Bill Ralston (born 1953) is a
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
journalist, broadcaster, and media personality, active in television, radio and print. He has worked as a political correspondent, fronted the television arts show
Backch@t, and was the head of news and current affairs at
TVNZ
Television New Zealand (, "Te Reo Tātaki" meaning "The Leading Voice"),
more commonly referred to as TVNZ, is a New Zealand state-owned media company and Crown entity. The company operates a television network, streaming service, and news se ...
from 2003 to 2007. ''
The New Zealand Herald
''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand.
It has the largest newspaper circulation in New Zealand, ...
'' has described him as controversial.
Personal life
Born in
Auckland
Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...
, he attended
Northcote Primary School and later
Northcote College
Northcote College is a New Zealand secondary school for boys and girls (co-educational) located in Northcote, Auckland, Northcote, Auckland. The school caters for Form 3 (Year 9) to Form 7 (Year 13). It was founded in 1877 and is the oldest sec ...
where he was
Head Prefect
The two Senior Prefects, individually called Head Boy (for the male), and Head Girl (for the female) are students who carry leadership roles and are responsible for representing the school's entire student body. Although mostly out of use, in some ...
.
At the
University of Auckland
The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loc ...
he studied politics and history,
and wrote for the student magazine ''
Craccum
''Craccum'' is a Student publication, student magazine of the University of Auckland, owned and operated by the Auckland University Students' Association (AUSA) in New Zealand. It was founded in 1927 and the name originated from the scrambled ...
''.
He married Janet Wilson, who also works in the media, in c.1997, and has two children from a previous marriage.
He takes a photo of
Mark Kellogg, an Associated Press reporter who died with General Custer at the
Battle of the Little Bighorn
The Battle of the Little Bighorn, known to the Lakota people, Lakota and other Plains Indians as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, and commonly referred to as Custer's Last Stand, was an armed engagement between combined forces of the Lakota Si ...
, wherever he goes.
Career
Early
Ralston's career began with a cadet job for
South Pacific Television
South Pacific Television (SPTV) was a television channel in New Zealand, which operated between 1976 and 1980.
History
The channel, then known as TV2, first went to air on 30 June 1975. It was the second national government television channe ...
in 1979.
In 1980, he worked as a general news reporter for
Television New Zealand
Television New Zealand (, "Te Reo Tātaki" meaning "The Leading Voice"),
more commonly referred to as TVNZ, is a New Zealand state-owned media company and Crown entity. The company operates a television network, TVNZ+, streaming service, and 1N ...
(TVNZ) in
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...
and
Christchurch
Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...
. TVNZ seconded him to the
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
for six months in 1981, where he worked as a reporter for ''
Wales Today
''BBC Wales Today'' is the BBC's national television news programme for Wales, broadcast on BBC One Wales from the headquarters of BBC Cymru Wales in Central Square, Cardiff. According to the BBC, it is the world's longest-running television n ...
'' in
Cardiff
Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...
. Returning in 1982, he went to the New Zealand Parliament Press Gallery as a political correspondent for
TV ONE, where he covered the fall of the
Muldoon government.
During the mid-1980s, he was a foreign correspondent for TVNZ, reporting from
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
, South Africa, China, the
Philippines
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
and Europe.
He was shot at a
Soweto
Soweto () is a Township (South Africa), township of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for ''South Western T ...
school during the 1986 rebel
Cavaliers
The term ''Cavalier'' () was first used by Roundheads as a term of abuse for the wealthier royalist supporters of Charles I of England and his son Charles II of England, Charles II during the English Civil War, the Interregnum (England), Int ...
tour of South Africa, and told by the Ministry of Information he was not welcome back.
From 1987, he was a reporter for TVNZ's Frontline, before moving to competitor
TV3 Channel 3 or TV 3 may refer to:
Television
*Canal 3 (Burkina Faso), a commercial television channel in Burkina Faso
* Canal 3 Niger, a commercial television channel in Niger
* Canal 3 (Guatemala), a commercial television channel in Guatemala
* Can ...
as Political Editor in 1989. In 1990 he was expelled from
Fiji
Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...
for his reporting.
He later fronted TV3's
Nightline
''Nightline'' (or ''ABC News Nightline'') is ABC News (United States), ABC News' Late night television in the United States, late-night television news program broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC in the United States with a franchis ...
current affairs show.
1990s
From April 1997 until October 2000 he was the editor of ''
Metro
Metro may refer to:
Geography
* Metro City (Indonesia), a city in Indonesia
* A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center
Public transport
* Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urban area with high ...
'' lifestyle magazine.
In 1999, an official from the
Ministry of Health visited Ralston and threatened to prosecute the magazine under the
Smoke-free Environments Act 1990, over a cigar review column. Ralston complained, saying the magazine derived no income from the column. While editor, several top Auckland restaurants banned him due to reviews in the magazine.
He hosted the arts and media show ''
Backch@t'' for the show's three-year run from 1998 to 2000.
''Backch@t'' won the New Zealand Film and Television Awards ''Best Lifestyle Programme'' for all three years, and the 1999
Qantas Media Award ''Best Television Media Programme''.
2000s
In July 2000, police were called to a
Saatchi & Saatchi
Saatchi and Saatchi is a British multinational communications and advertising agency network with 114 offices in 76 countries and over 6,500 staff. It was founded in 1970 and is currently headquartered in London. The parent company of the agency ...
fundraising event, where it was alleged Ralston had punched guests.
