Patrick Gower, Samantha Hayes and Ryan Bridge are just three of the well respected journalists taking on new roles amid Newshub's closure. Photo / Warner Bros Discovery
Patrick Gower, Samantha Hayes and Ryan Bridge are just three of the well respected journalists taking on new roles amid Newshub's closure. Photo / Warner Bros Discovery
Warner Bros Discovery confirmed in April that Newshub is shutting down on July 5. The closure will affect some of New Zealand’s highest-profile and award-winning journalists –including Ryan Bridge, Samantha Hayes, Mike McRoberts and Patrick Gower –who are not only household names but highly respected within the industry. With the imminent closure days away, the Herald looks at where they’re going next.
The closure of Newshub – including its website – and other production cuts at Three were confirmed in April, Shayne Currie reported, the Herald’s Media Insider. Owners Warner Bros Discovery met with staff to break the news, revealing there was no planned deal “at this stage” with third parties and hundreds of jobs would be lost.
The initial announcement came on February 28, revealing Newshub, one of New Zealand’s biggest news providers, would shut down at the end of June. The announcement came during a meeting held by the brand’s parent company, Warner Bros Discovery, leaving staff “devastated”.
Despite stating they would look to co-fund local news, after a five-week consultation period, Warner Bros Discovery confirmed there would be a restructure to 75% of the New Zealand office and Newshub itself reported around 200 staff will lose their jobs.
While the move has been described as a blow for local democracy, with the final Newshub 6pm bulletin scheduled for Friday, July 5, Stuff recently announced it would step in and provide a 6pm bulletin for Three from July 6.
Now, with the imminent closure a week away, the Herald looks at where you can expect to see Newshub’s biggest names next.
Patrick Gower
Paddy Gower Has Issues host Patrick Gower. Photo / Warner Bros Discovery
Award-winning journalist Patrick Gower started his career at the Herald, where he worked as a night reporter before moving on to police reporting and later political reporting. In the years since, Gower moved to TV reporting and has worked with Warner Bros Discovery – in its various guises – for many years now, filling many different roles, including as Newshub’s political editor for six years.
After stepping down from that role at the end of 2017, he worked as a national correspondent for Newshub before focusing his energy on the hard-hitting and popular documentary series Patrick Gower: On...
In 2023, he released his self-titled weekly current affairs show, Paddy Gower Has Issues, which saw him winBest Presenter: News and Current Affairs for his work across Newshub Live at 6pm, Paddy Gower Has Issues, AM, The Project NZ and Paddy Gower On... at the 2023 New Zealand TV Awards.
Although Gower has not yet announced where Newshub’s closure will take him, he recently spoke to Media Insider about the upcoming release of his book This is the F***ing News, stating it will become very clear he is “determined to get back to journalism”.
As for his documentary and show, there is speculation they will survive, with NZ on Air funding, but any confirmation is yet to be shared.
Ryan Bridge
Ryan Bridge (left) and Mike McRoberts after the announcement that Newshub would shortly close.
Bridge is a well-known face in the journalism industry, covering many important stories ranging from climate change to Colombian trade deals. For the past two years, he has been nominated at the New Zealand TV Awards for Best Presenter – News and Current Affairs (2022) and TV Personality of the Year (2023).
It was announced last year, after the discontinuation of The Project, that the 36-year-old former AM co-host would take over the 7pm slot with a new show. Questions were raised earlier this year after Warner Bros Discovery failed to provide an exact start date for the production.
Now, the TV star is bidding goodbye to the camera and revisiting a different side of his career – talkback radio.
It was announced in May that Bridge will be the new host of the Early Edition show on Newstalk ZB. His show, set to start on July 8, will air between 5am-6am Monday to Friday and serve as a critical lead into the Mike Hosking Breakfast.
Bridge is a known force behind the microphone – he has previously hosted prime-time talkback for Radio Live and was a fill-in host for Warner Bros Discovery’s premium New Zealand current affairs and politics programme Newshub Nation.
Samantha Hayes
Samantha Hayes is swapping her 6pm newsreader role on Newshub Live at 6 for the parallel slot with Stuff. Photo / Lee Howell IDC
Hayes – the face of Newshub Live at 6 alongside Mike McRoberts – is a highly respected journalist, having spent more than 10 years working her way up the ranks.
