RNZ host Ingrid Hipkiss reveals what’s next for her, reflects on Newshub closure

Ingrid Hipkiss landed the role as co-host of RNZ’s flagship news and current affairs show Morning Report in January 2023. Photo / Robert Trathen

When Ingrid Hipkiss got the call to say she’d landed the role as co-host of RNZ’s flagship news and current affairs show, Morning Report, in January 2023, she had no idea just how significant an impact it would have on her, both personally and professionally.

Fronting the show alongside Corin Dann and First Up host Nathan Rarere as part of the radio station’s refreshed morning line-up was an amazing opportunity for the TV presenter, who’d never done radio before, although she’d previously worked at Newshub for more than two decades.

Hipkiss worked at Newshub for more than two decades. Photo / NZ Woman's Weekly

“As a career choice, it’s the peak,” she tells. “I consider it one of the best jobs in the country. I love the challenge of interviewing so many different people and no two days are the same.”

The role came just after Ingrid turned 50 – a milestone that came with a lot of soul-searching.

“A big birthday makes you stop and think,” explains Ingrid, who has two sons, Hunter, 17, and Brody, 13, with cameraman husband Jack Tarrant, 44. “I thought hard about what I was doing in my life and where I was going. My natural tendency is to stay in a safe space, so I had to push through that, and come to grips with the idea that I was being offered a great opportunity and I’d regret it if I said no.

“I’m naturally an optimist, so I believe things will work out. I also have a philosophy of saying yes to everything. I’m a pragmatist too – I don’t think worrying is going to help. You have to make the most of what you get. That’s how I ended up at Newshub for so long – I’d give anything a try.

“The thought of joining Morning Report was intimidating, but exciting. I realised the only reason for me to say no was because of fear and that’s not a good enough reason.”

Hipkiss says joining Morning Report was intimidating, but exciting. Photo / NZ Woman's Weekly

As a woman who broadcasts with two men, and goes home to an all-male house, you could be forgiven for thinking Ingrid spends all her time with blokes, but the presenter always makes time for her girlfriends.

“As you get older, you realise just how important female friendships are,” she muses. “They’re the cornerstone of my life really.

“I’m still close to some of my high school friends and I see my Newshub mates a lot. I also have a group of mum friends – the ones you’d meet at the school gate when the kids were little. The kids have moved on, but I’ve stayed in touch with a lot of the mums. Some of them have become good friends.”

And thanks to her brave move, she now has friends at RNZ too – including Nathan, 52, with whom she shares a studio in Auckland, and Corin, 49, who broadcasts from Wellington.

“Corin’s a genius in so many ways and I grew up watching Nathan on TV. He’s such a masterful storyteller – he can make any story entertaining, even sport, which is amazing!

Now, Hipkiss has friends at RNZ too – including Nathan Rarere and Corin Dann. Photo / Robert Trathen

“I worked in pretty much every role except sport,” says Ingrid, whose roles at the now-terminated news platform included weather presenter, political reporter and newsreader. “I’m so sad about the decision to close Newshub. I thought there would be more stations for that train before it closed completely.

“Many people have said I was lucky to get out before the layoffs, but I don’t feel that way. I moved on because I’d been offered a great job, but I didn’t want to leave. I feel an irrational amount of guilt and grief about its closure. It doesn’t feel like a ‘lucky escape’ at all. I’m absolutely grieving for it.”

Part of that grieving includes the knowledge that many friends and mentors lose their jobs when Newshub closes its doors for good on July 5.

“Newshub is where I learned my craft and I met the people who shaped my skills, my world, my career,” says Ingrid, 51. “That’s where it all started for me. I’ll never have anything like that again. Career-wise, I grew up there. There are friends and colleagues who aren’t with us any more for whom Newshub was their legacy. I’m heartbroken that it’s gone.”

Despite Ingrid’s obvious and understandable distress at the loss of her beloved Newshub, it’s clear she’s happy where she’s landed.

“I truly believe in what I do. I think people are still curious about what’s going on in the world. That’s what drives the Morning Report team to do what we do. It’s about getting information to people in a way they can take it on.

“What we do is incredibly important – if I didn’t believe that, I wouldn’t be doing it,” she says. “It’s too easy to believe the end is nigh when you reach a certain age. And yes, the media landscape is changing, but I can’t see myself leaving. I love it with a passion. I’ll be here until the lights go out.”