OPERATION Hero, a children’s television programme to be made by Wellington-based production company Gibson Group, has been granted $400 000 in NZ On Air’s latest funding round.
Producer Bevin Linkhorn says the “factual entertainment” programme, which begins production next year, “Is a celebration of Kiwi hero stories, where kids are ‘put in their footsteps’.”
“It’s history done in a contemporary way, by letting kids imagine what it would’ve been like in those situations,” he says.
While the production is still in beginning stages, researchers are enjoying searching out the hero stories of both famous and lesser-known New Zealanders.  
One hero Linkhorn says he’d like to profile is Wellington-born Nancy Wake, aka ‘The White Mouse’, who served as a British agent in World War II.
“Nancy had to cycle 500 kilometres nonstop to deliver messages. She parachuted out of a plane into occupied France,” he says.
How do you simulate World War II spy games with children for television?
“Maybe we do some tandem jumps. We’re aiming the programme at 12 year olds so it needs to be adventurous and very exciting,” he says.
Recent research commissioned by NZ On Air shows that homegrown music and ideas on radio and television are still important to New Zealanders.
Despite fears over the viability of its future, radio is still king for music seekers.
Of the 750 randomly selected respondents, three quarters get their daily music fix from radio.
Leon Wratt, programme director for music radio station, The Edge says, “It’s a great reinforcement of the fact that radio is alive and kicking. People said it would die when television came about in the 60s and we’re still around 50 years later.”
“Radio’s been relatively proactive with new media, there’s heaps of content that can be listened to and watched online.”
When it comes to finding new music, half of all respondents rely on radio. It’s a 10 percent decrease from the same survey in 2008, radio is still the number one way people find new music, with friends and family coming in second.
NZ On Air chief executive Jane Wrightson is optimistic.
“The internet is very important, but it’s not everything. It’s more influential in the tastemaker area than the mass game.”
The term “tastemaker” refers to trends set by influential or trusted people making referrals about what they enjoy.
Wrightson believes that “If you want to create a hit you do it with radio.”
There’s evidence for the reversal of the cultural cringe in that 60 percent of respondents think it’s important that radio receives encouragement to play more New Zealand music, compared with 15 percent who don’t.
When it comes to television, the majority of respondents (60 percent) are satisfied with the amount of NZ-made programmes broadcast, while 30 percent think there should be more. The highest rate of reported agreement related to children’s television, with 80 percent saying it’s important NZ made content in this area is broadcast.
Gibson Group’s Linkhorn thinks having NZ content on air is “absolutely important”.
“Some of the most popular shows on TV across the board, whether it be children’s television or documentaries, are New Zealand made. We love to see ourselves on television.”