As the rest of Television New Zealand worked from home in Alert Level 4 of last year, digital journalist Irra Lee was in the office as an essential employee.
“Life wasn’t too different for me,” Lee says. “The only thing that really changed was that I couldn’t go elsewhere after work.”
Lee, 22, from Botany, graduated from Auckland University of Technology (AUT) in 2019.
Her first job out of university was at One News.
At the start of 2020, she completed a two-month internship in Parliament with the Office of the Clerk and RNZ’s the House.
She told the Times that she was fortunate enough to be able to tag along with the press gallery as they went about their days. “I also witnessed the lead-up to last year’s first Alert Level 4 Lockdown from Parliament,” she says.
There were many stories that came out of the first lockdown, Lee says. “The first few weeks were all about trying to make sense of it all,” says Lee.
“With each new lockdown, I think we’re increasingly getting used to it. There’s more of a focus on the long-term now.
“So that questions about how we – whatever that may look like and whenever the ends up happening – ultimately end up tackling the virus.”
Lee transitioned from working at the office to working at home during the past two weeks of lockdown then she will be returning to the office this week.
“We have a duty to get accurate information to our audience as fast as we can,” she says. “Nothing can beat how efficient you can be within the newsroom environment. It’s not quite the same at home.”
One News has introduced a number of safety precautions to keep their staff safe at workplaces and in the field.
When they’re in the field, Lee says, they’re masked-up, their equipment is sanitised throughout the day and they keep their distance from anyone they speak to through the strategic use of their microphones, or turn to other communication means such as Zoom or a phone call.
“The risk of getting sick and then passing that onto your loved ones is a thought that is always in the back of my mind,” Lee says. “It’s not so much anxiety, it’s more caution.”
“I’m incredibly lucky to have a very supportive family, friends and co-workers.”
The newsroom is split into two teams during Covid lockdowns – if, for some reason or the other some cannot work, the other half keeps things ticking.
“In pandemic times, more people are turning to the news for independent and reliable information,” she says. “But, at the same time, this is a time where trust in the news can be improved.
“I hope the news industry as a whole can continue to earn, build and maintain the trust of the audiences.”
Lee says that, unfortunately, she has heard from people and has written stories in the past year where essential workers haven’t been treated respectfully “…or cases where people have been told to go to work to do something that probably isn’t considered essential under Alert Level 4.
“If we say we recognise how valuable essential workers are, let’s hope that is reflected in their work conditions.”
“I hope we, as a community, remember how ‘essential’ these essential workers are once lockdown is over.”
- Irra Lee points out that these views are hers alone.
