Since 1998, Janine Morrell-Gunn's WhitebaitMedia has produced more than 6000 hours of homegrown content for Kiwi kids.
Since 1998, Janine Morrell-Gunn's WhitebaitMedia has produced more than 6000 hours of homegrown content for Kiwi kids.
A champion of New Zealand children’s television has today been recognised for her efforts, as Janine Morrell-Gunn was appointed an officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit.
“I’m no spring chicken,” laughed Morrell-Gunn, who has spent more than three-and-a-half decades crafting kids’ content.
Morrell-Gunn co-founded WhitebaitMedia with her husband, well-known television personality Jason Gunn, back in 1998, which has now provided more than 6000 hours of homegrown content.
WhitebaitMedia’s hits include The Son of a Gunn Show, The Erin Simpson Show, Bumble and 2Kaha.
WhitebaitMedia has also been the kaitiaki or guardian of the iconic children’s show What Now, which is now in its 42nd year.
Janine Morrell-Gunn co-founded WhitebaitMedia with her husband, well-known television personality Jason Gunn, back in 1998. Photo / NZME
After receiving an email confirming she would be a recipient of the order, Morrell-Gunn admitted the news took a bit of digesting.
“It took a while to sink in to be honest,” she said.
“I am very thankful, but the work I do takes a team. You can’t make television without a team so I have to thank the tremendous young people I was able to lead.”
The television veteran said her work was always driven by amplifying the voice of young tamariki, showcasing their talent and giving them a platform in mainstream media.
Among Morrell-Gunn’s career highlights was incorporating te reo Māori into Sesame Street, which she said was “beautiful”.
Another one of her career highs was the work done on Son of a Gunn.
“Working with Thingee and providing a friend to kids across a five-year period, we still hear today of the impacts on kids’ childhoods back then,” she said.
“[Asking about career highlights] is like asking me which child is my favourite, we’re still making amazing content.”
Morrell-Gunn’s career began as an intern at TVNZ. She said her only two goals were to work as a missionary or a children’s television producer.
The Hornby, Christchurch-based producer said she learned her craft through TVNZ, where she worked her way up between 1985 to 1998 to be the company’s executive producer of children’s productions.
Another one of Janine Morrell-Gunn's career highs was the work done on Son of a Gunn, in which Thingee appeared.
She’s also served on the board of Women in Film and Television and the Screen Producers Guild. Morrell-Gunn has chaired the Cholmondeley Children’s Centre since 2015.
The centre provides planned and emergency respite accommodation and care for children aged 3 to 12.
Her work in not-for-profits extended to initiating Adopt-A-Chch Family following the Canterbury Earthquakes, which raised more than $1 million, and erected The White Lights of Hope.
Morrell-Gunn has collected a plethora of personal awards through her work, including New Zealand On Air awards, Services to Children, Women in Film and Television and Entrepreneur of the Year.
On the future landscape of children’s content, Morrell-Gunn said the platforms have changed dramatically since she first started in the industry.
“The heart of it all is storytelling, it’s about whatever genre or format we’re in, content is about storytelling and it’s about putting kids at the centre of it,” she said.
“There’s a need to serve audiences in a free-to-air capacity, but also to again advocate for children to get a fair share of resources to adults, they deserve the same range as adults.”
