NZ Herald managing editor Murray Kirkness has a massive responsibility in carrying the publication forward. Photo / Michael Craig
Listen to today’s episode of The Front Page to hear a bevy of birthday well-wishers including Chris Hipkins, John Key, Theresa Gattung, comedians Jono and Ben, journalist Patrick Gower, broadcaster and restaurant reviewer Jesse Mulligan, One NZ CEO Jason Paris, and finance columnist Mary Holm.
Today is officially the 160th anniversary of the New Zealand Herald.
The publication has survived through and witnessed two world wars, earthquakes and more than a few recessions.
It also captured many of our proudest moments: from Kate Sheppard’s quest for suffrage to Sir Edmund Hillary’s conquest of Everest.
The paper has long offered a reflection of the best and worst parts of life in Aotearoa, becoming part of the cultural fabric of these islands.
Speaking to The Front Page podcast, NZ Herald managing editor Murray Kirkness says he remains conscious of what the Herald has come to mean to New Zealanders.
“We’re very much aware that we’re building on the foundations of those who went before us and the amazing successes that the Herald has managed during that 160 years.
“You can also learn from the eras of the past about things that we perhaps didn’t do quite so well … I think we all feel the weight of responsibility, not just because of the age but also because of the number of New Zealanders that turn to the Herald and to other NZME outlets for news, information and entertainment.”
While an anniversary is always an opportunity to reflect on the past, Kirkness says his focus is largely on what comes next for the paper.
“It’s easy to look at the past at a time like this, but we’re very much looking to the future and what’s possible in the years ahead.”
The future of the publication will be defined largely by the work of its journalists.
One such person is up-and-coming data journalist Julia Gabel, who is becoming adept at pulling human stories from masses of data that would otherwise be difficult to decipher.
As data becomes more accessible and important to storytelling, the role that Gabel – and the broader data team – plays within the newsroom will only become more important.
“I saw a tweet from Bloomberg a couple of weeks ago saying that they wanted to expand their data journalism and visualisation team by 40, and I thought that was really telling,” says Gabel.
She is just one of many Herald journalists at the Herald exploring new spaces and learning new skills to tell stories in ways that would been difficult in the past.
But it isn’t only the younger Herald writers learning new skills.
Property editor Anne Gibson, who has more than 40 years of news experience, continuously shows a a knack use new skills and technology to tell her stories. Podcasts, drones, video, graphics and other multimedia forms now regularly feature in her storytelling.
What’s more, Gibson isn’t done learning. She’s looking forward to seeing the impact that AI could have in freeing her up to focus on the stories that really make a difference.
“BusinessDesk, which is owned by NZME, has bots doing stories on what they call statutory filings – these are stock exchange announcements, which can be pretty rudimentary and straightforward but are actually quite important historically.
“I don’t particularly like how they write, but they never forget to look – and that is incredibly valuable.”
If some of this more tedious work is removed, journalists could have more time to focus on the stories that hold businesses, politicians and people to account. If the public still supports their work.
And these responsibilities remains as important to the Herald today as it was 160 years ago.
So what else is on the cards for the Herald? How much time is left for print? And how much of an impact will AI have on the flow of news?
Listen to the full episode of The Front Page to hear more from Kirkness, Gibson and Gabel as well as congratulations for the NZ Herald’s 160 years from a plethora of prominent people who have written for or been covered extensively by this masthead.
The Front Page is a daily news podcast from the New Zealand Herald, available to listen to every weekday from 5am. It is presented by Damien Venuto, an Auckland-based journalist with a background in business reporting who joined the Herald in 2017.
You can follow the podcast at iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Get a coffee for a can at Scope and donate to the Ngongotahā Fire Brigade this week.