Fourth Estate - Programme 21
In the episode of TVNZ's media commentary show, Brian Priestley examines coverage of the 1987 general election. He finds much to like in the "terrific" efforts of radio, television and newspapers. TVNZ's "sloping thing" graphic comes in for particular praise, but Priestley is less enthusiastic about the televising of Jim Bolger’s painfully uncomfortable concession phone call to victor David Lange. The newly re-elected Prime Minister doesn't escape Priestley's vigilance, as Lange is chided for his post-election cancellation of press conferences.
Tony Sutorius
Tony Sutorius fell in love with documentaries while studying at Victoria University. Shot on a shoestring, his second film Campaign won sellout screenings at the 1999 NZ Film Festival. The feature-length documentary chronicled an early MMP election campaign. These days Sutorius runs Porirua company Unreal Films, whose diet of educational films encompasses at least nine elections across Australasia.
Paora Maxwell
Paora Maxwell spent three years as Chief Executive of Māori Television. He began in the job in May 2014 after time heading TVNZ’s Māori and Pacific Programmes Department, and 15 years making shows for his company Te Aratai Productions. Maxwell was set to step down from Māori Television in August 2017.
Maggie Barry
A lover of gardens from childhood with a diploma in horticulture, Maggie Barry spent four years on the news frontline as co-host of National Radio’s Morning Report from 1986 to 1989. As presenter of TV hit Maggie’s Garden Show she was the face of NZ gardening for 12 years. After time in freelance journalism and radio she was elected MP for North Shore in 2011, and became a cabinet minister in 2014.
Pat Cox
Pat Cox has been bringing television commercials to the screen since the 1970s. As a producer, he was instrumental in turning longrunning comic strip Footrot Flats into an animated feature. Footrot Flats: A Dog's Tale went on to become the most successful New Zealand feature of the 1980s.
Bryan Bruce
Since the late 1980s Bryan Bruce has been a prolific documentary maker and presenter. Over more than 30 documentaries, plus three seasons of The Investigator, he has cast fresh eyes on some of the most famous crimes in New Zealand’s history, and asked tough questions about the country’s economic and social trajectory.
Miles Murphy
Miles Murphy first tasted filmmaking as a child on his father's film sets, and as an actor in The Fire-Raiser. Alongside time in the camera and design departments, he later spent three years in Sydney directing commercials, with occasional assignments in Asia. He has also ventured into short films with The Knock, which played at festivals in Italy, the UK and the US, and Autocraniotomous, which came third in the 2013 48 Hours film contest.