Glad Tidings - SIMON & WENDY'S GOLDEN MILESTONE

THEY’VE BEEN SPREADING THE WORD FOR 14 YEARS AND JUST CAN’T GET ENOUGH!

- Kelly Bertrand

When 1 News hosts Simon Dallow and Wendy Petrie say the news never stops, they really mean it – but it’s not often they find themselves at the epicentre of it.

As the Weekly catches up with the dynamic duo to mark the 50th anniversary of network news in New Zealand, the pair are reeling from two of the biggest news stories to break in recent weeks – the potential sale of TV rivals MediaWorks, and the devastating SkyCity fire that interrupted transmission of TVNZ One programming.

Slightly out of breath with a strong whiff of smoke trailing behind her, the ever-composed Wendy is a touch late for our chat, forced to hurry across town on foot after car access to the TVNZ building was blocked.

“It’s been a bit of a dramatic afternoon!” she exclaims. “The news is right in our backyard at the moment, isn’t it!”

Despite the drama, it’s clear that for the ever-enduring Simon and Wendy, who are about to celebrate 14 years on screen together, the news is everything.

“You’re constantly looking forward,” nods Simon (55).

“We feel a huge sense of responsibility − it’s a privilege to bring people the news and you always want to get it right.”

Times have certainly changed since the inaugural network news bulletin was broadcast on November 3, 1969.

Fronted by the legendary Dougal Stevenson for the New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation, it was the first time Aotearoa had one centralized news bulletin. The need for one had been highlighted a year previously when bureaus in Auckland, Christchurch and Dunedin struggled to obtain footage of the Wahine ferry disaster due to the cyclone that caused the tragedy.