Throng

TVNZ staff working on the current affairs programme 20/20 have decided to auction off a rugby league jersey given to them by Warriors legend, Manu Vatuvei to raise money for the children of Haiti.

The Warriors jersey was worn and signed by Vatuvei during the 20/20 story on the league winger, “Beauty & the Beast” last year.

Reporter Beth Roche says, “This is your chance to get in quick and buy a piece of Manu before the Ozzies try and claim him!”

“I called and checked with Manu that he’d be happy for us to do this and he was right into it”.

It was listed on Trade Me with a $1 reserve last week and bidding is already over $200.

The auction closes at 7:30pm this Thursday

The latest news numbers show Sunrise lost a quarter of its audience in November while NZI Business and Breakfast continued to edge ahead.

AGB NMR data shows Sunrise had just under 30,000 viewers watching on average each morning in October compared to just over 22,000 viewers on average each morning in November – a drop of 25%.

Tonight and Nightline audiences have remained fairly static but Campbell Live’s audience has dropped again (by almost 20,000 from October) and was beaten on more than a third of the days in November by a late night news programme.

See November viewer numbers for all News and Current Affairs programmes on TV One and TV3 below.

(Source: AGB NMR (Measurement: All people 5 years and over - average daily audience nationwide)

TELEVISION NEWS VIEWERSHIP FOR NOVEMBER 2009

Singing superstar, Rihanna talks for the first time about her violent relationship with fellow singer, Chris Brown this Thursday night.  In a revealing interview, Rihanna talks about what really happened that night and how she feels now Brown has been sentenced to community labour, five years of probation and a year of domestic-violence counselling.

20/20 also looks at the ongoing fallout from the shootout on the West Auckland motorway at Auckland Anniversary Weekend. The police chase ended in gridlock, an innocent bystander being shot dead and many more being scarred for life. The ripple effect from 56 seconds of madness is on 20/20 at 9:30pm, Thursday 12th of November on TV2.

On the 24th of September 20/20 aired an episode about the excessive drinking that pervades New Zealand culture.  Part of that episode included the story of 20 year old Anne Marie Patelesio who, after driving to Arrowtown with some friends from Christchurch for a party, managed to park a 4WD in a swimming pool after crashing it over a traffic island and through a fence and stone BBQ.

Yesterday, Judge Kevin Phillips questioned whether Patelesio should have benefited financially from selling her story for up to $10,000 during sentencing.  TVNZ have said that they paid $2000 for the footage from the party.

Patelesio is adamant she did the story to discourage others from drinking.

9:30pm Thursday, September 24 on TV2

TV2's award-winning show 20/20 continues its gripping season tonight, with the best of New Zealand and international Current Affairs.

With two nominations at this year's Qantas Film and Television Awards, for Best Current Affairs Reporting for a weekly programme or one-off current affairs special, and Best Current Affairs Camera, 20/20 continues to blaze a trail with stories which inform, spark debate, and entertain, combining hard-hitting investigative reports, newsmaker interviews, and compelling human interest and feature stories.

Tune in and stay up to date with the 20/20 team, including presenter and seasoned journalist Miriama Kamo, award-winning journalists Pete Cronshaw and Sonya Wilson, and newcomer Beth Roche.

TVNZ has won 11 of the 12 Qantas Awards in the News & Current Affairs category including the most prestigious one for Best News.

The Qantas Film and Television Award winners have been announced across two events at Auckland’s Civic Theatre this weekend including the Craft Lunch yesterday and the Gala this evening.

“We’re absolutely over the moon with the result,” says TVNZ’s Head of News and Current Affairs, Anthony Flannery.

Fair Go presenter Kevin Milne is battling a benign brain tumour and has taken sick leave.  He may need surgery to protect his eyesight and brain.

Dane Moeke's winning performance on Maori Television's Homai Te Pakipaki last month, singing Whitney Houston's "I will always love you" has been watched on YouTube more than 7000 times.

Thursday 25 June, 9.30pm

TV2’s award-winning show 20/20 is back, continuing its gripping season with the best of New Zealand and international Current Affairs.

Blazing a trail with stories which inform, spark debate, and entertain, 20/20 continues to combine hard-hitting investigative reports, newsmaker interviews and compelling human interest and feature stories.

Tune in and stay up to date with the 20/20 team, including presenter and seasoned journalist Miriama Kamo, award-winning journalists Pete Cronshaw and Sonya Wilson, and newcomer Beth Roche.