Author(s): Ian Johnstone

Media | New Zealand

Stand And Deliver is what the nervous young Ian Johnstone had to do when he stood in front of the very first television cameras. There was nobody to teach him. He had to learn on the job. From the much loved 'Town and Around' through 'Compass' and countless series, specials and documentaries on to the top-rating Crimewatch, he has been in the thick of TV's most influential years. Here is TV's story from the inside, told with warmth, humour, affection - and honesty. Ian Johnstone reveals how "they" tried to keep TV quiet and cosy and stop it asking awkward questions - and the reasons for Austin Mitchell's indictment: "a reputation for devout cowardice". He mounts blistering attacks on the hucksters, to whom money is king. And he reminds us of the days when TV was interested in service, and something called "the public good", and not just in making money. But he rejoices in great times too, with dollops of nostalgia and fascinating insider stories such as chairing the famous Muldoon-Lange debate which helped change New Zealand's history. And, perhaps most important of all, he gives his own plan for rescuing TV and rebuilding it in the public interest.

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