Judy Bailey: newsreader extraordinaire...

Judy Bailey is sometimes referred to as the 'Mother of the Nation', thanks to nearly 20 years newsreading on TV One’s prime time news bulletin. Bailey began as a TV/radio reporter for the NZ Broadcasting Corporation. She went on to co-host regional magazine show Top Half with John Hawkesby, and in 1986 began newsreading on TV One's prime time news bulletin. After a long run alongside Richard Long, she took over the role solo in 2004. She has also hosted  Anzac Day coverage for Māori Television and travel show Judy Bailey’s Australia.

In this ScreenTalk interview, Bailey talks about:

• Creating stories for both TV and radio during her early days at NZBC news
• Having to create her own sound effects for a story
• Feeling blessed working with John Hawkesby on Top Half
• The challenges of live television when things went wrong
• Coping with 24 hours of live television on Telethon
• Dealing with negative reactions after replacing newsreader  Philip Sherry on One News
• Having an amazing on air partnership with Richard Long
• The embarrassment of being parodied by comedian Rima Te Wiata
• The stress of having to read the news on her own
• Being forced out of her role at TVNZ 
• Presenting Māori Television’s coverage of ANZAC Day
• Enjoying hosting travel show Judy Bailey’s Australia
• Being grateful for all she has learned from people in her career

This video was first uploaded on 22 December 2014, and is available under this Creative Commons licence. This licence is limited to use of ScreenTalk interview footage only and does not apply to any video content and photographs from films, television, music videos, web series and commercials used in the interview.

Interview, Camera and Editing – Andrew Whiteside