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Suzy Clarkson (nee Aiken) is no newbie to our Google boxes. Producer, writer, presenter, Emmy Award winner, aerobics champion, features reporter for ESPN, news anchor and sports reporter for Prime TV, (you can breathe now) are just a few a few of the elements that make up her already accomplished and ever evolving career. We give Suzy a break from bringing us the news to let her talk about herself for a change.
Given the industry you’re in, was it a tough decision to take on your husband’s name?
I wouldn’t say it was a tough decision but it was a considered decision. First and foremost, as a commitment to Tim, my husband, and then came the secondary decisions which were that it seemed to fit in with my coming back to New Zealand from Australia; the rebranding of the programme; and a bit of rebranding, essentially of me too, into the industry after being in Sydney for two years. Also, I was just long term fed up with people spelling my name wrong, so I thought Clarkson, that would be pretty hard to get that one wrong - I’m yet to see them get it wrong anyway.
(Note to self: make sure I spell ‘Clarkson’ correctly.)
Are you happy to be back?
Loving being back. Two years was a perfect amount of time to be over in Australia. Having said that, after a year, the challenge and the freshness and the newness and the excitement of doing the trans-Tasman trips all the time wore off and by the second year, I felt the pull to come home become stronger and stronger, especially with my wedding at the beginning of this year; so it was a very easy move to come back. I did enjoy Sydney, I had a fantastic time over there and I do miss the stable, warmer weather. It’s at least five degrees warmer constantly and it’s a very stable climate. Sydney’s got a lot to offer and there are always things going on, so it’s a great place. But it was eventually too hard with both Tim and I living across the Tasman from each other and very trying on our relationship, so it was a welcome change to move home.
What are the differences in your line of work between Australia and New Zealand?
Australia is a much bigger pond and it’s a lot more competitive within the industry there. But then there are a lot more opportunities too. So it just kind of ramps up from what there is in New Zealand. There are lots of similarities too - we are very much in parallel. I won’t say we’re a reflection of Australia because we have our own idiosyncrasies with our industry. In New Zealand, we seem to be a real blend, certainly when it comes to news and a lot of programming, of a bit of British and a bit of American - whereas in Australia, the programming that I saw was a lot more American orientated. I like the fact that we sit in between the two influences. It just seems more balanced here.
Peoplewise, they’re pretty much the same - perhaps slightly more brash and out there but otherwise, they’re pretty similar to us. I think that’s why when the Kiwis and the Aussies are overseas, they always seem to band together. Put us on a rugby field or netball court and then we get the rivalry going.
Also, at the time I went over, in 2002, things were only just starting to go digital here, whereas in Australia, everything was done on desktop computer, from editing, cutting, writing, researching - press a button and it was ready to roll. So it was very much the digital revolution and the broadcast industry is just moving so fast. There are certainly threats to the “free to air” producers as soon, people will be able to download whatever they want onto their Ipods or computers and choose them at will. I think it’s a massive change that will happen in the next five to ten years or even, as fast as technology moves, in the next two to five years. Advertising is having to change because people now have MySky boxes to fast forward through the adverts. So, as more people take those up, advertisers are going to have to think about the ways they target their audiences. It’s a fascinating industry - always changing. It’s addictive really.
You have experience in producing, writing and hosting. What do you enjoy the most?
I really enjoy them equally at the moment. I really love the presenting but to do just the presenting, I think I wouldn’t find the challenge I need. I really love the writing and the creativity and the sculpting and the crafting of the item or the bulletin, but then to do just that wouldn’t give me the payoff at the end of the day to be able to deliver the information, which I really enjoy – that performance side of things – as well. So, for the last two years and with the job I’ve got at the moment, it’s a really good blend. At times though, it’s a very full on task and at times it really does push me to the limit. I do get really tired and worn out but it’s up to me to balance that and not let it get to the point of burn out.
Are newsreaders in this country given the respect that they deserve?
