Barry Soper

Who is Barry Soper?

Barry Soper is a New Zealand political journalist, and has been featured regularly on radio and television since the 1970s.

Currently, Soper's main role is political editor at Newstalk ZB, a radio network in New Zealand. Through its agreement with Prime Television, he appears as the political editor for the TV network on its nightly broadcasts. He is also one of the "You've Got Male" panellists on TV One's Good Morning, one of the few presenters on the show who is permitted to appear on rival networks.

In 2001, Soper was named Individual Radio Journalist of the Year at the Radio Awards.

Soper himself made the news in July 2006 during the visit of Foreign Minister Winston Peters to Washington, DC, where Peters singled out Soper for his alleged behaviour during the trip. Soper reported that Peters' own behaviour was outside what would reasonably be expected of a politician during an international visit.

He is based in Wellington, New Zealand. He is married to TVNZ reporter Heather Du Plessis-Allan and has five children: Hugh, Henry, Alice, Hannah and Kate.