Fronting a range of shows during her career to date, including Newshub Late, 3rd Degree, Nightline and Firstline, the 39-year-old has proved she can do it all.
Covering difficult stories on both the Mongrel Mob and Black Power gangs, she documented her time in Antarctica’s mountains at -30C and co-hosted Newshub’s US Election Special: America Decides in 2016 and 2020, as well as more light-hearted stories, such as joining Kiwi star Lorde in the music studio.
After the announcement of Newshub’s closure, the star and one of Kiwi TV’s most familiar faces revealed in May that she will be staying still – kind of.
Hayes will continue to host the 6pm news on Three as part of the new bulletin, provided by Stuff. She said at the time of the announcement: “I’m thrilled to be starting a new chapter of my career with Stuff, after nearly two decades at Three. It’s an honour to be anchoring this new iteration of the 6pm news and I’m grateful it will keep Newshub’s legacy alive.”
Other Newshub staff joining Hayes include political editor Jenna Lynch, reporter and presenter Laura Tupou, senior reporter Nick Truebridge, senior political reporter Amelia Wade, sports reporter Ollie Ritchie, Christchurch reporter Juliet Speedy and weather presenter Heather Keats.
Mike McRoberts
Newshub at Live 6 newsreader Mike McRoberts.
McRoberts currently co-anchors Newshub Live at 6pm with Hayes, however, his career spans decades and includes many awards, including six New Zealand TV Awards, mostly for Best Presenter – News and Current Affairs.
The 58-year-old has had a vast career covering almost all topics including sports, Māori affairs, current affairs and news presenting. John Campbell and Hilary Barry are just some of the huge names the presenter has worked alongside during his career.
McRoberts is known as a determined and passionate journalist in the game, often securing huge scoops – including an interview with warlord Harold Keke in a banana boat in the Solomon Islands just three weeks before Keke gave himself up. At times, he has put his life in danger for the sake of a story. An example of this was following the 9/11 attacks when he was on the ground in Peshawar, Pakistan, as bombs fell and riots began. Thankfully he and his team got out unharmed.
McRoberts announced after a 40-year journalism career that July 5 will be his last time serving as a news presenter. However, he isn’t quite ready to say goodbye to the industry and announced in May that he will join the National Business Review as Te Ao Māori editor in August – a month after the closure of Newshub.
The broadcaster told Media Insider he is “thrilled” to be able to delve into the Māori economy and bring previously untold stories to the public eye.
Melissa Chan-Green
Three's AM presenter Melissa Chan-Green has not yet revealed what the future holds for her career. Photo / Michael Craig
Chan-Green has won the hearts of New Zealanders with her daily spot on Three’s morning show, AM. But she has a long history in the industry and on her journey to becoming a well respected name in New Zealand journalism, she has won a Voyager award in 2019 for Best Coverage of a Major News Event: Newshub – Royal Tour.
Prior to becoming a regular co-host on AM, the 40-year-old mother of two had earned her keep in the industry by travelling all around the world to tell stories. As well as covering the Arab Spring uprisings and the funeral of Nelson Mandela, Chan-Green has taken great interest in royal news and has dabbled in sports reporting, covering multiple Olympic and Commonwealth Games and Rugby World Cups.
Chan-Green has not revealed where her career will take her next.
Lloyd Burr
Lloyd Burr is joining Stuff.
Burr had only been in his role as AM’s new presenter for a couple of weeks before it was revealed Newshub would be closing, but prior to taking up a spot on the morning show, he had worked hard to prove himself in the industry.
With a 13-year background, Burr first climbed the ranks working as a MediaWorks journalist and producer across TV and radio. Earning recognition for his passion for storytelling and ability to secure exclusive stories – like never-before-seen videos from inside Pike River Mine – Burr won Best Journalist at the New Zealand Radio Awards in 2016 and 2017 and went on to become Newshub’s Europe correspondent in 2018.
After a stint overseas, the star returned home, where he hosted the 4pm-7pm show on the now-defunct Today FM before moving to Wellington and the political press gallery for Newshub and covering the general election and later, taking over from Bridge on the AM show.
Now, Burr, one of the industry’s most respected journalists, will join Stuff as their new Explainer Editor.
Simon Shepherd
Simon Shepherd is bound for the NBR.
