Alex Casey watches the final episode of Newshub, as Three farewells 34 years of making TV news.
It is July 5, and there are three big news stories coming up on Newshub. Life-saving cancer drugs have been funded, the United Kingdom has voted Labour in an historic landslide, and Newshub is coming to an end. “We say haere rā,” says Mike McRoberts, introducing his last Newshub bulletin after two decades at the desk. “Copping one last bombshell, we look back on three decades.”
But first: the rest of the news. There’s a story from Jenna Lynch about the funding of Keytruda, with an interview with a triple negative breast cancer sufferer and the advocates “overjoyed” with the decision. Back in the studio, Lynch puts it plainly: “This is a massive deal.” Then it’s over to the UK with Lisette Reymer, who was so confident about the Labour landslide that she reveals her link outside 10 Downing Street was filmed weeks before the election – she’s currently back in the newsroom at Flower Street, watching the news.
The next big story on the news? The news. “Today marks the last day of Newshub”
Juliet Speedy went behind the scenes of the morning’s final AM Show broadcast. Lloyd Burr and Melissa Chan-Green hugged each other on the couch, with Burr reflecting on how surreal it is to see the place he’s spent his whole professional life “just fall apart”. Asked how she was feeling, national correspondent Amanda Gillies choked up. “I’m just so grateful,” she said, blinking back tears, “It’s been the best, wildest ride.” In the foyer of Flower Street, Kate Rodger is also crying. “I’ve walked in those doors for the last 21 years,” she says.
Speedy takes us into the Newshub newsroom, where Paddy Gower is hugging colleagues – he found out today that Paddy Gower Has Issues missed out on NZ On Air funding. “Gower, like many here, is still looking for work in what’s become a perilous industry in New Zealand,” says Speedy. We also get to see those behind the camera on their final day. Producer Angus Gillies laughs when asked if Newshub will lead the final Newshub bulletin. “No. At this point, I’d like to think we can get something else other than us,” he says.
Cameraman Wuz Armstrong worked for TV3 news since he was 19 years old, back in 1989. “I can’t really put it into words how, uh, how amazing it’s been for a young Māori boy,” he says. In a meta move, Speedy also asks Sam Hayes and Mike McRoberts in the Newshub studio, ready in hair and makeup for their final broadcast, how they’re feeling. “No tears until 7 o’clock,” says self-appointed crying police Hayes, voice wobbling despite the messaging. “It’s not helping that you are crying too.”
There is a quick whiparound the politicians, with Winston Peters taking the opportunity to lash out at the state-owned broadcaster. “I think Newshub has done a better job than TVNZ,” he says. Willy Jackson calls it “one of the saddest days in the history of New Zealand broadcasting,” and prime minister Christopher Luxon sends his thoughts to all the “Newshubbers”, a term which didn’t exactly roll off the tongue.
Back in the studio, Hayes remains on cry control. “Are you keeping it together Heather” she asks, while weather presenter Heather Keats covers her eyes with her hands. “I’m not making eye contact” Keats laughs, before delving into the cold fronts shimmying up the North Island. “More on that up next,” she says, before putting her hands back over her eyes like a visor. It appears the “no tears till 7pm’ rule is going to be more challenging than they originally thought.
After a few more stories, McRoberts introduces the “wonderful” Andrew Gourdie for the final Newshub sport bulletin. “I’m used to another W word,” Gourdie laughs. Nicky Styris joins him in the studio for the final sign-off, and the cry curfew faces its biggest test yet. “On a serious note, its been an honour and privilege to share the sports desk with you and bring the news to you,” says Styris. “I hope I have been a positive role model for other wahine in sports journalism, because it still a lad’s world out there.”
“No tears till 7pm” Hayes warns again, “we need to push on.” She introduces a story about the booming gaming industry in Aotearoa, but starts to look puzzled as she reads the teleprompter. “While the TV industry has seen better days…” she pauses “… who wrote this?” McRoberts picks up the slack while Hayes collapses into giggles, giving two thumbs up. The vibes are less like the last day of school, and more like the entire school is on fire and everyone is sitting around telling stories and toasting marshmallows in the flames.
The very last package on Newshub’s very last bulletin serves as a recap of news produced by Three over the last 34 years. Spanning 9/11, the Christchurch mosque attacks, climate change and Covid-19, it also serves as a bit of a recap of life on Earth for any aliens who might have just picked up the Flower Street signal. There are the political highlights – “your career is in tatters” – and breathtaking post-quake images like the cows moored after Kaikoura, and the reporter walking straight into the crumbled Christchurch cathedral.
The home stretch is a montage of all the many, many familiar faces that have graced TV3 news over three decades. Hilary Barry cackling at the desk, Bob McNeil getting flashed by Boobs on Bikes, Lisette Reymer in a warzone, Sam Hayes in front of an iceberg and Kate Rodger nearly dropping an Academy Award. “We’ve never missed a bulletin, and we’ve loved bringing you the news,” McRoberts says in his voiceover, while ‘Secondhand News’ by Fleetwood Mac plays over the dozens of smiling Newshub faces.
It is nearing 7pm and eyes are brimming back in the Newshub studio as flowers and team members descend on McRoberts and Hayes. “We have loved making the news, thank you so much for watching us,” says Hayes. McRoberts grabs her hand, and shares a whakatauki. “Ko te mea nui o te ao. What is the most important thing in the world? He tangata, he tangata, he tangata. It is people, it is people, it is people,” he says. “Thank you for being our people, we’ve absolutely loved being yours.”
The final image of the emotional Newshub desk then cuts crudely to Lego Masters, but you can still hear the Newshub audio fading out. As the clock strikes 7pm, Sam Hayes let out an audible sob.