. It was just like one of the happiest professional weeks of my life. I spent the entire week giggling.”
Hill, who presented a number of key programmes over her 38‑year career at RNZ, stepped down from hosting the Saturday Morning in 2023. But her expertise, sharp wit, and humour remain ingrained in Campbell’s mind.
“One of the many things I learned from Kim was she was highly, highly present in her interview. She did exactly what you’re doing with me now,” Campbell told Jesse Mulligan, “just completely engaging with me, like there’s just only you and I in the world.”
While he reminisces on his time hosting Checkpoint
“I tend to respond very immersively to whatever is going on, to the provocation – too pejorative of a word – but the provocation of the interview, I think, to treat everyone in accordance with whether or not they’re answering the questions, whether they’re shy and this is their first time, or whether they’re somebody who speaks on the radio constantly.
“So, you adjust your approach very much in accordance with who you’re talking to and whether they’re answering.”
Morning Report presenters John Campbell and Ingrid Hipkiss.
RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly
Touching on the various views listeners may have about his return, Campbell says it’s important to remain “as true to the requirements of the interview as you possibly can and ignore the chatter”.
“I would say to people, the kind of people who were saying that, we need to ask why they’re saying it, what their agendas are, who they are…”
The world we’re dealing with now, he says, involves a lot of perception bias. One person called him misogynistic towards former prime minister Dame Jacinda Ardern for an interview he did on Breakfast
“I just believe in speaking truth to power. That’s one of the cliches about journalism. If you speak truth to power, the problem with that is that it’s a small circle of essentially powerful people having the same conversations over and over and over and over and over.
“So if the powerful are speaking to the powerful, then the world isn’t changing.
“One of the things that I hope to do on Morning Report Campbell Live Checkpoint
“It’s a public broadcaster, and I think there’s a requirement on us to remember the broad part of that word. I always use this example; not everyone we talk to has got a degree from Victoria University like I have.
“We often talk about objectivity, but actually what we’re really talking about is representation, and representation is inclusion. So the more voices we have, the more we will reflect a plurality of worldviews. That’s a wonderful thing, I think.”
It’s one of the reasons Campbell loves hip hop music so much – “I like to be told about stuff I don’t know.”
“I don’t want to hear the songs from my childhood as much as I love [them] – at the time, they were amazing – but now I want to be surprised by new and world views other than my own.”
Now returning to his roots, Campbell will face an early wake‑up call to make it into the booth for his co‑hosting gig on Morning Report with Ingrid Hipkiss, starting from 13 April. (Campbell replaces Corin Dann, who will be RNZ’s new Business Editor. )
But he’s no stranger to early starts. For TVNZ’s Breakfast , he says he would have to be in the studio by 4am to get makeup and hair done.
“I think, and once again, everyone listening, and you [Jesse Mulligan] know this, that if you have a job you love, then it’s fine [waking up early] … That’s a bit of a fib. I mean, I hate the mornings, but it’s worth it…
“I’m really looking forward to being in the building.”
