When Lisette Reymer took up the much-coveted role of Newshub’s Europe Correspondent in 2020, she and cameraman Daniel Pannett were sent on an intense hostile training course.
For a week, the pair played out being hostages, protecting themselves from gunfire and being interrogated by gun-toting military officers. It all seemed so far-fetched, Lisette wondered when she would ever use any of the skills they were taught.
“We wore bullet-proof vests and helmets, with people pretending to throw grenades at you,” she recalls. “Now I look back and think it couldn’t have been more valuable for what was to come.”
The 28-year-old never imagined she would be a war correspondent. It was not on her radar. But she has spent most of 2022 finding the human focus in stories from war-torn Ukraine since the Russian invasion began last February.
When the catches up with her in Auckland, Lisette is home for a whirlwind two-week visit to attend the New Zealand Television Awards, where she was a finalist for Best
