Kathryn Quirk
NZ On Screen Content Director Kathryn Quirk has worked in management roles at TVNZ, NZ On Air and MTV New Zealand. Along the way she has done time in presentation, promotions, programme funding, rights and commercial affairs, and a crowded television studio — and run her own art gallery too.
Whai Ngata
Whai Ngata worked in Māori broadcasting at Television New Zealand for 25 years, a period when the quantity of Māori broadcasting underwent a major expansion. Starting as a reporter, he rose to become TVNZ's general manager of Māori Programming, a post he held from 1994 until retiring in 2008. Ngata was named an Officer of the Order of New Zealand Merit in 2007. He passed away on 3 April 2016.
Mark Sainsbury
As longtime host of primetime current affairs show Close Up, Mark Sainsbury became a household name; in 2007 the Sunday Star Times described his moustache as “the most famous in the country.” But the ginger duster doesn’t overshadow the experience and talent he’s brought to many roles over a long broadcasting career: from reporting for One News and Holmes, to officiating at Sir Edmund Hillary's funeral.
Colin McRae
In a career spanning four decades, director/producer Colin McRae has worked in news and current affairs, made documentaries and spent time as TV3’s Head of Sport. He conceived and produced award-winning series The New Zealand Wars. An association with Māori Television has seen him produce Native Affairs for six years, and play a leading role in its Anzac Day and election coverage.
Denis Harvey
Denis Harvey's career encompasses a range of leadership positions – but he is best known for his contributions to sports coverage, especially his work across multiple years of America's Cup and Olympic sailing. Harvey spent three decades working for state TV, including seven years commanding sport, and four as TVNZ's overall head of production. These days he balances work in broadcasting and production.
Bill Ralston
Bill Ralston is the everyman of New Zealand television, a sometime political correspondent, arts and current affairs presenter, award-winning journalist and head of TVNZ news and current affairs. With fingers in many pies and always ready with a pugnacious opinion, Ralston is one out of the box.
Ian Sinclair
Ian Sinclair has reported from every corner of the globe. After experiencing dictatorship while studying flamenco guitar in Spain, Sinclair returned home to New Zealand, and eventually began working for TVNZ in 1986. Since then he has covered four major wars and been a mainstay as an investigative journalist, winning New Zealand’s Qantas Media Award for Best Investigation in 2009.
Rod Cornelius
In the course of a 32-year career, Rod Cornelius experienced seismic changes within New Zealand’s television industry firsthand. From his first job with the NZ Broadcasting Corporation through the turbulent remakings of state television in the late 80s and 90s, Cornelius held several key management roles — including TVNZ Controller of Programming and Managing Director of Avalon Studios.
Ernie Leonard
Ernie Leonard spent time as a soldier, a railways clerk and public relations officer. His first television job was as an actor on Pukemanu, and he became a household name co-presenting wrestling show On the Mat. In 1986 Leonard became the first head of TVNZ's Māori Programmes Department. When he retired, a search of the TVNZ Archives database yielded 38,000 references to him or programmes he'd been associated with.
Kathryn Graham
Spending 13 years in one job is a very long time these days, so imagine the pressure of commissioning TVNZ shows for all that time. Kathryn Graham did just that across a diverse portfolio of programmes. The former television director was TVNZ's first Commissioning Editor of Māori and Pacific content, and the first Kaikotuitui Rangapu (Programme Commissioner) at Māori Television.