as a promising young producer before joining Al Jazeera.
He spent just 16 months back at TVNZ before his hiring of Santamaria caused ripples within the newsroom and led to a public storm which ended with the new Breakfast host’s controversial departure.
The pair have known each other for almost 25 years after first meeting at TV3, where Yurisich was producing Nightline and Santamaria started as a sports reporter in the late 90s.
Hā wera-born Yurisich got his start in journalism working for Radio Taranaki in the mid-80s.
He went on to work at the Taranaki Daily News, followed by the Rotorua Daily Post and the nowdefunct Auckland Star. He worked as a producer on TV3’s Nightline before becoming bulletins editor for TVNZ’s 1 News between 2000 and 2005.
Former TVNZ newsroom head Bill Ralston recalled a younger Yurisich as ‘‘a very good bulletin producer’’ with a strong work ethic.
‘‘He was one of the more able and hard-working bulletin producers,’’ Ralston said.
‘‘He was certainly very efficient.’’
Yurisich resigned from TVNZ to take up his first post at Al Jazeera in 2006, working as an executive producer and programme editor until he departed in 2010 to become head of Asia-Pacific Television and Radio with Bloomberg in Hong Kong.
He returned to Al Jazeera in 2019 as executive producer of news, where he had a hand in the network’s coverage of the Christchurch mosque shooting, before returning to New Zealand to join the TVNZ executive team in late 2020.
Despite perceptions Yurisich had worked closely with Santamaria, a source currently employed at Al Jazeera said that was not the case.
‘‘They may have worked together on occasional ‘special projects’ – and one I remember is the anniversary of [Saudi critic] Jamal Khashoggi’s killing when Kamahl presented from Istanbul and Yuri was there producing – but that sort of thing is very rare.’’
Another Al Jazeera employee had nothing but praise for Yurisich’s character and newsroom conduct.
‘‘He is one of the best managers of people and creators of TV I’ve ever worked with,’’ he said.
‘‘He was an inspiring guy in the newsroom. He was a mentor to me. I learned a hell of a lot from him.
‘‘When he left it was a real loss for us.’’
A source said the scandal had heaped unwanted attention on Al Jazeera and created an unsavoury political and public relations nightmare at the governmentfunded network – particularly as Qatar prepares to host the 2022 Fifa World Cup in NovemberDecember, becoming the first Arab country to do so.
However, a TVNZ staffer said the newsroom had become ‘‘an unhappy place’’ following the Santamaria scandal and it had become apparent Yurisich needed to go.
‘‘It was clear he did not have the team supporting him.’’
Broadcasting Minister Willie Jackson would not be drawn on the saga when approached by Stuff yesterday.
‘‘TVNZ’s board is responsible for operational matters, including employment. As minister I am unable to intervene in such matters,’’ he said in a statement.
‘‘He is one of the best managers of people and creators of TV I’ve ever worked with.’’
Al Jazeera employee on Paul Yurisich