I think they are given the respect they deserve in that they don’t deserve any more respect than any other person doing a job. If you do a job to the best of your ability, that’s the sort of respect you should be given. I don’t think they should be on a pedestal – I’ve never thought that. I think the whole fuss about newsreaders being the news and everything, is just a complete load of bollocks. I just think it’s a job I do. I enjoying doing it and it’s an honour to be doing it in many ways. It’s a great job, it gives me a lot and if I can impart information in a succinct and understandable way to other people, then I’ve achieved what I want to do. So it’s no big deal. I think it’s all a storm in a teacup and I don’t buy into the concept that newsreaders are at any different level from anybody else. It’s totally a team. If I was sitting there reading the news and I didn’t have a team around me supporting me, e.g. the director, the director’s assistant, the technical director, the audio person, the autocue operator, the camera operator, I’d be fudged. So, for anyone to think that just because they are the face of the programme, they are in any higher standing is just absolute bollocks.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
I’ll go for the one that has the highest adrenaline factor and that was the Millennium interview with Peter Jennings for ABC News. I guess it was my greatest achievement and it comes to mind because it was an opportunity where I could have spectacularly stuffed up in front of an audience of five million people - which is a fair number if you’re going to make a booboo. But I didn’t. A part of me says that it was just good luck that I didn’t, which it probably was, but it was also a lot of planning and preparation. The American producers had given me a bit of a scare beforehand by telling me that some of the ideas he might have wanted to talk about included: the level of domestic violence – the fact that we had a female prime minister, a female leader of the opposition and yet such a high level of domestic violence against females. And then she threw in “Oh, by the way, we’d like to talk about the Treaty of Waitangi and any issues you have with Maori.” So that had me slightly on edge, and of course, Peter Jennings was the most incredible sage of knowledge and a very well respected broadcaster, so I was prepared for that. But then he opened up the interview with, “Suzy, you’ve got a lot of sheep down there, 60,000 sheep!” Somehow, I grabbed out of my memory bank the fact that we had problems with lamb tariffs with America at the time, and so I fired back to him, “Yeah, yeah, we’re trying to export a lot of them but we’ve got problems with lamb tariffs to the US”. I think he was just thinking that this little blonde in New Zealand is going to talk about the fireworks going off behind her in front of the Sky Tower. Instead, I came back with a news angle, basically. His producers afterwards said, “Peter thought that was a great interview, well done, you did really well!” and that was just huge for me. That was just a great boost to my confidence that I could cope with a live situation where I didn’t really know what question was coming at me. And also, I felt a little bit like I was representing New Zealand to that American audience because I was the one that they had chosen, so that was a fairly weighty responsibility. But it went really well and they actually ended up giving us more time. We were down for about two and a half minutes and they ended up giving us four minutes. I remember coming out of that interview and literally feeling like I was a metre off the ground. I was so elated that it had gone so well and as I say, that was only because of the knowledge that it could have gone so terribly badly.
And you won an Emmy award for that.
Yes, but I was part of a group. It was a team award for that broadcast, which was a special news category which won an award the following year. But yes, I got a trophy as part of the team who put that entire programme and bulletin together and I have it at home. It’s a very American looking trophy; it’s very large and very golden. It doesn’t sit on my mantelpiece, though; it’s tucked away in the safe.
What was the moment you knew you wanted to be involved in broadcasting?
Broadcast journalism would have been in my early thirties when I had been in the entertainment and lifestyle genre of television for about ten years and I just felt that there wasn’t the mental stimulation for me. The performance aspect was there but I had been around newsrooms and I just hankered to be involved in that side of things. So, I went back and did my post graduate in broadcast journalism up in the UK. I was the only Kiwi in a national course there, so that made my life a little tougher in that everybody else in the course knew all about the local body politics and the domestic and health policies and everything that was just part and parcel of growing up in that country. So I had to do a lot of cramming to learn all about that political system. The good thing is that I think it all went into short term memory because I don’t remember a stuff about it now, (laughs). So that leaves room for other knowledge. But when I had done that qualification, that’s when I felt like I had earned my spurs to get into news.
What do you think makes a hero?
Somebody who is willing to step outside their comfort zone and yet has the ability to be humble and accept their weaknesses but not let them consume them.
What would you attempt if you knew you could not fail?
If I couldn’t fail, I would fly. (Suzy laughs and looks towards the balcony.) Should I have a go? You’ve got a brilliant balcony here.
Maybe after the interview. (laughs)
After the interview, yes, once you’ve signed along the dotted line.
What would you attempt even if you knew it was going to fail?
I’d still have a go at everything. I don’t give up very easily.
What do you wish you had invented?
Velcro! It’s such a brilliant, brilliant thing. Simple but terribly effective.
What book do you casually put on your coffee table to impress visitors?
I’ve got a great one at the moment called ‘My Life as a Dog’ and it’s a whole lot of conversations from a dog to his owner. I often wonder what my dog is thinking and this book is some sort of vague attempt at answering that. It’s hilarious.
What is you favourite sport to watch?
Equestrian is a passion of mine. I also love skiing and I love watching downhill because when they catch an edge and head into the barrier fence, it’s just messy. Not that I’m into big thrills and spills and providing that nobody gets hurt but they can be fantastic helicopters in the snow.
Allergic reaction towards broadcasting?
Maybe teaching. Maybe I’d go back to horse riding. I did a lot of that when I was in my teens. I had my own horse and did dressage and cross country and show jumping and just dabbled with it back then but I love animals and I miss horses, so maybe I’d go back to horse riding at another level. Writing, well that’s kind of broadcast, so we’d better scrap that off. Or maybe, I’d just open a fantastic café because I love coffee and I’m quite passionate about it, so maybe I’d just up on my barista skills.
What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
If all else fails, read the instructions. That was from my father. I think he has impressed it to the inside of my forehead.
What have you learnt about men?
I can just see these quotes coming back to haunt me. I think it’s really sweet that they can’t multitask despite trying to; it’s quite fun to watch. Also, if you resist cooking for long enough, they will actually pick up a recipe book and they will actually cook, even if it is just through sheer determination not to go hungry, and from my experience recently, it is actually really good. So it’s worth persisting and not cooking because they can be bloody brilliant at it.
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