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Bill Ralston (born 1953) is a
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
journalist, broadcaster, and media personality, active in television, radio and print. He has worked as a political correspondent, fronted the television arts show
Backch@t, and was the head of news and current affairs at
TVNZ
, type = Crown entity
, industry = Broadcast television
, num_locations = New Zealand
, location = Auckland, New Zealand
, area_served = Nationally (New Zealand) and some Pacific Island nations such as the Cook Islands, Fiji, and the So ...
from 2003 to 2007. ''
The New Zealand Herald
''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation of all newspapers ...
'' has described him as controversial.
Personal life
Born in
Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
, he attended
Northcote Primary School
Northcote () is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Darebin local government area. Northcote recorded a population of 25,276 at the 2021 ce ...
and later
Northcote College where he was
Head Prefect
Head boy and head girl are student leadership roles in schools, representing the school's entire student body. They are normally the most senior prefects in the school. The terms are commonly used in the British education system as well as in Aus ...
.
At the
University of Auckland
, mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work
, established = 1883; years ago
, endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021)
, budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021)
, chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant
, vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...
he studied politics and history,
and wrote for the student magazine ''
Craccum
''Craccum'' is the weekly magazine produced by the Auckland University Students' Association of the University of Auckland, New Zealand. It was founded in 1927. The name originated from the scrambled acronym of "Auckland University College Men ...
''. He completed a Bachelor of Arts degree, and most of a Masters.
He married Janet Wilson, who also works in the media, in c.1997, and has two children from a previous marriage.
He takes a photo of
Mark Kellogg, an Associated Press reporter who died with General Custer at the
Battle of the Little Bighorn
The Battle of the Little Bighorn, known to the Lakota and other Plains Indians as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, and also commonly referred to as Custer's Last Stand, was an armed engagement between combined forces of the Lakota Sioux, Nor ...
, wherever he goes.
Career
Early
Ralston's career began with a cadet job for
South Pacific Television
South Pacific Television (SPTV) was a television channel in New Zealand, which operated between 1976 and 1980.
History
The channel, then known as TV2, first went to air on 30 June 1975. It was the second national government television channel ...
in 1979.
In 1980, he worked as a general news reporter for
Television New Zealand
, type = Crown entity
, industry = Broadcast television
, num_locations = New Zealand
, location = Auckland, New Zealand
, area_served = Nationally (New Zealand) and some Pacific Island nations such as the Cook Islands, Fiji, and the Solo ...
(TVNZ) in
Wellington
Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...
and
Christchurch
Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...
. TVNZ seconded him to the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
for six months in 1981, where he worked as a reporter for ''
Wales Today
''BBC Wales Today'' is the BBC's national television news programme for Wales, broadcast on BBC One Wales from the headquarters of BBC Cymru Wales in Central Square, Cardiff. According to the BBC, it is the world's longest-running television ne ...
'' in
Cardiff
Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
. Returning in 1982, he went to the New Zealand Parliament Press Gallery as a political correspondent for
TV ONE, where he covered the fall of the
Muldoon government.
During the mid-1980s, he was a foreign correspondent for TVNZ, reporting from
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
, South Africa, China, the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
and Europe.
He was shot at a
Soweto
Soweto () is a township of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for ''South Western Townships''. Formerly a s ...
school during the 1986 rebel
Cavaliers
The term Cavalier () was first used by Roundheads as a term of abuse for the wealthier royalist supporters of King Charles I and his son Charles II of England during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration (1642 – ). It ...
tour of South Africa, and told by the Ministry of Information he was not welcome back.
From 1987, he was a reporter for TVNZ's Frontline, before moving to competitor
TV3 as Political Editor in 1989. In 1990 he was expelled from
Fiji
Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...
for his reporting.
He later fronted TV3's
Nightline current affairs show.
1990s
Ralston played zoo official Stewart in
Peter Jackson
Sir Peter Robert Jackson (born 31 October 1961) is a New Zealand film director, screenwriter and producer. He is best known as the director, writer and producer of the ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy (2001–2003) and the ''Hobbit'' trilogy ( ...
's 1992 splatter film ''
Braindead''.
From April 1997 until October 2000 he was the editor of ''
Metro
Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to:
Geography
* Metro (city), a city in Indonesia
* A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center
Public transport
* Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urba ...
'' lifestyle magazine.
In 1999, an official from the
Ministry of Health visited Ralston and threatened to prosecute the magazine under the
Smoke-free Environments Act 1990
The Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Act 1990 (originally the Smoke-free Environments Act 1990) is an Act of Parliament in New Zealand. The Act placed smoking restrictions on indoor spaces, banned smoking on public transport and es ...
, over a cigar review column. Ralston complained, saying the magazine derived no income from the column. While editor, several top Auckland restaurants banned him due to reviews in the magazine.
He hosted the arts and media show ''
Backch@t'' for the show's three-year run from 1998 to 2000.
''Backch@t'' won the New Zealand Film and Television Awards ''Best Lifestyle Programme'' for all three years, and the 1999
Qantas Media Award
The New Zealand Newspaper Publishers’ Association awards are annual New Zealand media awards recognising excellence in the news print media. The first awards were held in 1974 giving out awards for news photography and have expanded to include ...
''Best Television Media Programme''.
2000s
In July 2000, police were called to a
Saatchi & Saatchi
Saatchi & Saatchi is a British multinational communications and advertising agency network with 114 offices in 76 countries and over 6,500 staff. It was founded in 1970 and is currently headquartered in London. The parent company of the agency gr ...
fundraising event, where it was alleged Ralston had punched guests.
