Tova O'Brien (born ) is a New Zealand political journalist. She hosts the ''Tova'' breakfast show on New Zealand news and talk radio station

Today FM Today FM is an Irish national commercial FM radio station, owned and operated by Bauer Audio Ireland Limited. Broadcasting since 17 March 1997, it broadcasts mostly music, with a daily news and current affairs programme. Today FM holds a lic ...

, and previously led the team of political reporters for ''

Newshub ''Newshub'' (stylised as ''Newshub.'') is a New Zealand news service that airs on the television channels Three and Eden, as well as on digital platforms. It formerly operated across radio stations run by MediaWorks Radio until December 202 ...

''.

Early life and education

O’Brien was born in

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

. Her mother, a British journalist, and her father, a New Zealand helicopter pilot, had met while working in the country. When O'Brien was six months old, the family moved to New Zealand. Her parents separated when she was three and O'Brien was raised by her mother in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

. After high school, she started a degree at the

University of Otago , image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg , image_size = , caption = University clock tower , motto = la, Sapere aude , mottoeng = Dare to be wise , established = 1869; 152 years ago , type = Public research collegiate u ...

in film and psychology. She did not complete the degree, instead going overseas to work in Melbourne and London in hospitality. In 2006 she decided to train as a journalist and completed a qualification at

Massey University Massey University ( mi, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa) is a university based in Palmerston North, New Zealand, with significant campuses in Albany and Wellington. Massey University has approximately 30,883 students, 13,796 of whom are extramural or ...

. Her first journalism role after graduating was at Radio Active in Wellington.

Career

O'Brien was a reporter in the parliamentary press gallery in Wellington before joining

MediaWorks New Zealand MediaWorks New Zealand is a New Zealand-based company specialising in radio, outdoor advertising and interactive media. It is jointly owned by U.S. company Oaktree Capital Management and out-of-home advertising company QMS. It operates nine n ...

in 2007. In 2016 she was assigned the role of European correspondent for ''

'' (MediaWorks' news division). In 2018 she returned to Wellington and became Newshub's political editor, succeeding

Patrick Gower Patrick Gower (born 1976/1977) is a New Zealand political journalist and National Correspondent for ''Newshub'' (formerly called 3 News)''.'' Prior to his current role he was Newshub's political editor. Early life Gower grew up in New Plymouth ...

. Her style of journalism, according to Gower, is "edgy", and she attracts a lot of criticism due to her high profile. In October 2020, O'Brien's interview with

Jami-Lee Ross Jami-Lee Matenga Ross (born 1985) is a New Zealand former politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Botany electorate in Auckland from the March 2011 Botany by-election, when he became the youngest MP at the time, until 2020. He ...

, co-leader of the

Advance New Zealand The Advance New Zealand Party (abbreviated as Advance NZ or Advance) was a short-lived political party in New Zealand from 2020 to 2021. The idea was first unveiled in a newsletter from founder Jami-Lee Ross in April 2020. Ross has claimed th ...

party, garnered 7 million views. She was internationally praised by journalists for preventing Ross from mentioning conspiracy theories about the COVID-19 pandemic during the interview. In November 2021, Mediaworks, O’Brien’s former workplace, rehired her to host the breakfast radio show on new talk station

, which launched on 21 March 2022. She left Discovery and her Political Editor position at

prior to starting with MediaWorks.

Recognition

In 2019, O'Brien won the award for Political Journalist of the Year at the

Voyager Media Awards The New Zealand Newspaper Publishers’ Association awards are annual New Zealand media awards recognising excellence in the news print media. The first awards were held in 1974 giving out awards for news photography and have expanded to include ...

. The citation read:

Personal life

O'Brien married Nathan "Nato" Hickey in 2016 in London; they had known each other since 2006 from Wellington. Hickey is a drummer for the

heavy metal band

Beastwars Beastwars is a sludge metal band from New Zealand. The early history of the band can be said to have begun in 1986 when Matt Hyde began his first band, Microwave Babies, while attending Saint Bernard's College in Lower Hutt. They disbanded in ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:OBrien, Tova 1980s births Living people New Zealand television journalists New Zealand women television journalists People from Wellington City Massey University alumni Date of birth missing (living people)