The Return Of The TV Crusader

He’s the broadcaster who tackled issues with tenacity during his years at the helm of his 7pm slot on TV and whose show was controversially axed in 2015. But now John Campbell is back on screen, albeit on a different channel, as keen as ever to seek out truth and justice.

- Judy Bailey

Multi award-winning broadcaster John Campbell has attached his considerable mana to the mast of the network he once locked horns within dire competition.

“At TV3 I was working with great people, we were the underdog, we had fewer staff, fewer resources, fewer viewers. It felt like a kind of adventure,” he says of his former role. He knows he’ll find it different at the state broadcaster. But he’s happy to be back on the telly, admitting, “I’ve missed it.”

His new role is that of a roving reporter/presenter for TVNZ. From all accounts this job was tailor-made for him. He’s a free agent, to roam at will seeking truth and justice in the Campbell way.

He’s come to the job by way of his stint on Radio New Zealand’s nightly current affairs show, Checkpoint. Last year he was internationally recognised as the AIB (the Association of International Broadcasters) Presenter of the Year. RNZ was sorry to lose him.

“I loved the immediacy of radio; it’s instantaneous. You can always pick up the phone [to talk to people] but to be a television reporter you have to go and visit people, that’s the thing I love the best. I want to tell stories, as many as possible.”

John is a warm, sensitive person with a genuine concern for his fellow man. He is particularly drawn to those people for whom life is tough. “I’m increasingly interested in the kind of lives not being lived because of economic deprivation, especially in our biggest cities. People with jobs who are not making ends meet. They’re doing everything we ask of them and still they’re struggling. It’s really important these people have a voice. I still want to do journalism that matters.”