John Campbell was born in Wellington, New Zealand is a New Zealand journalist and radio personality. He has presented Checkpoint, Radio New Zealand's drive time show, since January 2016. He was the presenter of Campbell Live, a former 7 p.m. current affairs programme on TV3. He was a rugby commentator for Sky Sports during the All Blacks' test Samoa in early 2015,he had vocally campaigned for while hosting Campbell Live.
Campbell his parents are Jim and Wendy Campbell. He graduated from Wellington College then Victoria University with a Bachelor of Arts degree with Honours, and then worked as a share trader, providing a share report to Radio New Zealand's Midday Report. In 1989, Radio New Zealand (RNZ) offered him a job as a business reporter. He had no journalism training, but RNZ ran a cadetship system which provided him with the experience he needed. He read the three-minute news bulletins on the hour for RNZ, and then moved to TV3 in 1991 as a general reporter in their Wellington newsroom. He moved to their political press gallery a year later.
In 1994 he moved to the affairs programme 20/20, and later presented an interview/current events segment of 3 News. After John Hawkesby left 3 News in 1998, Campbell was asked to fill in, and he remained as the main 3 News weekday newsreader along with Carol Hirschfeld until 2005. He began Campbell Live with Hirschfeld in March 2005. On 21 May 2015, TV3 announced that Campbell Live would soon cease to air, and Campbell had decided to leave MediaWorks, despite having been offered a position co-hosting a replacement current affairs programme.Only one year of the offered three-year extension was to have been presenting Campbell Live. The final programme aired on 29 May 2015.
Campbell and Hirschfeld made two series of the interview programme Home Truths, and in 2004 they made a 12-part series touring New Zealand called A Queen's Tour, following the route of Queen Elizabeth's visit in 1953/54. Campbell also hosted the Saturday Morning programme on Radio New Zealand for two years, from 2000 /02.
Campbell appeared in the sixth series of the successful New Zealand TV series Outrageous Fortune and frequently appeared in the animated series bro'Town.
Campbell took over as host of the Radio New Zealand current affairs programme Checkpoint in January 2016.
He also makes a cameo appearance in the 2016 New Zealand film Hunt for the Wilderpeople.
Campbell has won the Qantas Media Award for Best Investigative Current Affairs and for Best Presenter (twice), and the Best Presenter category for the New Zealand Film and Television Awards (twice).
