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He called his show ‘Reconstructing Paradise’ with Paul Henry, but after three weeks on the air, Henry doubts that the country has the will to create a better future. He spoke to Mark Jennings.
Paul Henry was one of the sweeps and was seduced by the idea that the destruction caused by Covid-19 could have a positive side. That the period of self-reflection that the confinement imposed on us would generate new ideas and an impulse for a better and more sustainable economy.
The possibility that he could stimulate debate and generate positive momentum attracted him to early retirement. Desperate for a shot in his own television arm, MediaWorks welcomed him.
The hastily prepared show, now in its fourth and final week, has attracted a strong audience. But there is disappointment in Henry’s voice.
“I think there is a good chance that [New Zealand] I will miss the opportunity. I was hoping there might be a forward bounce, not a backward bounce. It is the human form: a life of less resistance. I’m not depressed, I’m disappointed. “
Why did you come to this conclusion so quickly?
“Basically it’s the atmosphere around the interviews that I’ve done.” Henry gives the example of Rob Fyfe, the former CEO of Air New Zealand who now works with the Government in a voluntary role of liaison with the private sector. A week ago, Fyfe said to Henry:
“I still haven’t seen a long-term plan. I think in the last six weeks we’ve seen ourselves fighting a fire and trying to recover. We need a long-term plan. The world has changed, and is changed for many years to come. “
According to Henry, “you could see the frustration on his face.” Fyfe’s impatience seems to have spread to the station.
“There is no person in government who has a plan or can articulate a plan.
“A plan has a beginning, a process and a goal … no minister can articulate what that plan is.
“Instead, it’s panic and keep employing as many people as possible.” That’s not the asshole of a plan.
Take that damn idiot Kelvin Davis [Labour’s deputy leader and Minister of Tourism]. I notified you 24 hours in advance [of questions] and he had nothing to contribute … There are 100,000 tourist jobs on the verge of being lost and he told me that this is an unprecedented event. “
Henry, like the rest of the media, knows that attacking Davis is not a big problem. He, with Health Minister David Clark, are soft and repeatedly hit targets.
Criticizing the Prime Minister requires more careful thinking and different language, even if you have enjoyed a reckless past.
“She has done an amazing job and it is a bit like criticizing Mother Teresa, but I am beginning to worry about her leadership. She can’t be a one-man band in this, she’s trying to handle everything herself. You should go and meet the right people and come up with a plan; We need a plan “.
Henry’s own plans include returning to the United States and his home in Palm Springs to finish his third book: “What I Love About America.” “I am a retiree” is a phrase that he uses more than once in the interview. But there is a bit of reluctance. He liked being back.
“When I literally slipped the chair behind the desk, it felt like home.”
The heads of our local television networks, if they still have the energy and inclination, could watch the performance of Henry’s show and reflect on the idea of asking him to stay.
Apart from Q&A in one, Reconstructing Paradise It has been the only serious talk show close to prime time in recent years.
Overall, Henry has resisted the savvy approach he sometimes used during his breakfast days on television. Leaving aside the first show interview with jeweler Michael Hill, Henry’s skills have produced interesting conversations with John Key, Helen Clark, Fyfe, Jane Goodall and others.
During the shutdown, the show has been technically challenged with most interviewees standing outside their homes with an earpiece and looking at a camera hovering in the dark. Despite the patchy viewing experience, the ratings have been respectable in both the 5+ and 25-54 demographics. They likely would have been higher if Henry had been able to play with his strength and interact with his guests on the study.
Has a changed world caused a change in viewers’ appreciation of serious current affairs? Could a current “old school” show at 7pm replace the light fluff currently served by the main channels? The lack of hesitation in Henry’s response suggests that he has been reflecting on the unlikely prospect.
“I think there is a market for the more serious things, for a local program that talks to people in a timely manner. No one on television really challenges people … viewers still want to see people’s target [interviewees’] eyes Q&A it’s polished but it doesn’t have that vibe. “
Henry’s opinion on the state of news and current affairs and television in general will not cheer up the industry, even if he knows he is right.
“The outdoors is in its final phase and I’m not just an old man saying that. The fact that the 6pm newsletters are still with us is extraordinary. For more than a decade they haven’t told me anything I didn’t know. People used to watch the news to find out what was going on, but now it’s mostly a habit. “
When Henry left MediaWorks, and his successful cross-platform breakfast program, in late 2016, he was exhausted and said to his audience, “I am stopping this because I like to think I have my life in perspective.” You’ve been dead a long time and work isn’t everything. “
Privately, he ruled out organizing the 7pm space he so coveted and should have gotten.
“That time has passed,” he told his close colleagues.
Did the break change your perspective and would it be 7pm now if MediaWorks decided to replace its high-cost, moderate-performance Australian format show, The project?
“I would consider it. That is not out of the question. The ability to affect the way people think: the power that comes with it is attractive. ” Indeed.
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