Helping Hand From TVNZ For Clinton Visit

28 August 2012

Helping Hand From TVNZ For Clinton Visit

Cook Islands Television will be able to cover one of the Pacific’s biggest news stories this year with current technology, courtesy of donated equipment from TVNZ.

The year’s most important political regional meeting – the Pacific Islands Forum – opens in Rarotonga tomorrow with the expected arrival of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and TVNZ Pacific specialist Barbara Dreaver will be taking donated gear including a camera when she and her camera operator fly out to cover the meeting today.

Up until now, Cook Islands Television had been producing its entire half hour daily news bulletin with one handicam.

The TVNZ crew will arrive in time to give some operational training before the forum begins.

The donation came about after Barbara Dreaver visited the CIT newsroom and discovered they were running their news with the barest of essentials in terms of equipment.

“I got my journalism start in the Cook Islands and worked there for eight years so it’s very close to my heart,” she said.

TVNZ News Operations Manager Lindsay Chalmers says the company has had a very long-standing relationship with Cook Islands television - they were one of the first Pacific broadcasters to begin sending files over the internet at a time when this was still considered cutting edge.

“They’ve provided us with excellent vision over the years so we are delighted to be in a position to help them out in time to get coverage for such an important news story.”

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