Alex Spence is an investigative reporter and feature writer who tends to focus on social issues such as health and mental health.

Alex Spence is an award-winning journalist with more than 20 years of experience in New Zealand and the UK. He began his career as a staff writer at North & South magazine in the early 2000s. In 2004, Alex moved to London, where he lived for 17 years. He spent a decade at The Times as an online editor and reporter, covering legal affairs, financial crime, and the media industry. In 2015, Alex was the first reporter hired in London by the American politics website Politico when it expanded into Europe. In 2017, he joined BuzzFeed News as a senior political correspondent, where he covered the fallout from the Brexit referendum and was part of the team that was named website of the year at the 2018 British Press Awards. Alex returned to New Zealand with his family in December 2020. Since joining the Herald, he has focused mainly on investigations into problems in healthcare, including gaps in specialist mental health services. One of those stories received an award for feature writing at the 2023 Voyager Media Awards.