Each week on Dan News’ 11 Questions, we shine a light on the people shaping the media industry.
From their inspirations and career highlights to their views on where the sector is headed, the series offers an insight into what makes them tick.
This week, we chat with Roman Travers, a broadcaster whose career has spanned decades of radio and TV in New Zealand.
Roman reflects on life behind the microphone, the lessons he’s learned from triumphs and setbacks, the music that fuels him, and the stories that have shaped both his career and his perspective on the world.
When did you first become interested in media, and why?
Probably when I was still at Lansdowne Primary School in Masterton. I’ve always loved a good story. Whether that was hearing one being read to the class or writing one. I’ve spent my life learning about people, cultures, countries and words that I never thought I’d get the chance to.
Being verbose in any language gives more people the same opportunity. It’s also very helpful to know how to shut up and just listen. I’m still working on that.
Who are some people you admire or look up to as role models, either in your career or in life in general?
My mother, Gabrielle, raised 7 of us. 5 boys and 2 girls.
She then went on to adopt another boy once we had all left home.
Gabrielle is right up there at the pinnacle of the people mountain for me.
I have admired many great leaders and provocateurs throughout history and my life. But I only seem to be disappointed the more I learn about them in their personal lives. Even those who pontificate about a life of uncomplicated simplicity have frequently proven to be somewhat duplicitous.
It’s an old question, but I love it: If you were to invite four people to dinner (living or dead), who would you choose and why?
Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, my mother Gabrielle, Abel Tasman, Christopher Columbus, Ferdinand Magellan, Marco Polo, David Livingston, Robert Falcon Scott and Frederic Chopin on the piano in the corner. He could join us for cigars on the patio.
What is a memory from your career so far that will stick with you well after you retire?
I’ve been involved with broadcasting since the 1990s. For me and my TV/radio work, there’s an adage that nothing changes—and then everything changes!
It’s been so true for me in the years I’ve been involved with Radio New Zealand when it was one entity, then it became The Radio Network. I was stuck at another company for about 5 years, hoping for a positive change. That positive change came from a negative experience, when they ‘let me go’.
I then returned to the place I began, now called NZME, and it’s been fabulous since then! The adage that sometimes good things come from adversity has certainly been true for me.
Tell us some of your interests outside of work.
I like to pretend that I’m still a capable road cyclist. I have always loved cycling—whether that’s in a peloton or out there on my own.
I love to keep fit with a routine that I invented through the lockdowns, which I still do most days when I can’t be bothered running the gauntlet of Auckland traffic. I love to read fiction and nonfiction.
One day, I hope to have land again and get back to my love of trees.
That may require a Lotto win, but never say never, right? Both my daughters live in Australia now—and I love my trips over to see them in Victoria and Queensland. My wee grandson is one. I can only hope that he understands me with my NZ accent in time.
What is your favourite movie and television show? (I’ll allow you to choose a runner-up for both… just to be nice.)
Only two?! I loved “The English Patient” and “Atonement”. There are many more, but Dan has said only two. He’s a nice guy but very strict.
What are some of your most played songs?
I firmly believe that Radiohead is the best band in the world. But I did grow up with Dire Straits, Split Enz and Crowded House and a plethora of classic orchestral music.
I love the English band Elbow too. Right now, I’m thrashing a Crowded House song from their 2021 album Dreamers Are Waiting, called “Start of Something”.
Radiohead “Spectre” is also a favourite of mine.
Give us a random or weird fact that people may not know about you.
I play a range of percussion and the acoustic drums.
A couple of harder ones. How would you describe the state of the media industry both locally and internationally at the moment, and do you have any suggestions about how things need to change?
One word: sad. Or two: very sad.
There is great doubt and a lack of trust, often promulgated by some of the idiots running countries of the world.
I’d love to see more of us turning to a news website, rather than to those sites regurgitating news that they haven’t created—nor do they care about whether or not it’s accurate.
Where do you see AI fitting into a modern media industry? What do you personally see as the advantages and disadvantages of its use?
When I write anything, editorial content or content for The New Zealand Herald, I write with my own style. I have never used AI and I have no intention of doing so.
Perhaps that’s very old-fashioned, but that’s what I do and always will. The fact-checking aspect of AI is also not entirely accurate, which concerns me.
If the industry is further depleted of journalists, and if we as an industry continue to expect more from AI, at what point will we say, “enough is enough”?
Will our love of the shiny and new end up destroying journalism completely?
Who from the industry would you like to see answering these eleven questions?
Angie Skerrett RNZ National, and Andy Duff NZME Producer
(Angie and Andy, we will be in touch!)
To our readers: Who would you like to see answering 11 Questions? Send us your ideas — or have a go at answering them yourself.
Email: news@dannews.tv
