re_covering

After decades as one of the country’s best-known journalists, Cameron Bennett took on a unique new challenge: to educate the nation on the New Zealand Wars and help tell Māori stories. Read more Audio

As fast-food workers suffered under the indignity of zero-hour contracts, Anna Burns-Francis stepped up to tell their stories. Her tireless reporting forced corporations to put employee welfare over… Read more Audio

A shock diagnosis forced Simon Wilson to come to terms with his own mortality. Rather than let it derail his work, the veteran journalist made the bold call to bring readers along on each step of his… Read more Audio

As stories tumbled out about ACC's handling of sensitive client data, Anusha Bradley was there holding the agency to account. Her award-winning coverage prompted an independent review, policy changes… Read more Audio

Plunged into lawless South Sudan in 2017, Michael Morrah overcame danger and personal trauma to report on the brutal realities of life in the wartorn nation. Read more Audio

A wheelchair user all her life, Olivia Shivas’ coverage on people with disabilities suffering horrific abuse in care hit uncomfortably close to home. Her courageous reporting would help expose… Read more Audio

Long before it made national headlines, Justin Latif faced an uphill battle to convince his bosses the occupation of Ihumātao was worth covering. The ensuing reportage opened up a national… Read more Audio

During the 2019 measles outbreak in Samoa Barbara Dreaver reported on an ill-equipped healthcare system, complex tensions between traditional and western medicine, and the tragic and preventable loss… Read more Audio

Through the telling of one couple’s devastating story, Susie Ferguson lifted the lid on the grief suffered by the hundreds of Kiwi families who lose a baby each year. The veteran broadcaster reflects… Read more Audio

Disheartened by one-dimensional coverage of gangs in Pākehā media, Moana Maniapoto and Hikurangi Jackson set about delving into the issue themselves. The Whakaata Māori mother-son duo’s empathetic… Read more Audio

Having joined the press gallery as its youngest member in 1980, Barry Soper is set to depart this year one of its veterans. Four decades and ten Prime Ministers on, he reflects on his career-shaping… Read more Audio

As missiles rained down on Gaza in 2014, Mike McRoberts lobbied his 3 News bosses to get him to the frontline. The trauma of witnessing destruction on such an enormous scale stayed with him and shaped… Read more Audio

An expose into Te Kohanga Reo Trust by Mihingarangi Forbes and Annabelle Lee-Mather led to their acrimonious exit from Māori Television. The duo bounced back to form an award-winning media company… Read more Audio

A surprise phone call handed Garth Bray a huge scoop as media scrambled to find a runaway Hone Harawira in Australia. His journey to Alice Springs and the fallout back home turned the spotlight on… Read more Audio

Dismayed by how Māori were being portrayed in the media, Carmen Parahi nearly gave up on journalism for good. Instead, she channelled her frustration into a game-changing re-examination of indigenous… Read more Audio

When covering the Syrian refugee crisis, Rachel Smalley translated overwhelming statistics of tragedy into stories of living, breathing people. Years later, Rachel still carries the grief of what she… Read more Audio

When Alison Mau launched a nationwide project to support victims of workplace sexual abuse and harassment in sharing their stories, critics wondered if the results would even be newsworthy. Read more Audio

Cystic fibrosis is a death sentence for those who suffer with it. Encountering their experience, and the miracle drug that’s just out of reach, changed Paddy Gower. Read more Audio

What started out as a seemingly straightforward but tragic homicide story for investigative journalist Jared Savage turned into a heart-breaking exposé that changed his reporting and view of the… Read more Audio

In the 1960s and 70s, children as young as eight were placed in Porirua Psychiatric Hospital alongside the most mentally unwell adults. In 2005, Miriama Kamo told their story of startling abuse. Read more Audio

As Jehan Casinader reported on the tragic suicide of a Christchurch teenager, Jehan’s own mental health was privately crumbling as he’d recently begun experiencing suicidal thoughts. Read more Audio

When breaking the news of horrific treatment of prisoners at Auckland Women’s Prison, Guyon Espiner came face to face with a deeper story, of personal and cultural trauma. Read more Audio

Joy Reid nearly gave up journalism while struggling with PTSD after covering the Christchurch earthquakes, but went on to her dream role as the Europe correspondent for TVNZ. Read more Audio

Veteran journalist Paula Penfold has chosen to discuss her most recent documentary, Deleted, where Paula and her team at Stuff Circuit investigated the persecution of the Uyghur peoples in China. Read more Audio

There's always more to a news story than what you see, so throughout this series, Rev Frank Ritchie will be sitting down with journalists to unpack the stories that have shaped and changed them.

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