Ryan Bridge channels Paul Henry
Comment: When he was at TV3 Ryan Bridge had many of the hallmarks of a young Paul Henry.
He was a good interviewer, agile thinker, flaunted his own brand of humour, and held the same disdain for political correctness that Henry is known for.
Bridge was in line for his own 7pm show until TV3's owners, Warner Bros. Discovery, pulled the pin on the network's own news operation, Newshub. He ended up on early morning radio at Newstalk ZB – part of the long chain of hosts who will eventually move to better slots when Mike Hosking retires.
NZME's decision to go all out on video put Bridge back on a faster career path. His old boss at Newshub, Sarah Bristow, now NZME managing editor, multimedia content, convinced her new employer that a free-to-view streaming channel with a breakfast show as its spearhead was the way of the future.
It is likely that Stuff's strong move into video also played a part in NZME's decision.
The show, Herald NOW, went to air on Monday morning and Bridge gave glimpses of being the disruptor that Henry was.
One of his first interviews was with Finance Minister Nicola Willis. Willis appeared to be wearing the same blue dress that she delivered the Budget in the previous Thursday. The Herald had run a story quoting a local fashionista criticising the fact that Willis' dress was from a British designer. The Herald copped plenty of criticism for a rather pathetic piece.
Bridge couldn't resist asking Willis if she was wearing the same dress. The finance minister was waiting for him and hit with a Mike Tyson-like uppercut, 'Ryan the '50s called and they want their question back'.
In a later segment, a somewhat chastened Bridge said 'I know I shouldn't have talked about the dress. I enjoy a woman's dress as much as any gay man.' It was the sort of tepid apology Henry would never have given. Maybe Bridge will harden up in the next few weeks. He allowed Willis to weave around his well-pitched question on the changes to KiwiSaver: 'Is it going to lower wages?'
When Willis answered with 'I've got a question for Labour – would they reverse this?' Bridge showed his humour and speed with a snappy 'We've all got questions for Labour' but he could have been firmer. Given his centre-right leanings Bridge was also surprisingly easy on the Salvation Army officer who was interviewed about the impact of Budget changes on young beneficiaries. Henry would not have spared either of them.
If Bridge goes with his gut instinct of taking no prisoners the show has a chance of succeeding, even if it can't live up to NZME's marketing hype of 'transforming the way Kiwis can watch news'.
The show is streamed to various platforms – The NZ Herald's home page and YouTube – but is otherwise very similar to a traditional TV breakfast show.
That said, the first episode was already more interesting than TVNZ's bland breakfast programme.
Bristow, who was breakfast TV producer before she became head of news at TV3, made sure the show had the two things all first episodes need – a scoop (Michael Morrah's story on an overwhelmed and under-resourced Middlemore Hospital) and no serious technical hitches.
Bristow may accidentally have found a star panellist. Dame Julie Christie was on the show to talk about her production company's new documentary on Auckland FC. This was standard fare until Bridge got her to comment on two other topics: national politics and her weekend visit to Costco. Her answers were highly entertaining. Christie needs to be a regular guest.
There are some things that could be improved. The theme music is terrible and the half-hourly news bulletins, which are pre-recorded versions of a motionless Niva Retimanu from Newstalk ZB reading off a screen, looked very odd and out of sync with the rest of the show.
The new show also featured an interview (about dental health) lifted from Mike Hosking's radio show. If it was an attempt at cross-promotion it didn't work and if it was there for content reasons it wasn't needed.
By 9am videos of two of the show's interviews were posted as standalone clips on the Herald's website. This 'clipping up' will be an important part of the show's monetisation strategy.
The show, and NZME's wider video strategy under Bristow, has cost the company millions. Journalists without video expertise have been shown the door while many former TV3 employees have been ushered in. The changes have caused some bitterness and division in the wider Herald newsroom.
This first episode had a reasonable number of video adverts, including 2degrees, Noel Leeming and Dilmah. It will need to sustain the advertising demand through strong audience numbers given that likely new NZME board members Steven Joyce and Jim Grenon will not feel bound to the new video strategy. Grenon has already questioned it and Joyce, being a firm believer in radio, will not be happy if it starts cannibalising Newstalk ZB. Wresting audience away from other media is a tough task. Only a few hosts can do it.
Henry was one, Bridge has the makings of another.
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