Kim Hill (broadcaster)
Encyclopedia
Kim Hill is a New Zealand
broadcaster. Currently she delivers the Saturday morning programme on Radio New Zealand National, a public radio station.
, England
. Her father was a veterinarian
and her mother was a physiotherapist and nurse. When Kim (birth-name Fiona
), was 15 her family migrated to New Zealand. Kim gained a BA
in French
and German
at Massey University
and the University of Otago
. She then studied journalism at the University of Canterbury
's Postgraduate School of Journalism.
, Greymouth
and Gisborne
, before moving to Radio New Zealand in Wellington
and starting on the Checkpoint Programme. In 1993 she became the host of the daily morning Nine to Noon programme. Notable interviews from this time included the Dalai Lama
, Nelson Mandela
, Jeffrey Archer, and Monica Lewinsky
.
In 2003 Hill's confrontational interview with John Pilger
became infamous in New Zealand. Pilger complained that Hill had not researched him before the interview, saying "You waste my time because you have not prepared for this interview, as any journalist does, and I've done many interviews. The one thing is to prepare for them and this interview, frankly, is a disgrace." Hill, who had commenced the interview by proposing that the Iraq war was "a just war", eventually threw Pilger's book at him.
In April 2002 Hill began hosting the Saturday Morning programme. Since the 1990s she has also worked in television (on the consumer affairs show Fair Go
, and Counterpoint both with TVNZ
's TV ONE) and in 2003 she began hosting the interview programme 'Face to Face With Kim Hill', which is currently off the air.
In 2006, Hill chaired an event entitled 'Are Angels OK?' for physicists and writers to discuss their involvement in the book of the same name, an attempt to bring physics down to earth for the average reader and literature in sync with the ways bodies are truly in motion.
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
broadcaster. Currently she delivers the Saturday morning programme on Radio New Zealand National, a public radio station.
Background
Hill was born in 1955 in ShropshireShropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Her father was a veterinarian
Veterinarian
A veterinary physician, colloquially called a vet, shortened from veterinarian or veterinary surgeon , is a professional who treats disease, disorder and injury in animals....
and her mother was a physiotherapist and nurse. When Kim (birth-name Fiona
Fiona
Fiona is a feminine given name. The name Fiona was invented, and first used, by the Scottish poet James Macpherson , author of the Ossian poems, which he claimed were translations from ancient Gaelic sources...
), was 15 her family migrated to New Zealand. Kim gained a BA
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
and German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
at Massey University
Massey University
Massey University is one of New Zealand's largest universities with approximately 36,000 students, 20,000 of whom are extramural students.The University has campuses in Palmerston North , Wellington and Auckland . Massey offers most of its degrees extramurally within New Zealand and internationally...
and the University of Otago
University of Otago
The University of Otago in Dunedin is New Zealand's oldest university with over 22,000 students enrolled during 2010.The university has New Zealand's highest average research quality and in New Zealand is second only to the University of Auckland in the number of A rated academic researchers it...
. She then studied journalism at the University of Canterbury
University of Canterbury
The University of Canterbury , New Zealand's second-oldest university, operates its main campus in the suburb of Ilam in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand...
's Postgraduate School of Journalism.
Journalism and broadcast career
Her early career included stints working for radio and newspapers in NelsonNelson, New Zealand
Nelson is a city on the eastern shores of Tasman Bay, and is the economic and cultural centre of the Nelson-Tasman region. Established in 1841, it is the second oldest settled city in New Zealand and the oldest in the South Island....
, Greymouth
Greymouth
Greymouth is the largest town in the West Coast region in the South Island of New Zealand, and the seat of the Grey District Council. The population of the whole Grey District is , which accounts for % of the West Coast's inhabitants...
and Gisborne
Gisborne, New Zealand
-Economy:The harbour was host to many ships in the past and had developed as a river port to provide a more secure location for shipping compared with the open roadstead of Poverty Bay which can be exposed to southerly swells. A meat works was sited beside the harbour and meat and wool was shipped...
, before moving to Radio New Zealand in Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
and starting on the Checkpoint Programme. In 1993 she became the host of the daily morning Nine to Noon programme. Notable interviews from this time included the Dalai Lama
Dalai Lama
The Dalai Lama is a high lama in the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" branch of Tibetan Buddhism. The name is a combination of the Mongolian word далай meaning "Ocean" and the Tibetan word bla-ma meaning "teacher"...
, Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
, Jeffrey Archer, and Monica Lewinsky
Monica Lewinsky
Monica Samille Lewinsky is an American woman with whom United States President Bill Clinton admitted to having had an "improper relationship" while she worked at the White House in 1995 and 1996...
.
In 2003 Hill's confrontational interview with John Pilger
John Pilger
John Richard Pilger is an Australian journalist and documentary maker, based in London. He has twice won Britain's Journalist of the Year Award, and his documentaries have received academy awards in Britain and the US....
became infamous in New Zealand. Pilger complained that Hill had not researched him before the interview, saying "You waste my time because you have not prepared for this interview, as any journalist does, and I've done many interviews. The one thing is to prepare for them and this interview, frankly, is a disgrace." Hill, who had commenced the interview by proposing that the Iraq war was "a just war", eventually threw Pilger's book at him.
In April 2002 Hill began hosting the Saturday Morning programme. Since the 1990s she has also worked in television (on the consumer affairs show Fair Go
Fair Go
Fair Go is a New Zealand consumer affairs television program now co-hosted by Gordon Harcourt and Alison Mau. First aired in 1977, it is one of New Zealand's longest-running and highest-rated programmes, frequently placed high in the New Zealand TV Guide list of most viewed programs.Fair Go...
, and Counterpoint both with TVNZ
Television New Zealand
Television New Zealand, more commonly referred to, and stylized as TVNZ, is a government-owned corporation television network broadcasting in New Zealand and parts of the Pacific. It operates TV1, TV2, TVNZ7, TVNZ Heartland, TVNZ U and new media services....
's TV ONE) and in 2003 she began hosting the interview programme 'Face to Face With Kim Hill', which is currently off the air.
In 2006, Hill chaired an event entitled 'Are Angels OK?' for physicists and writers to discuss their involvement in the book of the same name, an attempt to bring physics down to earth for the average reader and literature in sync with the ways bodies are truly in motion.