Rate My Professor Lydia Anderson

Lydia Anderson is a Communications Adviser in the Media Engagement Team at the University of Otago's Communications Office, part of the Division of External Engagement. She joined the university in 2019, drawing on her extensive journalism experience to handle media enquiries, provide communications advice, and connect journalists with academic experts via the Media Expertise Database. Her work supports the promotion of the university's research, events, and achievements through effective media strategies. Anderson holds a Bachelor of Arts with First Class Honours in International Relations from the University of Canterbury and a Graduate Diploma in Journalism from Massey University, which form the foundation of her professional expertise in media and international affairs.

Prior to her current role, Anderson worked as the Otago/Southland regional reporter for Radio New Zealand (RNZ), reporting on regional issues including Central Otago surpassing Auckland in housing unaffordability, kiwi hunting for conservation at Orokonui, Oamaru as a model town of the future, and comparisons of urban development between cities. She previously served as deputy website editor at 3 News (now Newshub), contributing to online editorial content in 2014. Anderson also reported for wire services New Zealand Newswire and APNZ, covering stories such as crunch time for paid parental leave extension, a wasp swarm attacking a woman and children, Waihi beach closure after a shark sighting, education key to addressing sugar problems, dangers of dipped headlights on rural roads, and Kiwi accounts of the London theatre collapse horror. These roles demonstrate her versatility in broadcast, print, and wire journalism across local, national, and international topics.