Attitude (TV series)
| Attitude | |
|---|---|
| Created by | Robyn Scott-Vincent |
| Presented by | Dan Buckingham, Tanya Black |
| Narrated by | Dan Buckingham, Tanya Black |
| Country of origin | NZ |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of episodes | 360 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Robyn Scott-Vincent |
| Producer(s) | Bill Toepfer, Emma Caveley |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Release | |
| Original network | TVNZ1 |
| Original release | 2005 – Present |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Attitude is a New Zealand television programme showcasing the lives of people living with disability. It aims to promotes possibilities, especially for those living with disability and chronic health issues.
History
The Attitude Group, the organisation behind Attitude, now produces content that has been viewed in 172 countries around the world. It was formed in 1992 by Robyn Scott Vincent. Originally called RSVP Productions (her own initials), Scott Vincent changed the company name to The Attitude Group, “because it’s not all about one person, it’s about presenting the lives of others... and Attitude perfectly sums us up as a company”.
A common theme in the organisation's substantial catalogue of work, filmed in more than 30 countries, is life for those on the margins of society; people who are differently able, or facing a significant challenge.
Scott Vincent’s eldest son was born with learning difficulties, a scenario that sensitised her to the issues and discrimination faced by people with disabilities in their everyday lives. Her goal was to create a programme that would showcase the possibilities of those living with a disability and grow a team of people with lived experience of disability to produce and run it.
In 2003 the TVNZ Bill transformed TVNZ from a State Owned Enterprise with a purely commercial focus into a television company and a new transmission company requiring TVNZ to balance its commercial performance with a set of public broadcasting objectives, set out in the Charter.
TVNZ’s Chief Executive at the time was Ian Fraser who described it as “an opportunity for us to prove that we can reflect New Zealand to New Zealanders even better than we've been doing - that we can offer a richer and more diverse view of our world and grow the business at the same time."
The scope of the Charter provided the perfect environment for specialist disability programming to flourish and in 2005, after a successful pitch to NZ On Air, Attitude was born. In the first year, Paralympians Curtis Palmer and Grant Sharman fronted the programme along with Nikki Sturrock. Other presenters over the years have included fellow-Paralympian Dan Buckingham, former restaurateur and wine buyer Tanya Black, Kristy Green and youth advocate Mark Berry.
The Attitude Group now has a team of 21 people in its Auckland office, five of whom live with disability.
Milestones
- 2004 – RSVP Productions secures the contract from NZ On Air to develop 40 episodes of Attitude for 2005
- 2005 – first episode of Attitude screened on TV One
- 2006 – Feature-length documentary following the New Zealand wheelchair rugby team, the Wheel Blacks
- 2007 – presenter Tanya Black joined the team
- 2008 – inaugural Attitude Awards held at Sky City
- 2009 – APL wins the Worklplace Diversity Award at the EEO Trust Work & Life Awards
- 2013 – AttitudeLive.com launched; won the ABU Prizes Special Jury Award for the documentary “Black and White – New Zealand Paralympic cyclists”
Attitude Pictures
Founded in 1992, Attitude Pictures’ flagship television programme is Attitude, an international award winning documentary series that screens in New Zealand on TVNZ . It has also been bought by 40 broadcasters in different countries around the world.
Attitude has screened weekly on TV One since March 2005 and now has a back catalogue of over 450 programmes. This continuously-growing catalogue forms the core of content on the recently established AttitudeLive.com web platform.
Based in Auckland, New Zealand, APL produces character-driven content relating to disability. The office of Attitude Pictures Australia Pty is Brisbane. The Attitude team works closely with disabled people’s organisations, community leaders and Government to broaden understanding around disability and chronic health issues and give people with disabilities their own. In 2014 the company began its 10th year of production of the weekly documentary-style television show, Attitude, which screens at 8.30 am, Sunday mornings on TV One in New Zealand. Attitude is funded by NZOn Air. A sub-series screened on ABC1 in 2014/ 2015.
Attitude Pictures has partnered with a number of different organisations to create content that is tailored to specific needs while at the same time contributing to content for the Attitude programme.
Attitude and Paralympic Content
After almost a decade of following New Zealand Paralympians to international events, Attitude Pictures became the first production company in the world to secure territory broadcast rights to a Paralympic event. Attitude secured the rights to the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games and livestreamed more than 50 hours of coverage via attitudelive.com [N.B. viewers outside of NZ may not be able to view this content].
Attitude will also broadcast coverage of the 2015 IPC Swimming World Championships, the 2015 IPC Athletics World Championships and the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.
Attitude and Special Olympic Content
In 2010, Attitude Pictures was selected by Special Olympics in Washington DC to be the official documentary production company for the Special Olympics Unity Cup. Attitude used its experience in television and in the disability sector along with its understanding of the people whose lives it films to make documentary content before, during and after the match at the FIFA World Cup in South Africa.
By broadcasting the game on television throughout the world, the Unity Cup presented a unique opportunity to tell the life-changing stories of Special Olympics through the power of football. Attitude Pictures is also a recognised partner of Special Olympics in New Zealand and has produced several documentaries about athletes both in a sporting and social context. 2.0 AttitudeLive.com
In September 2013 The Attitude Group launched an innovative online broadcast platform, attitudelive.com. The site showcases the company’s catalogue of documentaries provides information and resources relating to disability and enables people to connect to one another.
AttitudeLive.com has a high level of accessibility features, including multi lingual captions, audio descriptions, a typeface for people living with dyslexia, high contrast for people with low vision and navigation suitable for people with intellectual disabilities. The testing phase for development embraced views and opinions of the disability community.
Attitude Trust
Established in 2008, The Attitude Trust is a registered Charitable Trust initially created to promote public awareness and recognise achievements. In 2014 the Trust’s focus expanded to encourage partnerships and initiatives with like-minded organisations encouraging integration of people with a disability into every aspect of political, social, economic and cultural life.
The Trust’s flagship event is the Attitude Awards – New Zealand’s only televised national celebration held on World Disability Day. The eight awards categories acknowledge the contributions and achievements of New Zealanders who live with disability.
Proceeds from the even fund tertiary scholarships for people with a disability who are studying media and digital media at AUT University and the New Zealand Broadcasting School CPIT.
The Attitude Trust also raise funds to develop video resources not otherwise provided, and which will benefit the community.
Attitude Awards
The Attitude Awards were established in 2008 to celebrate the achievements of the one in four New Zealanders who live with disability. The annual black tie gala event hosts over 650 guests in Auckland each year in the only televised event celebrating World Disability Day. Three finalists in eight categories are selected each year and the winners are announced at the dinner. Two additional awards, the People’s Choice and the Attitude Hall of Fame are also announced at this prestigious event.
Attitude Pictures Australia Pty
In 2014 The Attitude Group has established a presence in Australia in association with Brisbane-based Insight Plus. Attitude Pictures Australia Pty delivered a series of documentaries screened on ABC1 in 2014.