Maternity anchors news values for new mum Sam
SAMANTHA Hayes might be a bit of a workaholic.
Until recently, the longest break she’d taken from
Newshub, where she’s worked for the last 13 years, was six weeks that she spent travelling around South America.
‘‘I’m not very good at taking holidays,’’ says the 35-year-old 6pm anchor.
‘‘Everywhere I travelled to I was thinking about news stories that I could be doing and how I should have brought a camera.’’
That was an auspicious trip, though – it was while in South America that she met her nowpartner Jeroen Blaauw, with whom she welcomed their first baby, son Marlow, on September 19.
Hayes has been off work now for a personal record of 11 weeks, and she’s excited to be heading back into the studio tomorrow.
So she must be feeling prepared, then?
‘‘I don’t think I can prepare for it at all,’’ she says.
‘‘I know it’s going to be difficult, it’s going to be a challenge and I’m going to have to figure it out as I go.’’
Part of that will be figuring out how her boundaries have moved.
‘‘Being a new mum has changed the way that I see news stories and the way that I feel about news stories,’’ says Hayes.
‘‘I just can’t help but think every time something awful happens to somebody, that’s somebody’s son or daughter.
‘‘I definitely think I’m a little bit more sensitive now than I would usually be and I’m going to have to be really careful about that in the studio and just generally at work.’’
She has made her co-anchor, Mike McRoberts, and the show’s producers aware of her ‘‘heightened emotions.’’
‘‘If I feel like I’m getting into a danger zone where I might be getting a bit too emotional or something I’ll have a chat to them and hopefully we can get through it.’’
Being away from the newsroom for this long stretch has meant that Hayes has been able to engage with the news as a viewer, which has given her a ‘‘fresh new perspective.’’
‘‘What really surprised me is just how much of a companion it can be,’’ she says, ‘‘not just the 6 o’clock news but just switching on the TV in the morning after a really long night with the baby.’’
That inability to switch off from the news is part of what makes Hayes feel comfortable going back to work with Marlow just under three months old, but she’s aware that might sound early to some.
‘‘There will be people out there that will think that it’s really quick,’’ she acknowledges.
But her job is unusual; she doesn’t have the option of working from home or doing flexi-hours.
‘‘I have a really public facing job and if I’m not there I’m not there. If I’m not there at 6 o’clock I’m not doing my job.’’
She knows that she is also fortunate in many ways.
Her mother is travelling to Auckland from her home in Milton, Otago, to help look after Marlow until Christmas.
‘‘That’s the only reason that I can make this work,’’ Hayes says frankly.
Knowing that she was going back to work has been helpful over the last few months.
‘‘Those first few weeks were really overwhelming, but as time wore on I think if I didn’t have on the horizon that I was going back to work and going to do that job that I love so much I think I would have found just being at home with a baby really tough,’’ she admits.
It’s also put things in perspective.
‘‘People think that live TV is terrifying but it’s an absolute walk in the part compared to the pressure and that feeling of how do I do this, how do I look after this tiny thing and keep it safe.’’