To say Lisette Reymer has had an interesting career so far would be somewhat of an understatement. The broadcast journalist spent four years as Europe Correspondent, reporting on the ground on some of the biggest news moments of recent years: the war in Ukraine, the Israel-Gaza conflict, the Queen's funeral, King Charles III's coronation, the Olympic Games and more.
Last year she turned those experiences into her first book, No, I Don't Get Danger Money: Confessions of an Accidental War Correspondent. Now home in Aotearoa, Lisette presents Three News each weekend and works as a senior correspondent for Three News/Stuff.
For someone whose work can take her from the studio to the field for interviews (not to mention the frontline), getting dressed is more than simply deciding what to wear. There’s the consideration of how she presents on screen, what’s appropriate for an interview or formal occasion, and whether an outfit can withstand the unpredictability of reporting.
A longtime Juliette Hogan customer, Lisette often reaches for JH pieces for their combination of polish, practicality and versatility – qualities that have made the brand a favourite among other local journalists, too.
There is also one detail that’s especially useful for those working in broadcast journalism: “[Juliette’s] dresses and skirts usually have pockets for us to keep our comms-packs in when we are doing live crosses – which is a big bonus.”
I am a journalist, and there is truly no typical day in the job - which is exactly why I love it so much. We never know what the big story is going to be, so every day is different. Currently, I present Three News every weekend and am a Senior Correspondent for Stuff/Three News.
The day always begins with catching up on the overnight headlines over a coffee, before heading into the newsroom for a 9am editorial meeting where we build a plan of attack for the 6pm bulletin. From there, it’s a case of hitting the phones to organise interviews and heading out to film.
The afternoon usually becomes a bit of a blur (especially on presenting days); scripting my news package, recording the voice over and getting the story into editing. There’s also an hour or so spent in hair and makeup when presenting, and on the weekend I also take care of the weather forecast, so we sneak that into the day's schedule as well.
Newsrooms are wonderful but wild places that operate in a mostly controlled chaos that escalates between 5pm and 6pm as the finishing touches are put on the bulletin. On reporting shifts there is often a live cross to prepare and then we’re on air and rolling until 7pm.
I don’t remember consciously deciding to be a journalist, it’s all I ever wanted to do. After high school I was lucky enough to be accepted into the New Zealand Broadcasting School and was then selected for an internship with TVNZ Breakfast.
I learnt the ropes at 1News for around six years before moving to Newshub. In 2021 I was picked to be Europe Correspondent and that job completely changed my life. I was based in London for four years, travelling around the world to cover the biggest global stories; everything from the Queen’s death to Donald Trump's indictment, the Turkey/Syria earthquakes, the famine in East Africa and the Tokyo Olympics.
In the most unexpected twist, my time overseas became defined by war – travelling to and from the frontline in Ukraine to cover the Russian invasion which started not long after I touched down in London, and then covering the war between Israel and Gaza.
When Newshub closed, I wrote and published a book ‘No, I Don’t Get Danger Money - Confessions of an Accidental War Correspondent’ and moved home to New Zealand to start my current job with Three News.
I’ve been very lucky to have always felt like I have the best job in the world, but the media industry is facing some big challenges at the moment and undergoing serious changes, so in a way my work means more to me now than ever.
I don’t want to live in a world without credible and comprehensive journalism so I’m incredibly motivated to work hard and deliver the stories that really matter.
That you’re braver than you realise.
There is no better feeling than racing against the deadline to get a story to air that will make a difference to the lives of those who are in the story, and have an impact on those who are watching it.
It’s such a privilege to be trusted with people’s stories on their worst days (and their best!) so when you do pull it off, that’s very satisfying.
Often the most important stories are the hardest to tell because they’re in logistically challenging, dangerous and/or expensive locations, and we’re fighting shrinking budgets to tell those stories every day.
The other difficult part is leaving those places. There is guilt involved in flying in and out of disaster zones and tragedies, knowing you’re headed back to the good life.
It took me a long time to work out how to dress for television because what looks good on screen can be very different to what looks best in real life!
But the trickiest part of dressing for this job is you can easily be caught out – I was once rightly ridiculed by a farmer for showing up to film a story on a dairy farm in a silk dress and ballet flats – and I think every journalist has benefited from the newsroom gumboot collection when bad weather hits and they’re suddenly deployed to cover severe flooding.
On days when we are covering a particularly formal event, such as a visiting foreign leader, we usually have a heads up so we can pick something more elevated, but otherwise I aim for tidy, but practical.
There are occasions when I have gone to work and ended the day in a different country – so most journalists have a grab bag ready for breaking news, which is pre-packed with essential items including clothing that will save you in an emergency.
I have reached peak nerd, and now have shelves in my wardrobe labelled ‘War in Winter’, ‘War in Summer’, ‘Natural Disaster in Summer’ and ‘Natural Disaster in Winter’, with the appropriate outfits ready to grab and pile into a suitcase when a story breaks.
Before Queen Elizabeth II died, I never left the house without a black blazer because I didn’t want to be caught out without one when the news came through.
We have a wonderful stylist, Sarah Stuart, who is the mastermind behind every outfit that is worn in the studio and I just do exactly as she says!
We use a green screen at Three News so the biggest trick of all with dressing for the studio is choosing colours that won’t interfere with that. Cameras also strobe when you use certain patterns so it’s typically best to stick to block colours.
I had a very patient camera operator who once offered to come into the store with me to film a coat I was looking to buy –because I was so worried it would strobe.
And of course, we’re always mindful of making sure our outfits reflect the content of the bulletin – you’re not going to wear bright pink on a day of tragedy. But above all, you never want your outfit to distract the viewer from the story, or what you are saying because that is ultimately the most important thing.
My approach to getting dressed for work is… The job requires a lot of confidence and energy, even when you’re not feeling your best, so I try to pick what is going to spark the most confidence, comfort and joy for the day ahead.
My daily work uniform looks like… At the moment I am living in the Vela Pants with a Saville T-shirt and sneakers. And I always have a coat and blazer nearby.
The piece I rely on most during busy weeks is… An oldie, but a goodie: I have the Carmela Dress in three colours and it has been on high rotation for many, many years. It is the perfect cut for TV – I can wear it for presenting or reporting, and it works as perfectly in summer as it does in winter with a blazer. It’s no fuss, all class.
My go-to look or outfit for an important meeting is… The Coco Pleat Dress cannot be beaten!
I feel most confident at work when I’m wearing… If I want to feel as confident as possible for a big interview or speaking gig I’ll wear the Eastwick Dress. It’s my secret wardrobe weapon that I pull out when I need the extra armour.
