HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Judy Coralyn Sylvia Callingham is a New Zealand scriptwriter, television presenter and journalist. Since the 1970s she has worked on numerous New Zealand television dramas including '' Close to Home'', '' Homeward Bound'', ''Duggan'' and '' Marlin Bay''. She is a former deputy chair of
NZ On Air NZ On Air (NZOA; mi, Irirangi te Motu), formally the Broadcasting Commission, is an autonomous Crown entity and commission of the New Zealand Government responsible for funding support for broadcasting and creative works. The commission oper ...
, and together with her husband Brian Edwards runs a media training consultancy company.


Early career and scriptwriting

In 1962 Callingham began working for the
New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation The New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation (NZBC) was a publicly owned company of the New Zealand Government founded in 1962. The Broadcasting Act 1976 then reformed NZBC as the Broadcasting Corporation of New Zealand (BCNZ). The corporation was ...
in radio advertising, and in 1963 she became a journalist at the '' New Zealand Listener''. She worked in journalism for television, radio and magazines for the next ten years, including reporting for the television shows ''Montage'' and ''Town and Around'', time presenting weather forecasts, and three years spent as a journalism tutor at
Wellington Polytechnic Massey University ( mi, Te Kunenga ki PÅ«rehuroa) is a university based in Palmerston North, New Zealand, with significant campuses in Albany and Wellington. Massey University has approximately 30,883 students, 13,796 of whom are extramural o ...
. In 1974 she began writing television drama. She worked on almost 200 scripts for the soap opera '' Close to Home'', and other shows she wrote for in the 1970s and 1980s included ''Gloss'', ''Country GP'', ''Open House'' and ''Peppermint Twist''. In 1981 she wrote the play ''Pawn to Queen Two'' which was workshopped and performed by the
Downstage Theatre Downstage Theatre was a professional theatre company in Wellington, New Zealand, that ran from 1964 to 2013. For many years it occupied the purpose-built Hannah Playhouse building. Former directors include Sunny Amey, Mervyn Thompson, and Colin ...
. In 1982, she wrote the television drama ''Casualties of Peace'', inspired by her father's experience, which was nominated for best script at the New Zealand Feltex Awards. In 1989 she devised the live television show ''Missing'', on which people were reunited with families and friends, and lobbied Jonathan Hunt for changes to the law that would make it possible for adopted children whose birth mothers had died to access family information and locate their family members. Together with
Michael A. Noonan Michael Anthony Noonan is a New Zealand writer, most often associated with his writing for television drama series in his native land. He is usually credited under either his full name or as ''Michael A. Noonan'', so as to be distinguished fro ...
she wrote for drama show '' Homeward Bound''. She received the award for Best Writer of a Script for a Series/Serial at the 1993 GOFTA Awards for her work on the show. She worked on a range of other television shows during the 1990s, including notably for the sitcom version of '' The Billy T James Show'', and received award nominations for the shows ''Duggan'' and '' Marlin Bay''. ''Duggan'' actress Katie Wolfe described Callingham as having great empathy and understanding of female characters, and Callingham commented that she tried to write parts specifically for older actresses: "We have such a lot of good older actresses in this country who very seldom get good parts. It's something you can do as a female writer, you can say OK, I can think of four really good actresses between the age of 50 and 70, any of whom would have a ball in this role."


Media work

In the 1990s Callingham and her husband Brian Edwards began a media training company, and they co-wrote ''How to Survive and Win with the Media'' (2000). A review for the '' Evening Post'' described it as an "easy read, good natured, practical and encouraging", although noted that the book "is full of what most of us would regard as common sense". Callingham and Edwards have said that most of their clients are businesspeople and politicians. Notably, Callingham and her husband provided media training to
Helen Clark Helen Elizabeth Clark (born 26 February 1950) is a New Zealand politician who served as the 37th prime minister of New Zealand from 1999 to 2008, and was the administrator of the United Nations Development Programme from 2009 to 2017. She was ...
from the mid-1990s to the late 2000s, including after she became prime minister in 1999. They were credited for converting her into a capable television performer, including by encouraging her to soften her voice and ensuring that she appeared serious or smiled when appropriate. They also provided media training to ministers in her government. In 2007, journalist Tracy Watkins claimed "all new ministers are offered the Edwards-Callingham treatment". In 2011 it was reported that they had provided media training to Wellington mayor
Celia Wade-Brown Celia may refer to: General * Celia (given name) *''Celia'', a subgenus of carabid beetles of the genus '' Amara'' *Celia, the last natural-born Pyrenean Ibex * Celia (virtual assistant), AI virtual assistant by Huawei *, a number of ships with ...
.


Appointments and later career

Callingham was the president and chair of the New Zealand Writers Guild for three years in the 1990s, and in 2001 she became the first president of the New Zealand Writers Foundation. She represented New Zealand in policy and research at the International Affiliation of Writers Guilds. From 1999 to 2001 she was the chair of the New Zealand Academy of Film and Television Arts. In 2001, Callingham was made a
Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ren ...
for services to drama. From 2002 to 2007 she sat on the board of
NZ On Air NZ On Air (NZOA; mi, Irirangi te Motu), formally the Broadcasting Commission, is an autonomous Crown entity and commission of the New Zealand Government responsible for funding support for broadcasting and creative works. The commission oper ...
, and from 2004 to 2007 was the board's deputy chair. ACT politician
Rodney Hide Rodney Philip Hide (born 16 December 1956) is a former New Zealand politician of the ACT New Zealand party. Hide was a Member of Parliament for ACT from 1996 until 2011, was ACT's leader between 2004 and 2011, and represented the constituency f ...
criticised her appointment, asking whether it was "payback for this prime minister and other ministers' media training" (referring to the training offered by Callingham and her husband to Helen Clark). The criticism was rejected by Broadcasting Minister Steve Maharey. Another source of controversy was that Callingham was on the board at the time her husband applied for, and received, funding for a television show. She had, however, recused herself from the decision-making process in line with conflict-of-interest rules. In 2013 she graduated from the
University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...
with a Bachelor of Arts with First Class Honours in Political Studies. She is also a Fellow of the Trinity College of Music in Speech and Drama.


References


External links


ScreenTalk: Judy Callingham
interview with Callingham, 16 August 2011
''Casualties of Peace''
(1982), full-length television drama, hosted by
NZ On Screen NZ On Screen is a state-funded online promotional showcase of New Zealand television and film. Funded by NZ On Air, it provides free worldwide access to NZ-produced television, film and music videos. Content is streamed and the webpages provide ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Callingham, Judy Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit University of Auckland alumni Alumni of Trinity College of Music New Zealand women journalists New Zealand television journalists 20th-century New Zealand women writers 20th-century New Zealand journalists 20th-century New Zealand dramatists and playwrights New Zealand women dramatists and playwrights