Until July 2003 he was writing for the
Sunday News and the Independent business weekly, and was a talkback show host on
Radio Pacific
Trackside (previously known as TAB Trackside) is a New Zealand horse racing and sports broadcast network, incorporating two free-to-air television channels. The TV channels are available on Sky (New Zealand), Sky as well as Freeview (New Zealan ...
.
CEO
Ian Fraser appointed Ralston head of news and current affairs at TVNZ starting on 14 July 2003, Fraser saying, "Bill's energy, his experience and just a hint of the mongrel" would meet the challenge of the job.
Ralston had a goal of reducing the $46 million TVNZ news budget by $4.5 million,
and there were a number of high-profile departures from the broadcaster, including
Judy Bailey
Judy Ann Bailey (born 1953) is a former news presenter for ONE News, the highest rated evening television news programme in New Zealand.
Bailey joined the New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation (now Television New Zealand) in 1971 and worked as ...
,
Richard Long, and
Paul Holmes. Discussing the departures later in 2007, he blamed the government, including Prime Minister
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 ...
, for political interference in the salary negotiations. He drew criticism in March 2005 for verbally attacking
Prime Television
Prime7, formerly Prime Television and other names, was an Australian television network. Prime Television launched on 17 March 1962 as '' CBN-8'' in Orange, and later expanded to cover regional New South Wales, Victoria and the Australian Ca ...
CEO Chris Taylor, saying, "I'd be shooting myself. I'd be pouring petrol over myself and throwing myself off Auckland's tallest building".
In 2006, ONE News won the Qantas Media Award ''Best News Programme''.
He faced disciplinary action also in 2006 over an expletive-laden call to a
Herald on Sunday journalist, who was making enquires about a homeless cousin.
Ralston resigned from TVNZ on 30 January 2007, prior to an announcement of restructuring.
Since TVNZ he has written columns for ''The New Zealand Herald'', ''Herald on Sunday'', ''
The Listener'', the ''Media Scrum'' blog for
Fairfax Media
Fairfax Media was a media (communication), media company in Australia and New Zealand, with investments in newspaper, magazines, radio and digital properties. The company was founded by John Fairfax as John Fairfax and Sons, who purchased ''The ...
, and in 2009 was an afternoon host for
Radio Live
Radio Live (stylised as Radio LIVE) was a nationwide Auckland-based New Zealand talkback, news and sport radio network owned and operated by MediaWorks New Zealand.
It was formed by the 2005 split of talk and racing network Radio Pacific into ...
. Former foreign minister
Winston Peters
Winston Raymond Peters (born 11 April 1945) is a New Zealand politician. He has led the political party New Zealand First since he founded it in 1993, and since November 2023 has served as the 25th Minister of Foreign Affairs (New Zealand), ...
refused to appear on the
Sky News New Zealand
Sky News Australia is an Australian news channel owned by News Corp Australia. Originally launched on 19 February 1996, it broadcasts rolling news coverage throughout the day, while its prime time lineup is dedicated to opinion-based programs fe ...
show covering the
2008 general election, because he objected to Ralston, the host.
2010s
At the
2016 Auckland local elections
The 2016 Auckland Council election took place between September and October 2016 by postal vote. The elections were the third since the merger of seven councils into the Auckland Council, which is composed of the mayor and 20 councillors, and ...
, Ralston contested the
Waitematā and Gulf ward
Waitematā and Gulf Ward is an Auckland Council ward which elects one councillor and covers the Great Barrier, Waiheke, and Waitematā Local Boards. The current councillor is Mike Lee.
Demographics
Waitematā and Gulf ward covers with as esti ...
of the
Auckland Council
Auckland Council () is the local government council for the Auckland Region in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority that also has the responsibilities, duties and powers of a regional council and so is a unitary authority, according to t ...
. He came second in the contest to incumbent councillor
Mike Lee
Michael Shumway Lee (born June 4, 1971) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Utah, a seat he has held since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, Lee became Utah's senior senator in 2019, whe ...
and was not elected.
2020s
As a former editor employed by the
Bauer Media Group
Heinrich Bauer Publishing (), trade name, trading as Bauer Media Group, is a German multimedia conglomerate headquartered in Hamburg. It operates worldwide and owns more than 600 magazines, over 400 digital products and 50 radio and TV stations, ...
, he commented on the company's decision to wind down its New Zealand business in response to the government banning magazines as part of the
coronavirus lockdown
During the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of non-pharmaceutical interventions, particularly lockdowns (encompassing stay-at-home orders, curfews, quarantines, and similar societal restrictions), were implemented in numerou ...
as follows: "Eighty years of the ''Listener'' gone because some clod in Government decided to ban the publication."
Recognition
* 1998 and 1999 Qantas Awards for Excellence in Journalism as Best Political Columnist
* 1999 Qantas Media Award, Best Overall Columnist.
See also
*
List of New Zealand television personalities
This is a list of New Zealand television personalities, including presenters and journalists. It includes those who left the profession, retired, or died.
A
* Suzy Aiken – television personality and Prime News presenter
* Peter Arnett – t ...
References
External links
NZ On Screen biographyBill Ralston articlesat ''The New Zealand Herald'' website
Media Scrum blogat Stuff.co.nz
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ralston, Bill
New Zealand journalists
New Zealand radio presenters
New Zealand television presenters
New Zealand columnists
New Zealand radio journalists
New Zealand television journalists
Mass media people from Auckland
University of Auckland alumni
New Zealand shooting survivors
1953 births
Living people
People educated at Northcote College