The Gift of the Gab /
TVNZ news journalist Joy Reid tells how her career has opened the world’s doors, all the while juggling a busy work schedule, a young family and running a charity.
We talk to TVNZ news reporter Joy Reid
IT WAS A LETTER FROM HER GRANDMOTHER THAT first prompted Joy Reid to consider a career in journalism. ‘While on exchange in Germany, I used to write to my grandparents a lot and in one of her replies my grandmother suggested I should become a journalist as she thought I had a talent for storytelling,’ she says. ‘And it was definitely the right career for me!’
Laughing, Joy describes how even at school [in Auckland where she grew up] she was known for having the ‘gift of the gab’ and was constantly asking questions. ‘There was no doubt that when I left school I was going to move to Christchurch to attend broadcasting school.’ A decision that set her on the path to become a household name.
A self-confessed nerd who checks in with news websites several times a day in order to stay abreast, Joy relished her time as a news reporter and journalist for radio, working for four years for Radio New Zealand. ‘Radio news is much punchier and more concise then television news. You have to be across every news story from right around the world which doesn’t appeal to every journalist. But I loved it.’
Yet like many, reporting on the six o’clock news had always been the dream, as well as ultimately becoming a European Correspondent. ‘I accepted a Christchurch-based role with TVNZ in 2009 as a news reporter and jumped straight in.’
When talking about how news journalists can often be pigeonholed as ambulance chasers, Joy is quick to point out that she is working in a genre which ‘requires a balance of your own ethics and morals with that of finding the story’ and she always endeavours to sit on the right side of that.
‘For some people it is cathartic to tell their story and for me it is a privilege to then be the one to share it.’
Being able to step away from stories and return home to her husband and two young children ( Jonathan, seven and Stella, four) is part of this balancing act. ‘As a news reporter part of my role is accepting that sense of public duty to share what has happened, particularly in times of crisis. But more often than not we are then able to step out of the workplace and distance ourselves from the story.’ This wasn’t the case in February 2011.
‘One of the biggest stories of my career has been the Christchurch earthquakes. They will stay with me for a very long time.’
Like many of us, the 7.1 earthquake in the early hours of 4 September 2010 was regarded in a more positive light than those to come. While there was devastation to homes and buildings there was no loss of life. ‘It was a great story to tell, we had survived.
‘February was a different ball game. Looking back now it is hard to think that I was reporting outside of the CTV building for 8–10 hours immediately following the quake. But I had a job to do. It wasn’t until weeks later that I was able to process and reflect on what I saw and experienced.’
For over two years the quakes were a story Joy and her colleagues were unable to step away from. ‘There was no longer that distance between work and home. That personal barrier had gone, this wasn’t a story I was flying in to report on before flying out. I would report all day about loss of life, lost businesses, lost homes and lost buildings and then return home [in those early days] to a house that had no power, no water and like so many others, had been damaged by the earthquakes.’
There is a moment of sadness as Joy reflects on how many of her friends and colleagues have left Christchurch post quake.
‘It changed my priorities. Where Geoff and I had always thought we would wait until I had achieved my dream job of European Correspondent before we had kids, we suddenly had that realisation that life is short, and family has to come first.’ Two years later Jonathan arrived and three years after that, Stella.
It was the arrival of children that also saw Joy add another string to her bow with the formation of registered charity One Mother to Another. Having spent time in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) with Jonathan, Joy partnered with close friend Christina Buckland, who had also experienced first-hand the challenges of having a sick child, to form the charity. They have worked tirelessly to ensure every carer who walks into NICU or the Children’s Acute Assessment Unit (CAA) knows they aren’t alone, gifting them a One Mother to Another care package.
Currently, One Mother to Another gift packs are donated to every carer who finds themselves in the Nelson, Christchurch and Invercargill NICUs, with a further 50 packs a month going to the CAA at Christchurch Hospital. ‘Whether you are there for five minutes, five days or five months we want parents and carers to know they aren’t alone,’ explains Joy.
Despite the demands of running a charity, mum-life and a busy work schedule with TVNZ, shortly after returning from maternity leave following the birth of Stella, Joy got the email she had been waiting for: applications to become the next European Correspondent role were open.
‘It is a two-year placement and TVNZ had never put a mother in the role before,’ she explains. ‘But I thought why not.’
Less than six weeks later, in September 2017, Joy, Geoff, two kids, 10 suitcases and two car seats were sitting in the
‘I reported in 24 different countries in two years. The kids visited 17.’
airport ready to board the plane. ‘We had to have three trolleys,’ she laughs. ‘It was two years of madness but such a dream come true.’
Living near Wimbledon, London, Joy credits Geoff to the success of their time in Europe. ‘Geoff took two years’ leave without pay to be a full-time parent, which meant I had the support I needed to not only take the job, but succeed. The house had never been run so smoothly,’ she laughs.
With phone calls in the middle of the night requiring her to leave at a moment’s notice to cover a story, this support was essential. ‘I reported in 24 different countries in two years. The kids visited 17. It was a real privilege to be part of some incredible international events such as the royal wedding and Brexit, but I absolutely loved the World War I centenary events.’
Since returning home to Christchurch in late 2019, Joy has relished celebrating 11 years at TVNZ and at times being able to expand her role with them to fill in as a studio host on Breakfast. ‘This is a different kind of role and skill set from radio and TV daily news reporting – I like that I get to share a bit of myself with viewers.’
Beyond her two days with TVNZ she has also taken over from Christina as the front figure for One Mother to Another. ‘Christina put her heart and soul into it while I was in Europe and I am thrilled I can support her now by taking over the reins and continue to support a community in need.’
And if that wasn’t enough to keep her occupied, life is set to get that little bit busier with baby number three due to arrive in February 2021. ‘I never believed a career in journalism would have opened the world’s doors to me,’ she concludes, ‘and I can’t wait to see what is next.’