Step inside the world of Rod, our Editorial Cartoonist. Illustration / Rod Emmerson
Step inside the world of Rod, our Editorial Cartoonist. Illustration / Rod Emmerson
You've probably seen their bylines and read their stories - but how much do you really know about the journalists behind our headlines?
From today New Zealand Herald readers can go behind the scenes for a more in-depth glimpse into the world of our journalists with the launch of Behindthe Headlines.
The campaign features a series of videos where they talk about their area of expertise – including one where award-winning Editorial Cartoonist Rod Emmerson draws them in caricature.
NZME Premium Content Editor Miriyana Alexander says the Herald newsroom is stacked with exceptional talent, but often readers don't know the journalists as anything more than a byline.
"This is a chance for our readers to connect with our team on a more personal level and get to know the people telling the stories. The team is passionate and dedicated, and put an immense amount of energy and expertise in the work they produce."
In short, sharp and direct video interviews, our journalists explain how they operate and what drives them to do their job the way they have and continue to do.
Emmerson, who was even convinced to draw himself, said cartoonists like to highlight the ridiculous, the sublime and right the wrongs of our cultures and societies.
"A writer will spell it out in perhaps 1000 words or more and I'll take those words and pull it down to a sentence or two."
Sports editor at large Dylan Cleaver, senior writer Simon Wilson, editorial director for business Fran O'Sullivan, and political editor Audrey Young join Emmerson as the first to feature.
The media landscape has chopped and changed several times during the tenure of our senior journalists' careers but the fundamentals have remained the same.
As it is put by O'Sullivan, the world needs to have "probing journalists" who keep people accountable.
"I think it's absolutely essential to democracy that we do have a strong media ... essentially we've got to hold people to account," she said.
On an Auckland scale, Wilson believes we want people to be "critically engaged with the process of making the city bigger and better".
"We want people to feel that it is their city that's it's happening to, we as the journalists have such an important role in helping them feel engaged."
Cleaver talks in his video about the importance of generating conversation around sport and the future of sport in New Zealand.
"I would take great pleasure if I was seen as a bit of a pain in the arse at Sport New Zealand headquarters because we should be raising questions.
"I would take great pleasure if I was seen as a bit of a pain in the arse at Sport New Zealand headquarters because we should be raising questions.
"We don't necessarily need to be answering them but we certainly need to be generating conversation around sport and the future of sport in New Zealand."
Senior writer Simon Wilson on how he makes sure what's important is always engaging. Illustration / Rod Emmerson
"I don't like uninformed opinion writing, the balancing the probing filtering out the nonsense and getting into the grey areas, that's our job.
"You can tell a story in a sentence, or in a book, some stories are very hard to tell in a sentence and most don't deserve a book, as a journalist we have to find the right balance between those extremes.
