A triumph - after a day of tragedy

On a day when Auckland was the focus of the biggest story in world sport and the Football Ferns ended up making history, deadly shootings a stone's throw from football teams' hotels and the fan zone confronted media primed for a good news story. On a day when Auckland was the focus of the biggest story in world sport and the Football Ferns ended up making history, deadly shootings a stone's throw from football teams' hotels and the fan zone confronted media primed for a good news story. "I've seen this fan base travel all over the world. This is the farthest they've come yet, but the numbers are amazing," Philadelphia Inquirer football reporter Jonathan Tannenwald told RNZ's Morning Report last Wednesday, after one fan of the US National Women's Team told the show she'd have gone to Antarctica to back their team's bid to retain the FIFA Women's World Cup. RNZ's Corin Dann warned Tannenwald the weather here could have a pretty Antarctic tinge to it in winter time. "Not everybody on this team is from Los Angeles where it's sunny all the time," he replied. But 24 hours later, the weather was the least of their worries on the day of the big kickoff as the sort of story more familiar to Americans unfolded in central Auckland.Among reporters swiftly on the scene in lower Queen Street were those deployed for breakfast show broadcasts marking the World Cup opening at the nearby fan zone on the waterfront. That was due to open officially at midday, but all that changed after a witness called police at 7:23am to report there was a man with a gun in the building. Emma Olsen was live on the AM show on Three just minutes later with the hotel of the team from Norway in shot over her shoulder, and pointing out the fanzone was just a stone's throw away Shortly after, AM show viewers saw a bloodied police officer emerging and being led to an ambulance. Meanwhile on TVNZ's Breakfast show eyewitness Nancy in a neighbouring locked-down building said they were following events on NZHerald.co.nz and stuff.co.nz. Both the online sites were already running live blogs at that point with eyewitness accounts and images as well as the more limited official information as well. Both were excellent sources during a confusing but clearly dangerous situation. TVNZ's Breakfast stayed on air until after midday to keep viewers up to date. Essential information about transport changes and coordinates and closures also had to be communicated. …Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details