Interview: Guyon Espiner on a Life in Journalism

Fergus Goodall Smith

Journalistic titan Guyon Espiner has been in the media industry for over thirty years. He’s worked in print, radio, and television, helming some of Aotearoa’s most influential programmes. Guyon has reported on the upper echelons of power as TVNZ political editor, presented RNZ’s Morning Report, and broke crucial high-stake stories as an investigative reporter. He sat down with me to discuss his career, his journey with te reo, and the ever-changing ways in which we cover and consume news and politics. 

Kia ora Guyon, I wanted to start by asking, when was the first time you thought ‘I want to be a journalist’?

Kia ora Ferg. All of it comes back to writing. When I was in high school one of my assignments was to write a short story, the teacher came up to me and plonked my story down on the desk. ‘You could be a writer’ she said. It’s funny isn’t it, the influence teachers can have. That made it real for me and that’s all I’ve ever done since. 

Did you write for your student magazine?

Yes I did, I wrote some pieces for Canter (UC Student Mag), nothing too crazy. I wrote some reviews and some little articles, I wonder if you could still find them. 

How did you transition from print to TV?

I spent about a decade in print journalism, we don’t really have proper ‘newspapers’ today. I ended up working in the press gallery, and in 2003 Mark Sainsbury, the TVNZ Political Editor at the time, asked if I could come work for him. I rebuffed him at first because I loved print, but I had had a pretty severe life change at the time. I’d had a big break up, my mum has just died, so I thought, fuck it, I’ll give this a go. Shit it was a hell of a transition. The work was so intense, but I look back at those years fondly. You can find my first piece to camera on YouTube. I don’t recommend you watch it. 

How do you think covering politics has changed since you were political editor?

Resourcing, just the amount of resourcing is so much thinner than it was. I’m sure they do a great job in the gallery now, but I remember when I was there, there were experts on economics and experts of trade. Some people had been there since the 50’s, and they had so much experience and knowledge. We just don’t have that anymore, and it won’t come back. 

What do you make of this new wave of ‘social media journos’ replacing traditional media?

You can’t turn back the clock, so I’ve got no problem with this new culture. You’re doing it wrong when you start cutting corners for a quick like. If you’re doing good quality journalism though, you’ve got to hit them where they are, and if that’s on social media, that’s where you do your journalism. 

You’ve said that Clark and Key would give you pretty candid answers, but that Ardern was quite evasive, where does Luxon fit in as an interviewee? 

I would put Luxon in the Ardern camp honestly; people might get mad at me for that. It’s because politicians these days seem to think that they can chalk up a win on the scoreboard if they don’t say anything. “What I’ll say to you is dot dot dot”, it’s just fluff. Your average punter in the supermarket isn’t going to know what the hell you’re saying when it’s just a bunch of catchphrases and throwaway lines. You can see how people connect with someone like Trump because of that. I’ve got no torch to carry for him, but he says whatever he wants and people resonate with it. 

How’s your reo journey going, and where do you think the country is going with te reo?

Yeah good. I first got into it because my wife at the time is Māori, and my daughter is Māori, and I did it for her, but I also thought to myself ‘why aren’t we using reo more on the radio?’. I had some pretty big critics, such as Don Brash, but I also had some big enablers. As for the country, it’s hard to put the toothpaste back in the tube aye. I don’t think this government will make a difference, people are already speaking it and we’re not going back. 

Any thoughts on Election 2026?

There’s never been a one term National government, there’s only been two one-term governments, and they were both Labour, but I think we’re in a different era now. I don’t think history holds, I think voters are more impatient, whether that’s social media, our shortened attention spans, or just the speed of the world. Labour’s polling is incredibly good for what it should be right now. I think it’s game on. 

Final question, what’s your favourite TV show? 

I love watching TV with my daughter. We watch Friends, we just watched Stranger Things and the new season of Squid Game, but I also love shows like BBC HardTalk and Q + A with Jack Tame, he does such a great job. 

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.