Sam Hayes

Samantha Hayes (born 25 April 1984) is a New Zealand journalist and newsreader, best known for co-anchoring Three's flagship news programme Newshub Live at 6pm.

Early life

Hayes was born in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, to a New Zealand father and a South African mother. The family relocated to Milton in Otago, New Zealand, when she was six months old. She has a younger sister and an older brother.

She received her education at Tokomairiro High School. She began tertiary education at the University of Otago and finished her degree, a Bachelor of Arts in media studies and international relations, at Victoria University of Wellington in 2007.

Hayes played representative netball for South Otago while at high school and competed in dressage, showjumping and eventing.

Career

Hayes has worked in the media industry as a broadcast journalist and news anchor in New Zealand since 2001.

Hayes first appeared at TV3 aged 17, gaining work experience. During her first week at the programme, she was sent to interview heavy metal band Megadeth and came back with an international scoop when lead singer Dave Mustaine revealed for the first time why he left his previous band Metallica, telling Hayes "I'd like to say I quit, but I got fired because I was a violent drunk".

Alongside broadcasting, Hayes worked as an event organiser for popular cultural events One Love music festival and Handle the Jandal music video competition. Hayes’ appearance in a media interview for the 2006 Handle the Jandal event on TV3's Nightline brought her back into contact with news bosses at TV3, and she was offered a reporting role on Nightline soon after in September 2006. She has since worked on the programmes Newshub Late, 3rd Degree, Newsworthy and Firstline. She also held an appointment as the network's Australia correspondent based in Sydney.

From 30 May 2016, she succeeded Hilary Barry as the co-anchor, alongside Mike McRoberts, of the daily news broadcast Newshub Live at 6pm. Since that time she has also anchored special programmes, including the 2023 New Zealand general election, the 2016 and 2020 United States elections, the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, and ten days of live coverage from London after the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022.

Hayes' reporting has included the documentary series Newshub Investigates: Generation Covid investigating the long-term impact of the COVID-19 lockdowns on babies and children, and investigating Gisborne's deadly problem with forestry slash washing downstream and onto beaches for Paddy Gower Has Issues. She was one of the first reporters to cover the emergence of international music star Lorde when the latter was 16 years old, and has reported from Antarctica and Kenya's Masai Mara Game Reserve.

After the production of Three's 6pm news bulletin was transferred to Stuff in 2024, Hayes and six other former Newshub journalists were recruited into Stuff's replacement programme, ThreeNews, with Hayes as the sole weekday anchor.

Other media and public roles

In July 2018, Hayes won series 7 of the New Zealand version of Dancing with the Stars with her professional partner Aaron Gilmore. The victory raised over $120,000 for the charity New Zealand Riding for the Disabled, for which she later became an ambassador. the New Zealand Hi Tech Awards (2021), An Evening with Sir Richard Branson (2017), Kea World Class Awards (2015), Air New Zealand Sustainability Breakfast (2018), and Auckland University of Technology Excellence Awards (2018, 2021, 2022).

Hayes is on the New Zealand board of the Australasian charity So They Can.

Personal life

Hayes has been a vegetarian since she was 11 years old for ethical reasons. In November 2023, Hayes announced on Instagram that she and Blaauw had ended their relationship.

Hayes is a recreational mountain climber, including completing ascents of Ruapehu and Taranaki in New Zealand, and Aconcagua in Argentina. She has also completed the Kenya Half Marathon in the Masai Mara

Hayes is the niece of helicopter pilot Sir Richard Hayes, former chief executive of Southern Lakes Helicopters, who is known for prominent search and rescue operations.