Jeff Hampton has covered a wide range of major stories in New Zealand and overseas in his 26 year television career. He worked for TV3 for almost two decades in two separate stints. He was also news chief at Fiji TV based in Suva, and worked for Prime Television. He reported on a wide range of events including the devastating Christchurch earthquake of 2011, the Pike River Mine disaster, and headed the TV3 news team at seven Olympic and Commonwealth Games. He has been a multiple finalist and winner at television national awards, and has written and produced documentaries including an award-winning 60-Minutes piece.
Pike River Live Cross
Jeff Hampton was the first journalist on the scene after the tragic Pike Rive mine explosion on the West West Coast. This was a live cross done near Grey Hospital soon after he arrived in town. It was a developing crisis and from a journalist’s point-of-view required calm and ordered thinking to make sense of a major and fast-moving event.
Fiji Refugees
A current affairs piece done in Fiji after the George Speight coup. This won a national award as the best current affairs script of the year.
Jeff Hampton, a former news chief at Fiji TV, covered the coup. He researched, wrote, directed, and produced the piece.
Lake Tekapo Live Cross
A live cross from the studio to Jeff Hampton for a late-breaking story on the TV3’s 6pm news.
This was about a group of missing kayakers and required quick research and calm presentation of a developing story.
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Sidecar World Record
The day Phil Garrett and his “Flying Kiwi” team set a new world record for the world’s fastest sidecar. Jeff Hampton had tracked the team for two years before their successful record attempt. He researched, produced, and directed this and other stories. This was a Qantas Media Awards finalist, and Jeff made a documentary about the team called “The World’s Fastest Sidecar.”
Olympics Drugs Scandal
Jeff Hampton headed the TV3 news team at four Olympic and three Commonwealth Games. This required strong organisational skills and good understanding of the logistics of presenting timely material from overseas venues. The particular story here was about two Greek athletic stars who had created a furore by fleeing a drugs test.
Christchurch Earthquake Live
Jeff Hampton was in the TV3 office in central Christchurch during the devastating February 2011 earthquake. He was among the staff who kept the nation and world up-to-date on the disaster.
Duties included filming, interviewing, and frequent live crosses to channels in multiple countries.