John Campbell
The acclaimed broadcaster John Campbell is back on TV, telling viewers to expect more of the same. Glenn McConnell reports.
It’s been only three years since John Campbell’s exit from TV3. Now he’s back, with his former opposition.
In between time, he has been presenting a 90-minute nightly news show from a small, converted radio studio in RNZ’s Hobson Street offices. He’s been sitting in front of carpeted walls and a modest graphics TV, telling New Zealand about everything from music to macro-economics.
It seems like he’s loved being freed from commercial television, but he says he hasn’t been as free as he wants. That’s why, after three years, he is moving to TVNZ.
While he has been away from TV, the show that replaced his has long since disappeared – so too has Mike Hosking’s face on TVNZ 1. Campbell’s old mate, Hilary Barry, now sits in the chair that once faced-off with him at 7pm.
A lot has changed, but he says he just wants to tell some stories.
“I’ll leave the big picture **** to the managers,” he says. “I’ve never wanted to be in media management. I just like making my stories.
“TVNZ knew what they were getting when they hired me. It’s not as if they don’t know what I do.”
His viewers should, he says, expect more of the same.
Public protests followed MediaWorks’ announcement it had canned his 7pm current affairs show, Campbell Live.
When he left the Flower Street studio in Auckland for the last time in 2015, Campbell was farewelled by a 400-strong guard of honour.
It was an emotional scene as the broadcaster struggled through tears to deliver his last few lines, thanking supporters, his team and family. Fans who had waited outside that night then heard Campbell say he had no plans for the future. He would be resting, as he was “buggered”.
It seemed like it could have been the end. But just a few months later, he was back – this time on radio. Then, Radio New Zealand announced it would be bringing Campbell to television with “radio you can watch”, on a show called Checkpoint.
Broadcasters often leave their old
“I’ll leave the big picture **** to the managers. I’ve never wanted to be in media management. I just like making my stories.” – John Campbell
employers with very few kind words. Or they’re hurriedly pushed out the door to their next media company. It’s different this time. Campbell says RNZ has never been more vital. “With public broadcasting, the question is: Are we doing journalism that matters?” he asks. “It’s different but public broadcasting is essential.” RNZ seemed a good fit for his style of journalism. Even though he had a platform to tell stories he was passionate about, it wasn’t enough. There were plenty of major, important stories, too. Campbell doesn’t like dwelling on those, however. He says he can’t keep looking back. When he does, he has some watershed moments to look back at from the past few years. Former Green Party co-leader Metiria Turei announced on his show she was quitting. He took the show to Te Puea Marae, showing the country the real impact of homelessness by interviewing TA – an 11 year old without a home. There were the stories about Cantabrians still struggling after the earthquakes and continual coverage of Pike River. Those stories are, in part, why Campbell wants to leave RNZ and step back from presenting. He’s been behind a desk for about 20 years. Quite simply, he’s sick of being on television every night. “There is a part of me that longs to not have to race to the studio every night,” he says. TVNZ offered him a job he, a self-proclaimed “leopard with elderly spots”, could not refuse. “I’m grateful for it. I’ve got a bit of a fusion job,” he says. Before he arrives, TVNZ has plans for him to present Breakfast. He’ll also be filing stories for the Sunday programme. He will be everywhere. But, at the same time, he will be nowhere in particular. When he is presenting shows, he will only be there as a fill-in. Things will obviously be different for Campbell at TVNZ. So he makes only one real promise – “I still give a damn”.