Veteran broadcaster Brian Edwards is an Irish import who made a big impact on New Zealand current affairs television.

In this ScreenTalk interview, Edwards talks about his career and the state of current affairs today.

He was first seen on the 1960s regional programme Town and Around, but soon made a name for himself as a no-nonsense interviewer on Gallery. It was on that show he helped bring about the end of a union dispute with the Post Office while live on air. His bi-weekly TV show Edwards on Saturday followed, and after a controversial start, was a ratings hit. Later, Edwards helped start up the long-running consumer rights TV show Fair Go, and hosted the popular Top of the Morning on Radio New Zealand.

In this interview, Edwards also talks about:

• How being on Town and Around saved him from being a miserable academic
• Getting a reputation for being an ‘aggressive interviewer’ on Gallery
• Creating a political spat after naming SIS agents on the programme
• Having a pivotal role in solving the infamous Post Office strike
• Insulting just about every sector of society in the first episode of Edwards on Saturday
• How Fair Go changed the rules of television by naming and shaming ‘baddies’
• Why he thinks the new look Fair Go has lost its community appeal
• Not enjoying doing the live show Edwards at Large
• Great current affairs now being marginalised on television

This video is available on YouTube to embed and distribute via a Creative Commons licence

NZ On Screen: Interview, Camera and Editing - Andrew Whiteside