RNZ welcomes Andrew Holden as Complaints Custodian

RNZ has appointed journalist and editor Andrew Holden to the role of Complaints Custodian where he will oversee the formal complaints system.

Holden brings with him more than 35 years’ experience in journalism, including five years as Editor of The Press in Christchurch (including the major earthquakes in 2010-11) and Editor-in-Chief of The Age in Melbourne.

“The heart of my philosophy is that our role is to inform the public in the best way we can, ours is a daily conversation with our audience that builds on what we already know to understand our world even more,” says Holden.

Holden has also held roles at Cricket Australia (2016-18) as their Head of Communications and New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, where he was Director of Communications from 2018 to 2023.

Most recently Holden has acted as the Public Affairs Director for the New Publishers’ Association, where his role championed the news media industry of New Zealand.

“The ethos of public media has never been more important. Commercial media is under extreme stress. Elsewhere society is grappling with widespread use of misinformation. Maintaining the public’s trust in journalism is more crucial than ever and a robust, meticulous approach to complaints is a core part of the challenge,” says Holden.

Reporting to RNZ’s Director of Editorial Quality and Training, Jane Patterson, Holden will work alongside her to lift and develop training and skills for RNZ’s journalists. This is not his first rodeo with RNZ, having been the regular media commentator on Nine to Noon for two years.

Patterson says the role of Complaints Custodian was a crucial part of ensuring RNZ kept to the high standards of both its editorial policy and formal complaints system, with Holden’s experience making him an ideal fit for the role.

“Andrew has held senior roles in newsrooms both here and overseas where he’s been responsible for dealing with complaints in high pressure situations. He understands the need to respond quickly and fairly, but without rushing to judgement; important to addressing audience concerns and boosting the quality of RNZ’s performance.

“This role is crucial to the relationship between RNZ and its audience and I am thrilled to have someone with such deep experience and journalistic knowledge join our team.”

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