Simon Mercep

{{Short description|New Zealand journalist}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2017}} {{Use New Zealand English|date=July 2025}} {{Infobox person | name = Simon Mercep | pronunciation = | birth_name = | birth_date = 1960 | birth_place = | education = | alma_mater = | occupation = Television and radio journalist | years_active = | era = | employer = | organization = | boards = | parents = | mother = Halina Mercep | father = Ivan Mercep | relatives = | family = | awards = }}

'''Simon Mercep''' (born 1960)<ref name="NEWSOURCE-03">{{Citation |date=January 20, 2011 |title=Mercep rejects copycat role for his radio 'homecoming' |publisher=Stuff NZ |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/4563717/Mercep-rejects-copycat-role-for-his-radio-homecoming}}</ref> is a New Zealand television and radio journalist. After a long career at Radio New Zealand and other news outlets,<ref name="NEWSOURCE-03"/> he was reporting for 1News in 2024.<ref name="NEWSOURCE-01"/>

==Biography== Mercep is the son of noted architect Ivan Mercep, and is of mixed Croatian and Polish descent.<ref name="RNZ">[http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/presenters/simon-mercep Simon Mercep], Radio New Zealand. Retrieved 25 October 2016.</ref>

Starting his career in 1983<ref name="NEWSOURCE-04">{{Citation |date=November 1, 2010 |title=Simon Mercep named as new Morning Report host|publisher=New Zealand Herald |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/hawkes-bay-today/news/simon-mercep-named-as-new-morning-report-host/JXVNPVLKWILL2IKHHEDHWJVF3M/}}</ref> as a trainee journalist with Radio New Zealand, his early career included reporting in Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom.<ref name="NEWSOURCE-03"/> He also worked as a print journalist in Cyprus.<ref name="RNZ"/><ref>Johnston, K., and Small, V., "[http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/4299653/TVNZ-reporter-gets-Morning-Report-job TVNZ reporter gets Morning Report job], ''stuff.co.nz'', 2 November 2010. Retrieved 25 October 2016.</ref> In 1989 Mercep returned to New Zealand to take on producing and reporting roles with TVNZ. In the 1990's he reported for One Network News and Holmes. Among his assignments were the 1994 Los Angeles earthquake and the 1995 Ruapehu eruptions. After another spell in London with the BBC in the late 1990s he returned to TVNZ, to spend a decade as a reporter for consumer affairs programme Fair Go, and for Sunday. In 2011 Mercep joined Radio New Zealand's ''Morning Report'' as a co-host with Geoff Robinson, and in 2014 moved to the presenter job on Afternoons. In his last year on ''Morning Report'' while reporting with Geoff Robinson, the programme won a 2014 New Zealand Radio Award for best weekly or daily feature.<ref name="NEWSOURCE-06">{{Citation |date=July 8, 2015 |title=Mercep to depart from RNZ |publisher= |url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/top/278225/mercep-to-depart-from-rnz}}</ref>

He left RNZ in July 2015, and took a break from daily news journalism.

In 2016 Mercep produced and co-hosted Crave!, a film and music review podcast and website, with Steve McCabe.<ref name="Crave!">"[http://cravepodcast.com/about_simon/ About Simon]", Crave!, Retrieved 5 September 2021.</ref>

In 2022 he returned to a reporter role with 1News in Auckland. He was reporting for 1News in April 2024.<ref name="NEWSOURCE-01">{{Citation |date=April 4, 2024 |title=Three NZ Arab doctors joining Kia Ora Gaza humanitarian aid mission |publisher=Asia Pacific Report |url=https://asiapacificreport.nz/2024/04/04/three-nz-arab-doctors-joining-kia-ora-gaza-humanitarian-aid-mission/}}</ref><ref name="NEWSOURCE-02">{{Citation |date=November 17, 2024 |title=Missing Marokopa children: Calls to negotiate with Tom Phillips |publisher=1News |url=https://www.1news.co.nz/2024/11/17/missing-marokopa-children-calls-to-negotiate-with-tom-phillips/}}</ref>

==Personal life== He is married to Maree Mercep, who is also known as Maree Davies, an academic at the University of Auckland.

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== * [http://cravepodcast.com/ Crave! home page]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mercep, Simon}} Category:Living people Category:New Zealand television presenters Category:New Zealand radio presenters Category:New Zealand radio journalists Category:New Zealand television journalists Category:New Zealand people of Croatian descent Category:New Zealand people of Polish descent Category:1960 births