Just so you're warned, this post is probably gonna be a bit of a ramble, but all the same, I hope you find it vaguely interesting.
So I thought I'd draw your attention to how they cover the weather in New Zealand: they have what I consider some unique ways of doing it, which, AFAIK, aren't really done anywhere else.
First to the six o'clock news, the main news, and for many years, TVNZ began their bulletins not with the headlines, as you might expect, but rather with a preview of the weather forecast; this led to legendary weather forecaster Jim Hickey's catchphrase "Right now, it's six o'clock!" Here's an example from 2012:
Of course, these days, AR is all the rage amongst broadcasters, and TVNZ is no exception, as shown by this video, featuring cult favourite Dan Corbett:
Now to the late news, and neither of the two late bulletins on New Zealand TV have weather presenters; however, rather than just having the newscaster read out the forecast over graphics, as so many other broadcasters around the world do (hi, Sky News, didn't see you there
), they play pop/rock music over the weather. Both channels have done this for a number of years - I understand that TV3 (or +HR=E, as they are currently styled
) were the first to do this, many years ago. In terms of the tracks played themselves, selections on both channels are varied; however, Three tends to be a lot trendier, playing more recent tracks, whilst TVNZ's late bulletin has IMO a much more eclectic and unusual selection. I'll show you some examples in the spoiler below:
TVNZ, One News Tonight, 2008 (skip to 2:50 - song is Angel Eyes by Roxy Music):
TVNZ, 1 News Tonight, 2018 (skip to 7:15 - song is Hand in My Pocket by Alanis Morrisette):
TV3, Nightline, 2009 (skip to 4:09 - song is Love to Hate by Slayer, chosen by departing reporter David Farrier):
Three, Newshub Late, 2018 (skip to 26:05 - song is Woke Up Late by Drax Project):
Worth noting, IMO, that the tracks played on 1 News Tonight were, until recently, largely chosen by that programme's presenter, Greg Boyed, who was known to be something of a music aficionado, as well as an avid musician himself. Sadly, Greg died in August this year, at the age of 48.
Here's a lovely article discussing Greg's music selections.
The trend has spread to other bulletins, too - TVNZ recently started playing music over the forecast on their midday bulletin; likewise with Three and their 4pm bulletin. I do think that this is rather a cool practice - and one I wouldn't mind being adopted over here; I reckon it's something Channel 4 would do if they had a late bulletin, or maybe even Newsnight?