Pat Brittenden

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Pat Brittenden (born 1973) is a New Zealand broadcaster, blogger and political commentator.

Contents

Education and broadcasting career

Pat Brittenden was raised in Roman Catholic family. [1] Educated in Auckland at Sacred Heart College and St Peter's College, Brittenden worked in current affairs and talkback for Newstalk ZB from 2004 until his resignation at the end of 2011. His stated reason for resigning was "to pursue some personal business opportunities". [2]

Brittenden has also worked for More FM Auckland, Coastline FM (now More FM Tauranga), Life FM, Newstalk ZB [3] and Radio Rhema. [2] He was for a time the weekend breakfast announcer at Classic Hits.[ citation needed ]

Brittenden has been recognised both in New Zealand, and internationally for his broadcasting work including multiple wins at the 2014 New York Festival for World's Best Radio Programmes, [4] in London with the Association for International Broadcasting (AIB) for his work on Newstalk BC, an hour of radio theatre re-imagining the classic Christmas story for a 21st-century audience as a talk radio station set in Jerusalem on the morning of the 'first Christmas'. [5] Brittenden hosted the show and also co-wrote and co-directed it with the Christian Broadcasting Association. [6]

Podcasting

In the lead up to the 2011 New Zealand general election Brittenden created a podcast with comedian Jeremy Elwood called the Slightly Correct Political Show. The show was broadcast on Facebook and featured a number of political figures. [7] During this time Brittenden was employed by TVNZ's Breakfast programme providing election commentary.

Brittenden relocated to Dunedin with his family. [1] As of May 2025, Brittenden and "Chewie" are the hosts of a daily news podcast called the Big Hairy Network (BHN). [1] [8] BHN is part of a progressive media network called DOC Studios, which was founded in 2020 as a podcast show covering national and international current events. [9]

Acting

Brittenden had small guest parts in Shortland Street , [10] TV3 children's drama Secret Agent Man , and as a VJ on Juice TV . He had a recurring role as security guard Merv in the 2008 political satire The Pretender.[ citation needed ]

Views and positions

Brittenden has supported the teaching of the Māori language in schools, arguing it would help promote cultural understanding and child brain development. [11]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Television Critic: The Last of Us and The Chosen". RNZ . 19 May 2025. Archived from the original on 20 May 2025. Retrieved 15 December 2025.
  2. 1 2 Brittenden, Pat (29 November 2012). "Public Statement about leaving Rhema". Patbrittenden.com. Archived from the original on 2 September 2017. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
  3. ↑ "Christchurch earthquake: I'm lucky to be alive". The New Zealand Herald . 4 September 2010. Archived from the original on 14 October 2024. Retrieved 16 December 2025.
  4. ↑ "2017 Winners Announced". New York Festivals. 2025 International Awards Group. Archived from the original on 24 June 2017. Retrieved 15 December 2025.
  5. ↑ "Prime Minister Key to Radio Awards success" . 23 June 2015. Archived from the original on 14 November 2024. Retrieved 15 December 2025.
  6. ↑ Barbosa, Jose (4 December 2015). "Politics: Unveiled – John Key At The Birth Of Christ". The Spinoff . Retrieved 15 December 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. ↑ "The Slightly Correct Political Show 28: Year in review". Podcasts.NZ. Gorilla Voice Media. 26 November 2014. Archived from the original on 4 October 2023. Retrieved 15 December 2025.
  8. ↑ "Kia ora koutou e te whānau, and welcome to Big Hairy News". Big Hairy Network. Archived from the original on 20 September 2025. Retrieved 16 December 2025.
  9. ↑ "About the Big Hairy Network". BHN. Archived from the original on 15 September 2025. Retrieved 16 December 2025.
  10. ↑ "Newstalk ZB Personalities". Newstalk ZB . Archived from the original on 6 October 2011. Retrieved 15 December 2025.
  11. ↑ Pat Brittenden and David Loughrey (11 August 2016). ODTtv: Parents say ‘Yes’ to te reo Māori in schools (YouTube video). ODTtv. Allied Media. Archived from the original on 16 December 2025. Retrieved 16 August 2025.

Big Hairy Network

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