TVNZ today announced that Anna Burns-Francis and Chris Chang will join Breakfast. Anna and Chris will take a presenting seat alongside Jenny-May Clarkson and Matty McLean on TVNZ’s flagship morning news show when it returns to TVNZ 1 on Monday 23 January.
Indira Stewart will depart Breakfast to take up the new role of In-Depth Multimedia Reporter that will see her journalistic skills utilised across 1 NEWS’ digital content and Q+A, as well as continue her newsreader role on the 1 NEWS Midday news every Friday.
Indira says, "I'm looking forward to tackling what is a new role at TVNZ and embracing multimedia storytelling with a fresh take on issues that matter.
“Meeting people, investigating stories in-depth and having the privilege of crafting stories for audiences has been the part of journalism I have missed and I'm looking forward to getting out of the studio and on the ground more.”
Anna Burns-Francis returns to Aotearoa from New York where she has been based as TVNZ’s U.S. Correspondent for two and a half years, reporting on all the major news stories from the United States, and neighbouring countries, including presidential elections, headline grabbing court cases and the New Zealanders succeeding on the world stage.
Anna says, “I can’t wait to join the Breakfast team – they’re talented broadcasters and journalists, and my friends. It’s going to be a great – big – year for us, and I’m excited to jump straight in.
“After two and a half years of late nights in the US, I’m looking forward to swapping ends of the day. I’ve loved being a night owl – now it’s time to learn the habits of an early bird and I’m sure a supply of decent coffee and seeing my favourite people every morning will help with the 3am alarm.”
Chris Chang has been reporting on the biggest sporting moments here and around the world as 1 NEWS’ Sport reporter, but the newsreader is looking forward to dissecting the big issues of the day on Breakfast as well as presenting 1 NEWS’ Midday news, Monday to Thursday.
Chris says, “It's a bit of a full circle moment for me – after more than a decade at TVNZ, I'm back on the show where I first learned the ropes about TV news as a junior reporter. I've loved working across news and sport in the 1 NEWS newsroom, but there's nothing quite like the unpredictability of doing three hours of live broadcasting in a team every day.
“2023 is going to be a massive year for us, with the general election, a FIFA Women's World Cup on home soil, and the men's Rugby World Cup too. There’ll be a cracking blend of news, sport and entertainment, which is perfect for what we want to bring our Breakfast viewers every morning.”
TVNZ’s Executive Editor – News and Current Affairs, Phil O’Sullivan says: “We’re really pleased Anna and Chris are joining Jenny-May and Matty to bring their own unique brand of smart, funny, incisive journalism to our morning news audience.
“We’re also thrilled to have Indira using her impressive journalistic skills on our digital platforms and Q+A. With a focus on political and social issues, she’ll be making sure our audiences are across all the stories they need to know about. She’ll be a very big asset in a huge news year ahead.”
Join Jenny-May, Matty, Anna and Chris for their first show of the year when Breakfast returns to TVNZ 1 on Monday 23 January, 6am – 9am.