In November of last year, Kumi Taguchi was announced as the new host of SBS’s flagship current affairs program, Insight, which will air its first episode on March 16 at 8:30 pm.
She joined the program following Jenny Brockie’s decision to step down as host after nearly two decades in the role.
Mediaweek spoke to Taguchi about her new role, and she admitted that the opportunity came from left field.
“I got a call from SBS late last year asking if I was interested in the role and I had never really considered it before, to be honest. And then from the SBS point of view there was a four to six week process with a number of interviews and screen tests, I also got to meet a number of people in the team and basically interview each other about the job.
“I asked them a heap of questions and also reached out to my network of trusted journos, friends and people in the industry about how they viewed my work, my strengths and weaknesses, if they thought that I could do the job, and what they thought about the show.”
Taguchi admits that she did more research for a job than she would normally do but in this case the opportunity warranted it.
“When a job like this comes around once every 20 years, and the stars all align where you are the right age and have just the right skill set, I felt like it was one of those things that I had to go in with my homework done. And then if I was offered the job after that process I knew where I would fit in terms of saying yes.”
Replacing Jenny Brockie
Taguchi is in a rare position of filling the seat of someone who kept it warm for 20 years, but she doesn’t see it as replacing Jenny Brockie, rather she considers it caretaking
“Jenny caretook this space with amazing people coming in and telling their stories and I feel like she just has just handed a baton to me.
“I have been asked about stepping into big shoes, and they are big shoes, but I also see them as Jenny’s shoes. We are all so unique and different, so I guess I am bringing my own shoes to the space.
“On the day it was announced Jenny called me and we had a lovely chat, and she was really positive about me stepping into her shoes. She only had one piece of advice for me and said, ‘take yourself to the job’. “
Taguchi understands that there will always be people who compare her to Brockie or aren’t sure if she is the right fit for the show but said that all she can control is bringing her authentic self into the studio.
“It is very easy to feel like you need to be a version of the person who was in something before you, and I felt that many times filling in on radio programs or News Breakfast. You are sitting in the seat that has been occupied by someone else and the audience knows that person. I have learned over time that the only thing you can really do to own that space authentically is to just be who you are.”
What will be different
When asked about what will be different with her as host, Taguchi said that besides a slightly new set due to Covid-19, that it is to hard for her to answer that, because she doesn’t know herself.
“I am a different person, maybe the questions I ask will be different, maybe the way I interact with people will be different. It won’t be better or worse, just a different energy coming into that space.”
Taguchi said that Insight is not the front page of the paper but a niche story a few pages in.
“Insight is this kind of deep dive into humanness, where it’s not the front page but is just as important and provides a counterbalance to the daily news cycle that we are enveloped in and shows you that there are these other things going on.”
Taguchi couldn’t commit to 20 years on the show like her predecessor just yet, but said that the journey is just beginning.
“I have wondered would we ever be in an age again where you stay in a job for 20 years? I don’t know. Considering how long I took to decide about taking on this role, it’s not a job you try out for a year and see how it goes, but you commit to the show.“