Barry Soper Biography
Barry Soper is a New Zealand political journalist who has appeared on radio and television regularly since the 1970s.
How old is Barry Soper? – Age
He is 72 years old as of 2023. He was born in 1951 in Gore, New Zealand.
Barry Soper Family – Education
After finishing high school, he enrolled in the Royal New Zealand Police College at Trentham for six months before dropping out. Soper moved back to Gore and began working for The Southland Times.
Barry Soper Wife
In 2009, Soper married journalist Heather Du Plessis-Allan. Du Plessis-Allan revealed her pregnancy in October 2021. On February 26, 2022, a baby boy was born. Soper is the father of five children from his two prior marriages. His daughter, Alice Soper, is a rugby player, television analyst, and host of a children’s television show.
Barry Soper Net Worth
He has an estimated net worth of $5 million.
Barry Soper Good Morning
On TV One’s Good Morning, he was a panelist on the “You’ve Got Male” segment. Good Morning was a lifestyle morning magazine television show broadcast in New Zealand. From April 1996 to 2015, it aired weekday mornings from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. on TVNZ 1. Jeanette Thomas was the show’s host. Cooking, craft, exercise, fashion and beauty segments were common in episodes, as were topical discussion panels and interviews with celebrities and other notable persons. With the exception of advertorials that were integrated in the show, the show was normally broadcast live.
Barry Soper Career
Soper went on to work for the Mataura Ensign, Otago Daily Times, New Zealand Truth, and the Waikato Times after leaving The Southland Times. Following that, he worked as a speechwriter for the New Zealand Wool Board. Soper began his career in the Parliamentary Press Gallery in 1980, working for APN before switching to Newstalk ZB, where he now works.
Soper covered both the 1987 and 2000 Fijian coups d’états, obtaining the first international interview with George Speight. He was invited by the Labour Party to run in the 1992 Wellington Central by-election, but he declined. In 1994, Soper covered Nelson Mandela’s inauguration. At the Radio Awards in 2001, Soper was selected Individual Radio Journalist of the Year.
Soper made headlines in July 2006 during Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ visit to Washington, DC, when Peters singled out Soper from a group of journalists who questioned Peters. Soper observed that Peters’ behavior was above and beyond what would be reasonably anticipated of a politician on an international visit.
Soper’s primary function at Newstalk ZB, a New Zealand radio network, is currently political editor. He appears on the TV network’s nightly shows as the political editor thanks to an agreement with Prime Television.