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TVNZ honours Best Documentary in NZBS

01 August, 2018

Cameron Gleed is a promising student, who now holds a newly created TVNZ award to his name.

Gleed’s documentary ‘Porteous’ has won the first TVNZ News and Current Affairs- Best Documentary Award, which will now be conferred annually to the best documentary produced at Ara’s New Zealand Broadcasting School (NZBS).

Gleed’s eight-minute documentary is a close-up look at Nico Porteous, the young freestyle skier who became New Zealand's youngest Olympic Games medalist when he won bronze at the 2018 Winter Games.

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Phil O’Sullivan (TVNZ Head of Newsgathering), Brooke Jenner, Abbey Wakefield, Cameron Gleed, and Andrew Fernie (TVNZ General Manager of Operations, News and Current Affairs).

Andrew Fernie, TVNZ General Manager of Operations, News and Current Affairs presented the award. “It’s really exciting to be able to do this for the first time. We were looking for something to reward people coming through this establishment. The quality of documentary footage we have seen from the New Zealand Broadcasting School lately is really quite amazing. I was taken aback with the quality of the six documentaries we judged- the stories and the craft were next level.”

“The winner we chose in the end, their documentary involved amazing access to someone who was the talent of the story…. the shooting, the editing, the graphics, the design, and the way that it all joined together really made it sing,” Fernie said.

Gleed was delighted with the award. “I put a lot of hard work into it, so it’s nice to be recognised.” Along with a $1000 prize, his winning documentary will soon feature on TVNZ web and digital channels.

Two other students to have their efforts recognised by TVNZ are Brooke Jenner and Abbey Wakefield who have been jointly-awarded the One News Ross Stevens Scholarship, an award set up in the late journalist’s name.

Phil O’Sullivan, TVNZ Head of Newsgathering who presented the award said, “Ross was a really good investigative journalist, he could spot a story and tell it really well. He was also smart enough to realise you need to let talent do the talking. He was a really great guy, a good mentor and quite a generous character.”

Jenner and Wakefield who are now second year students were both honoured to be named the most promising students of their first year cohort, and to share the $4000 prize between them.

“It’s such a team effort when you’re working on a story, so it’s really nice to have a collaborative newsroom who really want the best for everybody. The competition is always going to be there, that’s just the nature of the beast, but it’s such a team effort and this award could have gone to anyone in our class,” said Jenner.

Wakefield also acknowledged her first year tutor Sean Scanlon and thanked her fellow students. “Coming into Broadcasting School, it can be quite competitive! Last year we all tried our best and I think that motivates us to try even harder. Now that we are in second year it’s developed into much more of a supportive environment and it’s really nice to work with all of our classmates.”

O’Sullivan agreed that a supportive environment fosters the best outcomes for all.
“There are a lot of people who are going to be coming in behind you, so I think as a profession we need to look out for each other. Ross Stevens was never one to turn somebody down if they asked to come along on a shoot.”