Until July 2003 he was writing for the
Sunday News and the Independent business weekly, and was a talkback show host on
Radio Pacific
TAB Trackside is a New Zealand horse racing and sports broadcast network, incorporating two pay TV channels. The TV channels are available on Sky channels and the Spark Sport streaming service. The radio station broadcasts on 14 AM radio and 16 ...
.
CEO
Ian Fraser appointed Ralston head of news and current affairs at TVNZ starting on 14 July 2003, Fraser saying, "Bill's energy, his experience and just a hint of the mongrel" would meet the challenge of the job.
Ralston had a goal of reducing the $46 million TVNZ news budget by $4.5 million,
and there were a number of high-profile departures from the broadcaster, including
Judy Bailey
Judy Ann Bailey (born ) is a former news presenter for ONE News, the highest rated evening television news programme in New Zealand.
Bailey joined the New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation (now Television New Zealand) in 1971 and worked as a re ...
,
Richard Long, and
Paul Holmes. Discussing the departures later in 2007, he blamed the government, including Prime Minister
Helen Clark
Helen Elizabeth Clark (born 26 February 1950) is a New Zealand politician who served as the 37th prime minister of New Zealand from 1999 to 2008, and was the administrator of the United Nations Development Programme from 2009 to 2017. She was ...
, for political interference in the salary negotiations. He drew criticism in March 2005 for verbally attacking
Prime Television
Prime7, formerly Prime Television and other names, was an Australian television network. Prime Television launched on 17 March 1962 as '' CBN-8'' in Orange, and later expanded to cover regional New South Wales, Victoria and the Australian Cap ...
CEO Chris Taylor, saying, "I'd be shooting myself. I'd be pouring petrol over myself and throwing myself off Auckland's tallest building".
In 2006, ONE News won the Qantas Media Award ''Best News Programme''.
He faced disciplinary action also in 2006 over an expletive-laden call to a
Herald on Sunday journalist, who was making enquires about a homeless cousin.
Ralston resigned from TVNZ on 30 January 2007, prior to an announcement of restructuring.
Since TVNZ he has written columns for ''The New Zealand Herald'', ''Herald on Sunday'', ''
The Listener'', the ''Media Scrum'' blog for
Fairfax Media
Fairfax Media was a media company in Australia and New Zealand, with investments in newspaper, magazines, radio and digital properties. The company was founded by John Fairfax as John Fairfax and Sons, who purchased ''The Sydney Morning Herald' ...
, and in 2009 was an afternoon host for
Radio Live
Radio Live (stylised as Radio LIVE) was a nationwide Auckland-based New Zealand talkback, news and sport radio network owned and operated by MediaWorks New Zealand.
It was formed by the 2005 split of talk and racing network Radio Pacific i ...
. Former foreign minister
Winston Peters
Winston Raymond Peters (born 11 April 1945) is a New Zealand politician serving as the leader of New Zealand First since its foundation in 1993. Peters served as the 13th deputy prime minister of New Zealand from 1996 to 1998 and 2017 to 2020, ...
refused to appear on the
Sky News New Zealand show covering the
2008 general election, because he objected to Ralston, the host.
2010s
At the
2016 Auckland local elections
The 2016 Auckland local elections took place between September and October 2016 by postal vote. The elections were the third since the merger of seven councils into the Auckland Council, which is composed of the mayor and 20 councillors, and 149 ...
, Ralston contested the
Waitematā and Gulf ward
Waitematā and Gulf Ward is an Auckland Council ward which elects one councillor and covers the Great Barrier, Waiheke, and Waitematā Local Boards. The current councillor is Mike Lee.
Demographics
Waitematā and Gulf ward covers and had an e ...
of the
Auckland Council
Auckland Council ( mi, Te Kaunihera o Tāmaki Makaurau) is the local government council for the Auckland Region in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority that has the responsibilities, duties and powers of a regional council and so is ...
. He came second in the contest to incumbent councillor
Mike Lee
Michael Shumway Lee (born June 4, 1971) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Utah, a seat he has held since 2011. He is a member of the Republican Party.
Lee began his career as a clerk for the U ...
and was not elected.
2020s
As a former editor employed by the
Bauer Media Group
Heinrich Bauer Publishing (german: Heinrich Bauer Verlag KG), trading as Bauer Media Group, is a German multimedia conglomerate headquartered in Hamburg. It operates worldwide and owns more than 600 magazines, over 400 digital products and 50 ra ...
, he commented on the company's decision to wind down its New Zealand business in response to the government banning magazines as part of the
coronavirus lockdown as follows: "Eighty years of the ''Listener'' gone because some clod in Government decided to ban the publication."
Recognition
* 1998 and 1999 Qantas Awards for Excellence in Journalism as Best Political Columnist
* 1999 Qantas Media Award, Best Overall Columnist.
See also
*
List of New Zealand television personalities
This is a list of New Zealand television personalities, including presenters and journalists. It includes those who left the profession, retired, or died.
A
* Suzy Aiken – television personality and Prime News presenter
* Peter Arnett – te ...
References
External links
NZ On Screen biographyBill Ralston articlesat ''The New Zealand Herald'' website
Media Scrum blogat Stuff.co.nz
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ralston, Bill
New Zealand journalists
New Zealand radio presenters
New Zealand television presenters
New Zealand columnists
New Zealand radio journalists
New Zealand television journalists
People from Auckland
University of Auckland alumni
Shooting survivors
1953 births
Living people
People educated at Northcote College