Image supplied by TVNZ
We’re delighted to introduce a fresh voice to our line-up of talented broadcasters this Good Friday. Kaitlin Ruddock is a familiar face on TVNZ as part of the Fair Go team. She spent several years as video journalist for 1News, covering the top of the South Island, researching, filming and fronting all of her own stories. Her television work has taken her as far as Antarctica, where she produced the interactive documentary Answers Under the Ice.
Kaitlin began her media career as a teenager in Thames, reading news and doing promotions on her local radio station Coromandel FM, and co-presenting on Ngā Iwi FM in Paeroa. In 2013, whilst studying at the NZ Broadcasting School, she was awarded a CBA Scholarship, after which she became an active member of CBA’s ‘Salt’ community of Christians working in NZ media. It’s been exciting watching Kaitlin’s career go from strength to strength over the intervening years.
Above: Kaitlin Ruddock (middle) and her fellow CBA Scholarship winners in 2013
When we asked Kaitlin to be part of the Easter on-air team, she did not hesitate.
“I’m a big fan girl of CBA! It feels like I’m seven years old and the All Blacks say to me, ‘We’re going to give you your own t-shirt and your own number and you get to go out with the team and get your big moment’ and then we’re doing the National Anthem. That’s how I felt when I was asked. I’ve long been a fan of the amazing, very clever and humorous programming that CBA puts on every Easter and Christmas. To get the chance to hang out with all the crew will be awesome!”
Above: Kaitlin is skilled both behind the camera and in front of it. Image supplied by TVNZ.
Kaitlin’s solid Christian faith has given her a strong sense of direction throughout her career.
“When I went into broadcasting, I was looking for a way to use my love of performing arts and my communication skills for the greater good, and I’m grateful that God has shown me how to use those tools to actually serve people.”