1 News | |
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Presented by |
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Country of origin | New Zealand |
Production | |
Camera setup | Multi-camera |
Running time | |
Release | |
Picture format | 16:9 |
Original release | 3 November 1969 – present |
External links | |
Website | www |
1 News is the news division of New Zealand television network TVNZ. The service is broadcast live from TVNZ Centre in Auckland. The flagship news bulletin is the nightly 6 pm news hour, but 1 News also has midday and late night news bulletins, as well as current affairs shows such as Breakfast and Seven Sharp.
The 6 pm programme is New Zealand's most-watched news programme. As of July 2008, it has a market share of 44% (651,400+ each night).
The head of TVNZ News and Current Affairs is John Gillespie.
1 News was awarded Best News in the Qantas Media Awards from 2008 through 2011 and won Best Breaking News in the New Zealand Film and Television Awards 2012.
Television news in New Zealand started in 1960 with the introduction of television. These bulletins were broadcast from New Zealand's four main cities (Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin) operating independently of each other due to technical constraints. The Wahine Disaster in April 1968 highlighted the need for a nationwide news network; footage shot in Wellington could not be broadcast in other centres around the country at the same time.
In October 1969 the country-wide TV network was completed. The first network news broadcast was live on 3 November 1969 at 7:35 pm, read by Dougal Stevenson. This bulletin was possible due to microwave links being established between the four main centres; the programme was called NZBC Network News. Initially, it was read by Philip Sherry, Dougal Stevenson or Bill Toft on a rotating roster.
Prior to the building of the Warkworth satellite communications station in 1971, international programmes could not be received live – the footage had to be flown into New Zealand and was often days old.
Angela D'Audney was the first female newsreader in New Zealand, from 1973. The Network News featured many other newsreaders until the NZBC was dissolved in 1975. The programme was then renamed simply News. The main bulletin was revamped in 1987. It was renamed Network News with Judy Bailey and Neil Billington initially co-presenting. Richard Long and Tony Ciprian alternately presented and produced sports news. Later that year Long took over from Billington as Network News news co-anchor, the beginning of a partnership that would continue for much of the next fifteen years. Ciprian moved to the new commercial channel TV3, the station's first sports news producer. He was with 3 News for almost 20 years.