New North & South editor Rachel Morris yearning for Hawke's Bay comforts in isolation

Rachel Morris grew up in an anxious time in Hastings. It put her on a path to journalism. Photo / Supplied

A former Hastings woman returning to New Zealand to become the editor of North & South magazine is yearning for the comfort of Hawke's Bay from her room in managed isolation.

Rachel Morris said she will be visiting her dad in Hastings as soon as she finishes her two weeks of isolation in Auckland.

She has returned New Zealand after working for five years for the Huffington Post in Washington and will be taking over the reins of long-form magazine North & South.

"I had been really wanting to come back for a couple of years, but the pandemic did speed up the decision, along with the chance to work at North & South," she said.

Morris spent her teenage years at Hastings Girls' High School before studying at the University of Auckland where she obtained a Fulbright scholarship for the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in New York.

"I was lucky to have great English and history teachers at high school and I think that definitely made me want to find a job that somehow combined both writing and research," she said.

In 2015 Morris co-founded Highline, the Huffington Post's digital magazine that specialises in investigative reporting and has won multiple awards.

Her journey into journalism was actively influenced by her dad's interest in news and politics as well as the Hawke's Bay region itself.

"The 80s, when I was growing up, was a pretty dramatic time in New Zealand, especially in Hawke's Bay, with so many people losing their jobs at the freezing works at Whakatu and other big employers.

"There was just a noticeable feeling of anxiety around town, even to a kid.

"That had a big impression on me and made me want to understand why these things were happening," Morris said.

From her hotel room in Auckland, Morris said she wished she could be at Ocean Beach for a day.

She's also thinking about her journey back to Hastings and "that first glimpse of the Bay you get from the plane window on a trip home", a world away from where she's come from.

"It is hard to describe how chaotic it is to live in the United States right now. It's worse than it looks on television. Something simple like meeting a person at cafe for lunch, or giving a friend a hug, sounds like an incredible luxury," Morris said.

With features-writing experience and her investigative background, Morris says her magazine will be willing to ask the "big questions".

She wants to cover every corner of the country, talk to curious characters, and support in-depth articles with beautiful writing and stunning photography.

"Hopefully it will be a magazine that is as varied and interesting as New Zealand itself."