NEWS HEAD WAS REPORTER

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33883, 1 July 1975, Page 26

NEWS HEAD WAS REPORTER

The head of news and current affairs for TV2 (Mr Bruce Crossan) is a former newspaper, radio and television reporter.

He began his career in 1952 as a cadet reporter on the “Taranaki Herald” in New Plymouth. After a year, he, went to the Wellington “Evening Post” and remained there until 1962, covering the whole range of metropolitan daily reporting, but specialising in the police and defence rounds.

His ' contact with broadcasting was fiery. He covered the fire story in which one of the N.Z.B.C.’s first outside broadcast vans was destroyed.

In 1962, he joined the N.Z.B.C. in Wellington and held a variety of supervisory positions.

He still kept his hand in

at reporting and in 1966 won the New Zealand Journalists’ Association investigative prize for a series on earthquake risks to Government buildings in the capital. In 1969, he transferred to Auckland to become chief reporter for the nortnern region.

Two years later he became editor of “This Day,” the

predecessor of the “Look: North” news and current affairs programme, while ati the same time retaining hisi chief reporter role. Last year, Mr Crossan be- ' came the first New Zealandi er to win the Jefferson Fel-i lowship, an annual award for mid-career journalists. i

i The fellowship took him to the East-West Centre in , I Hawaii, where he studied news organisations, particu- ■ I larly C.B.S. news, and to Japan. He intends identifying ■ closely with his audience by i providing them with a strong regional news service.