With a more than 30-year career in the industry, Shepherd has proven himself as one of New Zealand’s best business journalists.
After completing a Bachelor’s degree in Communication and Media Studies from Charles Sturt University with sub major majors in Politics and Marketing, the keen journalist went on to work as a producer at the BBC, before joining TVNZ as a reporter on Paul Holmes’30-minute news and current affairs show, Holmes.
In 2002, Shepherd moved to MediaWorks, where he spent the next 22 years working with some of the industry’s biggest names, including John Campbell. Shepherd served as a reporter on the popular show Campbell Live between 2005 and 2010.
In the years since, the TV reporter has reported for high-profile programmes such as 60 Minutes, and presented Newshub’s weekend bulletins and Newshub Nation, becoming one of the sharpest and most understated political interviewers in the industry.
Currently studying for a Master’s degree in Change and Organisational Resilience, Shepherd recently revealed that he is moving to the National Business Review (NBR), where he will host a new business podcast focusing on chief executives, other high-profile leaders, entrepreneurs and politicians.
Rebecca Wright
Rebecca Wright has not revealed where she will take her career next. Photo / Greg Bowker
Cromwell-born Wright didn’t always know she was going to be a TV journalist. The week she turned 18, she moved to London, where she lived for four years, working as a bartender and administrator – and attending plenty of music events with her then-boyfriend, who was a musician.
Meeting multiple journalists during her time in the scene, she decided she liked the sound of their work and made the decision to become one.
Returning home to New Zealand, Wright attended university in Auckland and Wellington and hosted a radio show on bFM before graduating and moving to Argentina, where she worked on an English-language newspaper.
In the years since, Wright has become a formidable force in New Zealand journalism.
She has worked on some of New Zealand’s most recognisable shows, including Campbell Live and The Paul Henry Show, and served as TVNZ’s US correspondent in New York.
From 2022, she fronted Newshub Live at 8pm and hosted Newshub Nation throughout 2023 as a formidable interviewer of politicians for election year.
Known as a tough and incisive operator, Wright has not yet revealed her next move.
Kate Rodger
Entertainment reporter Kate Rodger.
She’s one of New Zealand’s greatest TV entertainment reporters. Working across a range of outlets, including Newshub, Rotten Tomatoes and the now defunct The Project, Rodger has worked hard to secure her spot at the top.
After studying at Christchurch Polytechnic Broadcasting School, she went on to work as a DJ for Radio Taranaki and Classic Hits before embarking on a career in TV. In her more than two-decade career, Rodger has worn multiple entertainment reporter hats, including film critic, presenter and producer.
In 2018, she was recognised by the New Zealand Motion Picture Industry Council and awarded the Industry Award for Excellence.
Travelling all around the world, attending multiple red carpets, including the Oscars, and meeting plenty of A-list stars along the way, one of Rodger’s impressive interviews made headlines all around the world.
While talking to Pedro Pascal last year, the actor paid the reporter a compliment, telling her, “Can I just say one thing? Your nails bring out the colour of your eyes. I’m not trying to flirt, but I’ve been kind of obsessed.”
It’s unclear where Rodger will take her career next.
Oriini Kaipara
Oriini Kaipara has garnered global attention for making history with her moko kauae. Photo / Discovery
Oriini Kaipara made headlines worldwide after becoming the first female to anchor a mainstream TV programme with a moko kauae (a traditional chin tattoo worn by Māori women).
She was already headed to the New Zealand Olympic Committee in a new role as pouwhiringa Māori cultural lead, helping guide the organisation, teams and athletes with her specialist te reo Māori, tikanga and wairua skills but is currently off-air after hitting her head on concrete, resulting in a concussion late last year.
The Newshub Live at 11.30am and Newshub Live at 4.30pm presenter has spent her career revitalisating te reo and Māori customs.
In 2021, she made the move from TVNZ to Newshub.
Kaipara, 40, who is of Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Rangitihi and Ngāi Tūhoe descent, has had an impressive journalism career of nearly two decades, with years of experience reporting on Māori affairs. In 2018, she won a Voyager award for Māori Affairs Reporter of the Year and was nominated for Best Presenter: News And Current Affairs at the New Zealand TV Awards in 2022.
Lillie Rohan is a London-based reporter covering lifestyle and entertainment stories who joined the Herald in 2020. She specialises in all things relationships and dating.
