Wendy Petrie says goodbye to the 6pm news of TVNZ

Wendy Petrie has signed the TVNZ 1 News program for the last time.

The veteran journalist, who has co-hosted the nightly bulletin work alongside Simon Dallow for the past 14 years, was TVNZ’s highest-profile victim of the station’s recent Covid-19 restructuring.

And he had a message for everyone who watched the show from home: Thank you.

“Thank you for having me over for the past 14 years,” he told the camera when the show ended.

“It has been an honor and a privilege.”

Petrie will continue to appear on TVNZ news and current affairs programs in a supporting presenter role, but will no longer be in front of the 6pm news program.

His co-host Simon Dallow will stay while 1 News switches to a single host format, in line with TVNZ’s other news shows Te Karere and 1 News at Midday.

Around 70 TVNZ employees were also laid off in the network’s Covid-related restructuring.

Professional to the end, Petrie shared a behind-the-scenes photo, while taking notes, a complete 8B workbook, during the daily Covid-19 press conference.

“Taking notes, as journalists do, at my last press conference live at 1:00 pm Covid-19 for a moment,” the post captioned.

“I fill a whole 8B workbook!”

Colleague John Campbell paid tribute to the journalist before tonight’s show, calling her time on 1 News a “long, great career.”

“A shout out to Wendy Petrie, who (after split level 3 lists) is just starting out last night as a permanent host for One News,” Campbell shared on Twitter.

“Wendy stays at TVNZ, working on all the shows (which is very good), but this is the end of a long, great career. Come on, Wendy P! You’re great!”

Petrie’s last show was meant to be on August 14, however due to the level 3 lockdown in Auckland, he stayed for TVNZ’s split lockout teams.

What may have been a proper airborne clearance for Petrie was delayed when Auckland entered Covid-19 alert level 3 for another 12 days.

CEO Kevin Kendrick spoke with Heather Du-Plessis Allan of Newstalk ZB last week about the reaction to Petrie’s firing.

“The general mood in our business and the whole economy in general is that no one celebrates losing a job, and I think everyone is very enthusiastic about people, and especially when you have someone you have welcomed. in your living room for so many years, I think people feel that personally.

“I think there has been a lot of support for Wendy and I think it is well deserved.”

Last month, Petrie posted a heartfelt message on his social media after TVNZ confirmed the news.

“Driving to Judy Bailey’s parking lot 14 years ago was an overwhelming moment, with a newborn baby and a 2-year-old at home,” she wrote on Instagram.

“It’s hard to believe it’s been so long and it’s over, but I loved every minute of it.

“Thank you for all the wonderful messages. I have been overwhelmed by your kindness. My daughters (and my son!), Who are now 16 and 14, tell me how proud and inspired they are, so that’s all the motivation I need. to move on. to my next exciting step. “

Last week, TVNZ released its results for the full year, revealing that the state broadcaster posted a loss of $ 26 million.

CEO Kevin Kenrick maintained that while the ad market in the fourth quarter of the 2019/20 financial year (April, May, June) was incredibly challenging, the broadcaster has not seen an equal drop in ad revenue this second. blocking.

But the network has capitalized on its dominance of TV3’s audience in news and current affairs programming during the last blackout, with 500,000 more Kiwis on average tuning in to 1 News at 6pm than Newshub.

Ratings for the past month, July 22 to August 22, have shown that TVNZ’s 1 News at 6pm has an average nightly audience of 751,421 in the +5 demographic.

TV3’s Newshub newsletter at 6:00 pm had an average audience of 241,656.

While both stations’ news show ratings increased significantly the week of August 9-15, in which Auckland’s second lockdown began, the increase was more significant for TVNZ.

1 News at 6 p.m. increased its viewers by 108,500 the week the lockdown began, while Newshub only increased by 36,200.