KEVIN SMITH TRIBUTE

As well as my media commentating and executive producing, I have recently taken up the position of Content Director of NZ On Screen. NZ On Screen is the NZOA-funded website that is charged with acquiring and showcasing New Zealand television and film content going right back to the beginning of the industry. The website is great - there's already a lot of good content there and it is being added to all the time. And we've just launched a new feature where you can access a collection of titles from one home page button. We can use this to celebrate the work of a significant performer or producer, or to mark an occasion like ANZAC Day.

Our first featured collection is a tribute to the late actor Kevin Smith. It went up on the site to mark his birthday on March 16 and will be there for around six weeks. The tribute features television and film work from Smith, as well as written pieces by friends and colleagues such as James Griffin, Michael Hurst and Geoff Dolan.

The collection has come together very well and shows what a versatile and appealing performer Smith was, and what a terribly sad loss his early death was. It feels like there would have been so much more to come.

If you would like to have a look at the Kevin Smith collection, or anything else on NZ On Screen, go to www.nzonscreen.com

A CORO ST FAVE BOWS OUT

The episode of Coronation St where long-time favourite character Vera Duckworth died was watched by 760,400 people when it screened here last Friday night - up from the usual average of 530,000. When the tear-jerker episode screened in Britain a year ago, almost 12.5 million people watched it. As is always the case with Coro St, when there's a big event to stage, they do it well. Bill Tarmey, who plays Vera's husband Jack, was just right in his reaction to her death. It was a very moving piece of tele. Vera was played by Liz Dawn, who is retiring due to ill-health. Her portrayal of her larger-than-life Coro alter ego will be missed.

ROBERT BRUCE R.I.P.

Long-time agent Robert Bruce's sudden passing is a very sad loss for the television and film industry. Robert was one of the true gentlemen of the business. I had a lot of dealings with him when I was running TVNZ's internal production unit, as he represented many of our top presenters as well as actors. Even though we were haggling over his clients' pay, our discussions were always friendly and enjoyable. Robert got great deals for his clients, but producers like myself didn't come way hating him or never wanting to deal with his talent again (and believe me some agents can have that affect on you!).

Robert's business style was always to be amiable and respectful. He was very good at his job. I came to be extremely fond of him, as I think did everyone in our very strange and imperfect screen industry. His death was sudden and unexpected. He was such a fit, strong, larger-than-life man. I couldn't believe it when I first heard of his passing, and I still feel a bit in shock.

Robert's funeral on Thursday was incredibly sad, but also really lovely. I've never seen so many actors and showbiz personalities in the same place at the same time. It showed the mark of the man and the big loss that is felt. Jackie Clarke and Frankie Stevens made our spines tingle with their acapella version of Amazing Grace, Tem Morrison made us laugh with his eulogy then made us cry when he led a rousing haka around Robert's coffin, bagpipes played, and SPCA dogs howled. It was a heart-felt and heart-breaking send-off.

R.I.P. Robert. You showed us all how the business side of show business should be done.

FAREWELL TO TIM PANKHURST

Dominion Post editor Tim Pankhurst is leaving the job after seven years. Pankhurst has an excellent track record for supporting and encouraging investigative work, including the long-running Louise Nicholas story, the Donna Awatere fraud story, and some good work on the Winston Peters and Vela Brothers saga late last year. Investigative reporting is time and resource consuming and therefore expensive, and Pankhurst is to be commended for his efforts in this area. Pankhurst is leaving to run the Newspaper Publishers' Association. I wish him well, and hope the Dom Post continues to do well in his absence.

HILARY BARRY JOINS RADIO LIVE BREAKFAST

TV 3 newsreader Hilary Barry is to join Marcus Lush's Radio Live breakfast show as news anchor from Monday February 9. This is an interesting strategy from Radio Live.

Marcus Lush is an unusually talented broadcaster, but his quirky, folksy style is an unusual choice for a breakfast show on a news and talk station. Lush doesn't come from the classic current affairs interviewer or news journalist background, and sometimes this shows (though he actually does make a good fist of a lot of his interviewing).

Radio Live is no doubt hoping that Barry's profile and newsreading cred will beef the show up a bit as the station tries to make some inroads on Newstalk ZB Breakfast. Radio Live bosses may feel that ZB Breakfast is a little vulnerable at the moment with the departure of Paul Holmes and the arrival of Mike Hosking. Hosking is such a strong current affairs host, I doubt that ZB Breakfast is all that vulnerable, but good on Radio Live for trying.

Barry will be newsreading on the Lush show, but also presenting a new current affairs and information feature called "The World at 7" - a half hour of news, interviews with the day's key newsmakers, and other information from New Zealand and around the world.

It will be very interesting to see how this new strategy goes, and how the on-air relationship between Marcus Lush and Hilary Barry develops.

REPORTING THE RECESSION

I've heard a lot of people saying lately that they are sick of the media endlessly reporting recession stories and all the negativity and doom and gloom that comes with that. Some folks go so far as to say if we journalists all just shut up about it, everyone would carry on as normal and everything would be a lot better. While there may be some truth in that, journalists can't really ignore something that is a global reality. It isn't the media's role to protect us from bad things that are happening in the world. And people do want to know what is happening and to get advice from those who are, hopefully, in the know.

But because of the "self-fulfilling prophecy" aspect of recession it is incredibly important that our media outlets act responsibly and get the balance right. Over the quiet news period of the past few holiday weeks we have definitely had rather more daily news stories about falling house prices and desperate times in retail than was perhaps really necessary. Overall, house prices haven't actually fallen by a huge amount yet, and Christmas retailing wasn't nearly as bad as so many column inches predicted.

I'm not saying things are great out there, but as Bob Jones said the other day, for people who can keep their jobs and pay their mortgages things won't really change all that much. And there are always those who actually do well out of recession. All sides of the recession story need to be reported. A balanced picture is important to us all, and our journalists must rise to this challenge.

I'm not suggesting all our newspapers suddenly start running "good news" columns - but a bit of positivity here and there would be welcomed by many readers I think. This weekend's Herald on Sunday ran a feature piece by reporter Leah Haines called "Upside to the Downturn" - looking at ways to make the recession work for you. Good on Haines and the HOS for doing that. It was refreshing. More please.

CONGRATS TO NORTH AND SOUTH AND MIKE WHITE FOR MARK LUNDY STORY

The February issue of North and South magazine features a piece on the Lundy Murders, by senior writer Mike White. It is a 12,000-word feature, and the level of in-depth research work and the clarity of writing about complex court evidence is really impressive. Congratulations to White for what must have been a mammoth effort.

The great thing about the story is that it goes straight down the middle. It is not an emotional piece playing up on the fact that a man who has lost his family may also have been wrongly convicted of murdering them. It doesn't prominently feature interviews with Lundy supporters. It just lays out and analyses a whole lot of evidence - some of which was presented to the jury and some of which was not.

The story doesn't overtly criticise Lundy's defence team, but the implication is that they were rather weak. Neither does the piece overtly criticise the Police - but once again you get the feeling that the cops picked their man and then picked and chose their evidence to fit.

We all form our own opinions on these high profile court cases that are not cut and dried - based on what we read and what we hear. I've always sensed that Lundy was guilty as charged. But the North and South story made me think again. Even if the man is guilty, it certainly doesn't seem that this was proven beyond reasonable doubt.

Mark White's feature story is a long read but it's a very good read and well worth the effort. Grab a copy of North and South and have a look for yourself.