My attitude to milestones is somewhat ambivalent: On the one hand they mark notable events, but on the other they remind me that time presses on.
Speaking of presses, a milestone was reached last week with the announcement that NZME is to acquire the printing equipment from Stuff’s Petone plant. It will replace the behemoth that has printed the New Zealand Herald since 1995 in the purpose-built Ellerslie press hall, where I stood to watch redesigned newspapers come off the press under my watch as editor.
The Petone press is only a third the size of the machine that is housed in an iconic edifice beside the Southern Motorway at Ellerslie. It is also more modern and was relocated from Australia when Fairfax (then owner of Stuff) closed its Melbourne printing site at Tullemarine. Stuff is consolidating its printing to its more modern Christchurch plant (see Tuesday Commentary March 31 2026).
More importantly, the Petone press is right-sized for the current circulation of the Herald. When the Ellerslie plant was established three decades ago, the paper’s net paid circulation was well over 200,000. The Herald no longer publishes its circulation figures, but it is undoubtedly selling fewer than half the number the Goss HT70 presses were designed to pump out for each issue.
The agreement between Stuff and NZME is a good one. It ensures the equipment remains in New Zealand and push out another (inevitable) milestone. It will extend the life of the print edition of the country’s largest newspaper. NZME would not be replacing its presses if the print edition was about to be dropped. The company revealed last week that there would be annual operational savings of about $7 million a year, and that could be the deciding factor in maintaining a print edition longer than would otherwise be the case. On the other hand, it remains to be seen whether there is anyone looking to buy 30-year-old presses built for the golden age of newspapers.
The $15 million purchase and relocation project will see another milestone. NZME sold the property housing its presses and the leaseback arrangement lasts until 2028. The Petone press will be housed in a new site and one of the best billboards in New Zealand will disappear. No longer will New Zealand Herald and NZME be emblazoned on the big blue building passed by 100,000 vehicles a day.
Should the old press hall be demolished, it will mark a milestone for me: The final eradication of physical evidence of the places I worked in New Zealand journalism. In 1984 the New Zealand Herald’s Queen Street offices were demolished to make way for the Fay Richwhite Building (now SAP Tower). In 1989 the Auckland Star’s building in Shortland Street went under the wrecker’s ball. I don’t recall when the home of my brief sojourn in community newspapers disappeared. Then in 2015 the Wyndham/Albert Street Herald site was vacated to make way for the Holiday Inn. These are milestones I would rather forget.
However, last weekend NZME claimed another proud milestone that is well worth remembering. Its flagship radio network NewstalkZB turned 100. It marked the occasion with the start of a podcast series hosted by Mike Hosking and a colourful 24-page supplement in the Herald on Sunday. The cover of the supplement showed 100 faces – the people who sat behind the microphone, starting on the 9th of August 1926. Many are instantly recognisable, while some are “oh, I know that face, what was the name?”. The likes of Aunt Daisy (Maud Basham), Merv Smith, Paul Holmes and Mike Hosking appear more than once in recognition of the impact they had on the station. And down the page is a photo of a grumpy old bugger who instilled simultaneous fear and admiration in generations of broadcast journalists, Clayton (Pop) Shaw.
Those photographs and the articles inside the supplement attest to the huge influence ZB has had on both New Zealand broadcasting and New Zealand culture. The iHeart podcast episodes will underline that impact.
The station was part of my life from as early as I can remember. My mother had our mantle radio permanently tuned to 1ZB. Aunt Daisy was the font of domestic wisdom and Phil Shone had megastar status in our house. My return home each school day coincided with my mother listening to ‘The Archers’ and, after dinner, we listened to ‘Life with Dexter’. I picked up 1ZB on the first crystal set I made and suspect my hearing impairment had its origins in the headphones I wore when I fell asleep, followed by the earpiece of my first transistor radio.
ZB changed over time (like all media) but, since the 1980s, it has followed the talk radio format that continues to bring it success. For that reason, I was surprised to see only one passing mention (in Leighton Smith’s supplement article) of Brent Harman. He was station manager and the driving force behind the change to a talk format in 1986. Bill Francis, in his book ZB: The voice of an iconic radio station, devotes a chapter to Harman. The chapter is titled ‘Brent’s baby: The format change’ and the securing of ZB’s fortunes was, indeed, his doing. Let’s hope the podcast gives him the recognition he is due.
The station has had detractors as well as fans. My wife’s father (he died before I was on the scene so I can’t claim him as father-in-law) could not stand Merv Smith, while my own father was a fan. Mike Hosking has the biggest following on radio but, while I have immense admiration for his interviewing skills (and rate him the country’s best on-air interviewer) I get irritated by his ego.
However, ZB has never been irrelevant. You may have agreed with what you heard or passionately disagreed with the views expressed. Even if you didn’t listen to a programme, you got to hear about it. That’s healthy, and the need for forms of discourse like those offered by ZB will still exist a hundred years from now – even if broadcasting has by then become an historical artifact.
Some artefacts exist as memories, which brings me back to my ambivalence about milestones. It is driven, in part, by the fact that some are headstones.
Today also marks a sad milestone for NZME: The funeral of one of its most fondly remembered journalists. Robert John (Bob) Pearce held just about every major desk job at the New Zealand Herald outside the editor’s suite (a desk he had no desire to occupy). In each of his roles – from chief reporter, through senior production roles, to sports editor – he was the consummate professional. He was decisive, well-informed, and deeply immersed in journalistic principles and practice.
However, Bob was not only one of those diligent ‘desk’ journalists who work behind the scenes without public recognition. He had a second gig – sports writing. He was a fine writer and the most grounded classics scholar I think I have ever met. His sports columns were stylish, never overburdened by personal opinion but allowing an array of facts to speak for themselves. Here is one example.
He was a mentor to young journalists, many of whom have recounted on Facebook the assistance he gave them. Doubtless, more will stand at his service and do likewise. But perhaps the most revealing tribute has been from outside the journalistic fraternity. The Central United Football Club posted a tribute to Bob on Facebook. It said, in part:
Bob’s contribution to New Zealand football extended well beyond the words he wrote. He helped tell the story of our game and the people within it, ensuring generations of players, coaches, volunteers and supporters had their achievements recognised and remembered.
That is a tribute of which any journalist could be proud.
