Rebecca Macfie is a New Zealand author and journalist.

Background

Macfie lives in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

, New Zealand. She has a BA and Post Graduate Diploma in Arts in History from 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 ...

, and a Post Graduate Diploma in Journalism from the

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was ...

. She has an adult son and an adult daughter.

Career

Macfie has worked as a journalist since 1988. In 2007 Macfie joined the ''

New Zealand Listener The ''New Zealand Listener'' is a weekly New Zealand magazine that covers the political, cultural and literary life of New Zealand by featuring a variety of topics, including current events, politics, social issues, health, technology, arts, f ...

'' as a writer for the

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

. She has also wbeen published with ''The Star'', ''The Press'', ''

National Business Review The ''National Business Review'' (or ''NBR'') is a New Zealand online news publication aimed at the business sector. It has journalists based in Auckland and Wellington. History The ''NBR'' was founded in 1970 by then-23 year old publisher Hen ...

'', ''Independent Business Weekly'', '' North & South'', ''Unlimited'', and the ''

New Zealand Herald ''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation of all newspapers ...

''. In 2013 she published ''Tragedy at Pike River Mine: How and Why 29 Men Died'', a non-fiction work on the

Pike River Mine disaster The Pike River Mine disaster was a coal mining accident that began on 19 November 2010 in the Pike River Mine, northeast of Greymouth, in the West Coast region of New Zealand's South Island following a methane explosion at approximately 3:44 pm ...

that claimed 29 lives.

Awards

For her work with the ''New Zealand Listener'' Macfie won the Magazine Feature Writer Business and Politics Award at the

2014 Canon Media Awards The 2014 Canon Media Awards were hosted by the New Zealand Newspaper Publishers' Association on Friday 9 May 2014 at the Pullman Hotel in Auckland, New Zealand. The Newspaper of the Year was '' The Dominion Post'', and the Reporter of the Yea ...

and the Magazine Feature Writer Business & Science Award at the

2013 Canon Media Awards The 2013 Canon Media Awards were presented on Friday 10 May 2013 at the Pullman Hotel in Auckland, New Zealand. Awards were made in the categories of photography, online, magazines, newspapers, and general. Organisers received more than 1400 ent ...

. At the

2016 Canon Media Awards The 2016 Canon Media Awards were hosted by the New Zealand Newspaper Publishers' Association on Friday 20 May 2016 at Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa in Wellington, New Zealand. The Newspaper of the Year was '' The New Zealand Herald'', ...

, Macfie won the 'Feature writing – politics' and 'Feature writing – health' categories, as well as the Wolfson Fellowship. In 2018, Macfie won the Voyager Media Award for 'Feature writing – business or personal finance' for two articles, on the environmental and economic

risks of climate change Climate risk refers to risk assessments based on formal analysis of the consequences, likelihoods and responses to the impacts of climate change and how societal constraints shape adaptation options. Common approaches to risk assessment and ris ...

, and the development of animal free protein. In 2012 she won the

Bruce Jesson Senior Journalism Grant The English language name Bruce arrived in Scotland with the Normans, from the place name Brix, Manche in Normandy, France, meaning "the willowlands". Initially promulgated via the descendants of king Robert the Bruce (1274−1329), it has be ...

to develop a book on the

(later published as ''Tragedy at Pike River Mine''). The book then won the 2014 NZSA E.H. McCormick Best First Book Award for Non-Fiction at the New Zealand Post Book Awards, the 2014

Bert Roth Herbert Otto Roth (7 December 1917 – 27 May 1994) was a notable New Zealand socialist, labourer, librarian and historian. He was born in Vienna, Austria in 1917. In Austria, he was known as "Otti" but in New Zealand he was known as "Bert". Ro ...

Award for Excellence in Labour History, and the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy media award.

References

External links

Official Twitter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Macfie, Rebecca Living people Writers from Christchurch University of Otago alumni University of Canterbury alumni New Zealand women journalists Year of birth missing (living people) New Zealand investigative journalists New Zealand journalists