DISTINGUISHED COMMUNICATOR LECTURE SERIES







KIM HILL:

Kim Hill is the undeniable star of radio in New Zealand – the voice of Radio New Zealand – where she has hosted such shows as Checkpoint, Morning Report, Nine to Noon, and, from 2002, Saturday Mornings with Kim Hill. In 2006, she was elected as a Companion of the Royal Society of New Zealand for her services in promoting science: a rare honour.

Mike Colombo is a psychologist with a reputation as an outstanding teacher. He did his reputation no harm at all last night when he delivered an absolutely riveting lecture on the history of lobotomies.

Finlay Macdonald has been at the coal-face of communication in New Zealand for over two decades and in virtually all forms of the media. He is currently the host of TVNZ’s art programme on Channel 7, “Talk Talk” (a sort of Parkinson-like chat show); he hosts the documentary segment of TVNZ’s “The Book Show”; he is a radio jock for Radio Live; he was the editor of “The Listener” for five years; he was Commissioning Editor for Penguin books – among other things, bringing David Lange’s memoir to print; and has written for various magazines and newspapers throughout the country, including being a columnist for the Sunday Star Times as well as its books editor.

Nicky Hager




Nicky Hager is typically described as New Zealand’s foremost investigative journalist. His first book, Secret Power was about New Zealand's role in an international spy network. It was published in 1996 and, as if to remind us of the sinister nature of the things he uncovered, on the morning of Nicky’s arrival in Dunedin the news media carried reports of three persons who had broken into the spy base and attempted to damage the satellite receiving station.

For the inaugural Distinguished Communicator Lecture, Professor Paul Callaghan, Director of the McDiarmid Institute at Victoria University of Wellington, chose to address no smaller topic than: