TVNZ has announced the appointment of John Gillespie as the company’s new Head of News and Current Affairs. Gillespie, who is currently the Editor of Daily Programmes, will take up his new position from June 24, 2013. Gillespie has been with TVNZ for 16 years. Before joining TVNZ, he worked for five years at Canterbury Television as a reporter and later as news editor. He was a producer for the launch of TVNZ’s Breakfast in 1997. He subsequently produced a number of high profile shows before he was appointed Editor of Current Affairs in 2007. His most recent appointment was Editor of Daily Programmes in 2012.

 “John is well-known and respected in the industry for his editorial experience and has a thorough understanding of the multi-media environment our news team now works in. Because he knows our organisation so well we expect John to make a smooth leadership transition and there’ll be no loss of momentum as we further develop New Zealand’s most watched news and current affairs service,” said Kevin Kenrick, TVNZ chief executive.