Patrick Gower

This article is about the New Zealand journalist. For the English composer, see Patrick Gowers.
Patrick Gower
Born 1976/1977 (age 37–38)[1]
New Plymouth
Residence Wellington
Nationality New Zealander
Education BA Hons from Victoria University of Wellington
Occupation Political journalist
Employer 3 News
Children 2
Website
3 News profile page

Patrick Gower (born 1976/1977) is a New Zealand political journalist and political editor of 3 News.

Early life

Gower grew up in New Plymouth, where his father was a fitter and turner at a power station, and his mother was a doctor's receptionist.[2] He had a Catholic upbringing, and attended St Joseph's convent school and Francis Douglas Memorial College.[2]

He has a BA with honours in politics from Victoria University of Wellington, choosing the university because it was near Parliament. While he attended Victoria University he got involved in Salient magazine.[3] After finishing his politics degree, he studied journalism at Auckland University of Technology.[2]

Journalism career

Gower started his journalism career working the graveyard shift (6pm–1:30am) at The New Zealand Herald,[2][4] later becoming police reporter. He subsequently moved overseas and worked at Jane's Police Review.[2] Once back in New Zealand he worked again at the Herald, covering politics and working under Audrey Young.[2]

Later he made the move to television journalism and began working at 3 News, where he was initially a political reporter. He has said that the transition involved a big change in reporting styles:

"I always said that in print it’s like working with a scalpel, because you can really get into the nitty-gritty, and you can be really specialised and direct. And you can work with complex issues really easily. In TV you’ve got to drop the scalpel, and they hand you an axe. It can be really effective to use, but it’s nowhere near as delicate as working in print."[3]

He took over as political editor of 3 News from Duncan Garner in November 2012.[5] Despite controversy about political bias on social networking sites, Gower claims to be a non-voter on the grounds of impartiality, citing the following:[6]

"People ask all the time do I vote, and I just don’t, because I like to be independent as possible. I understand a lot of other journalist here can vote and personally I think that’s fine. And being fair to both sides is important, and always giving a fair go to everyone and letting them have their say is absolutely crucial. Ultimately the best guard against bias is just by doing the best stories in the best way that you can. If you’re following the news then you never have to worry about being biased."

Family

Gower lives in Wellington[1] and has two children.[7]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Daniell, Sarah (22 November 2012). "Twelve Questions with Patrick Gower". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Du Fresne, Karl (3–9 May 2014). "Gower Power". New Zealand Listener. pp. 22–26. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 McCarthy, Molly and Blake-Kelly, Stella (29 July 2013). "An Hour With Gower". Salient magazine. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
  4. ↑ "Patrick Gower Headlines". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
  5. ↑ "Patrick Gower". LinkedIn. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
  6. ↑ Gavin Bertram (2014-09-09). "Asking the Right Questions: Patrick Gower". The Pantograph Punch.
  7. ↑ Howie, Cherie (28 September 2014). "Gower gets one in the eye over election". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 11 October 2014.

External links