Guyon Espiner has worked with many media companies in New Zealand and is currently with RNZ. Photo / Cole Eastham-Farrelly
Guyon Espiner has worked with many media companies in New Zealand and is currently with RNZ. Photo / Cole Eastham-Farrelly
“I think you might still owe me some money from that one,” says broadcaster and investigative journalist Guyon Espiner, when I bring up a gig his band played at an infamous hall party I organised in Christchurch sometime around 1990.
“No,” I tell him. “I turned up at your house with a keg, which I bought with the profits.”
Unfortunately, he wasn’t home at the time and the contents of the keg were largely consumed by myself, the bass player and second guitarist.
He returned in time for the messy aftermath, as I recall.
I’ve been friends with Espiner for 35 years, through bogan high-school parties, drunken university flats and a remarkable career in journalism, which includes high-profile roles as TVNZ political editor, TV3 current affairs host and host of RNZ’s Morning Report.
Making money was never a big factor in his career choices, he says.
“But I’ll presage that by saying I had the luxury of it not being.”
Espiner grew up in Christchurch, on the Cashmere Hills. His father was a doctor.
Guyon Espiner plays guitar, Chch 1990 (supplied)
“I look back and in those days the inequality, or the difference between say a doctor’s son and someone who is on a low wage or even in some cases a benefit, it was different.
“We were comfortably off, but it wasn’t the extremes that you see nowadays and kids, when we were kicking around at school, they’d have similar experiences.
“We had one car, no overseas holidays and a pretty ordinary upbringing, even though we were comfortably off.
“I remember from an early age my parents wanting to impress on us that we were really privileged to be in that situation. So, that did stick with me. That would probably be my first memory of the bigger picture about where money sits in society.”
Espiner was always fascinated by literature and music, he’s still a keen guitarist and lists his electric guitar as one of his few indulgent purchases in recent years.
If anything the drive to get into journalism came with “realising that I wasn’t going to be a rock star”, he says.
“I don’t think there are many people who’ve gone into journalism to try and make their riches,” he says.
“I mean we tumbled out of university in ′91, ′92 after the ‘Mother of all Budgets’ and unemployment was north of 11 per cent.
“They were tough times. If unemployment peaked at half that [now] we’d probably still say things were pretty rough.
“You had to work really hard to get into the journalism industry. I remember sending CVs and sort of yellowed clippings to everyone with a post office box and getting job trials at the [Christchurch] Mail and community newspapers up in Auckland and literally driving around the country trying to get my foot in the door in journalism,” he recalls.
Listen to the full episode to hear more from Guyon Espiner about his career motivations. His new show, 30 with Guyon Espiner, is on RNZ.
Money Talks is a podcast run by the NZ Herald. It isn’t about personal finance and isn’t about economics – it’s just well-known New Zealanders talking about money and sharing some stories about the impact it’s had on their lives and how it has shaped them.
The series is hosted by Liam Dann, business editor-at-large for the Herald. He is a senior writer and columnist, and also presents and produces videos and podcasts. He joined the Herald in 2003.
