John Dougal Stevenson (born 1942) is a former New Zealand television

news presenter A news presenter – also known as a newsreader, newscaster (short for "news broadcaster"), anchorman or anchorwoman, news anchor or simply an anchor – is a person who presents news during a news program on TV, radio or the Internet. ...

Early life

Born in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...

in 1942 to a young unmarried mother, Stevenson was adopted out while still a young infant to a family living near

Wānaka Wānaka () is a popular ski and summer resort town in the Otago region of the South Island of New Zealand. At the southern end of Lake Wānaka, it is at the start of the Clutha River and is the gateway to Mount Aspiring National Park. Wānaka ...

Central Otago Central Otago is an area located in the inland part of the Otago region in the South Island of New Zealand. The motto for the area is "A World of Difference". The area is dominated by mountain ranges and the upper reaches of the Clutha River ...

. His adoptive father was a farmer; his adoptive mother – who died when Dougal was still a young child – was a classically trained musician. After his adoptive mother's death, Stevenson was sent to boarding school, which was – in his own words – "barbaric", followed by high school, which did not interest him.

Broadcasting career

Stevenson began his broadcasting career in 1964 with the regional Dunedin station

DNTV2 DNTV2 was a television station in Dunedin, New Zealand established by the then New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation in 1962. Its base, and studio complex operated from the historic Garrison Hall in Dowling Street. Until 2010 Garrison Hall wa ...

, and in 1969 was chosen to read the first nationwide news bulletin for the new countrywide television network (on 5 November). He remained as the country's main newsreader on

NZBC The New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation (NZBC) was a State-owned enterprise, 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 (BC ...

and its successor (

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 ...

)'s early-evening news through much of the 1970s, also presenting the nine o'clock evening news digest '' Tonight at Nine''. Since leaving a regular anchor role, he has appeared as presenter and narrator of many series, his distinctive voice making him a popular choice for documentary work. As Jane Bowron of '' The Dominion Post'' once opined "His voice is authoritative. If there is an end-of-the-world broadcast kept in readiness for the final moments on Earth, I hope TVNZ has chosen Dougal to announce it." His reputation within New Zealand broadcasting is also such that he has appeared as himself in cameos in two New Zealand films, '' Sleeping Dogs'' (1977) and ''

In My Father's Den ''In My Father's Den'' is a 1972 novel by New Zealand author Maurice Gee. The novel was adapted to film in 2004, written and directed by Brad McGann. First edition *''In My Father's Den''. London: Faber, 1972. Auckland: Oxford UP, 1978. The no ...

'' (2004). In 2012 he finally made his debut in a true acting role, starring as "Grandad Jack" in a six-minute short film by Gem Waterhouse, ''Forget Me Not''. In 1987 he was chosen to host the Australasian version of the popular ITV-produced Granada Television quiz show ''

The Krypton Factor ''The Krypton Factor'' is a British game show produced by Granada Television for broadcast on ITV. The show originally ran from 7 September 1977 to 20 November 1995 and was hosted by Gordon Burns. Contestants across the United Kingdom and Ir ...

''. Following his retirement from TVNZ, Stevenson became the host of the

Allied Press Allied Press is an independent New Zealand media and publishing company based in Dunedin. The company's main asset is the ''Otago Daily Times'', New Zealand's oldest daily newspaper. Allied Press has a number of other daily and community news ...

–owned Dunedin television station Channel 39's ''Dunedin Diary'' weekly current affairs show. Stevenson was named New Zealand Television Personality of the Year at the 1976 Feltex Awards, and in the 2012 Queen's Birthday and Diamond Jubilee Honours received the

Queen's Service Medal The King's Service Medal (created as the Queen's Service Medal in 1975 and renamed in 2024) is a medal awarded by the government of New Zealand to recognise and reward volunteer service to the community and also public service in elected or app ...

for services to broadcasting. He currently lives at Deborah Bay, near

Port Chalmers Port Chalmers () is a town serving as the main port of the city of Dunedin, New Zealand. Port Chalmers lies ten kilometres inside Otago Harbour, some 15 kilometres northeast of Dunedin's city centre. History Early Māori settlement The or ...

, Dunedin.

References

External links

*
Dougal Stevenson
at nzonscreen {{DEFAULTSORT:Stevenson, Dougal 1942 births Living people Mass media people from Dunedin Recipients of the Queen's Service Medal New Zealand television newsreaders and news presenters