Because Presence Matters: MCNZ’s Year of Connection
This year asked a lot of everyone. As we look back, we’re filled with gratitude: for the people we met, the stories we were entrusted with, and the moments that reminded us why Media Chaplaincy exists.
Our chaplains have been in cafés, inboxes, newsrooms, events, and everywhere in between: showing up, listening, encouraging, and simply being there for the people who shape our nation’s stories.
Between September 2024 and August 2025, our chaplains recorded more than 800 points of engagement.
But these aren’t just numbers. Each one represents a real moment of connection: support offered in a tough week or after filing a grim story, a conversation that lifted someone’s spirits following the loss of a film contract or a quiet coffee with someone carrying more than they let on.
(If you haven’t reached out yet, consider this your invitation. We’d love to shout you a coffee.)
The media landscape throughout 2025 saw unprecedented movement: job changes, redundancies, and restructures kept popping up throughout the industry. It was hectic, sometimes heartbreaking, and it underscored just how much our media professionals are carrying. Many told us they stayed in roles even when struggling, simply because there were people lined up behind them waiting for the job. Our chaplains have really felt that pressure alongside you.
Some highlights:
Sponsoring the Voyager Media Awards: A huge commitment in a challenging financial climate, but one we were proud to make. Being there to celebrate the best of our industry was a privilege.
Re_covering Podcast: Season 5 launched on RNZ with an outstanding lineup including Amanda Gillies, Jack Tame, and Te Aniwa Hurihanganui.
The inaugural Aotearoa Media Wellbeing Survey: its eye-opening results gave voice to the burnout, emotional exhaustion, stress, and uncertainty many media professionals are facing. The survey allowed us to measure what we have long been witnessing as chaplains.
Support around the anniversary of March 15: a tender and significant moment in our media community, every single year.
A growing team of chaplains: now 16 strong across the motu and online, with Tauranga soon to welcome a dedicated chaplain in the new year.
A special acknowledgement to our MCNZ-endorsed counsellor, Tommy Livingston, who was a valuable part of our team this year. We’re deeply grateful to have been able to fund counselling for media professionals who would not otherwise have been financially able to access this care.
Sharing and celebrating media mahi through social media: even in a year marked by job losses, we chose to highlight the good wherever we could.
New connections with newsrooms: from formal MOUs to quietly built relationships and wellbeing workshops.
Some of our most meaningful work will never make it online. The confidential coffees. The late-night emails. The small but sacred moments in newsrooms and cafes, where presence mattered more than words. The ripple effects of that work are real, even if unseen.
I was on maternity leave for a good portion of this year, and I want to extend a heartfelt thank you to Malorie Carey, who carried the weight of a busy season.
To everyone who has trusted us, invited us in, or said hello… thank you.
With plenty of peace and blessings for the season ahead,
Take care,
Elesha Gordon
Media Chaplaincy New Zealand General Manager