John Gillies is a sports reporter with over 40 years' experience in newspaper journalism. He specialises in football, having played for Gisborne City in the national and central leagues, but has become familiar with many other codes.

John started as a cadet reporter with The Gisborne Herald in 1974. In 1977 he joined The New Zealand Herald and after a year was made the paper's transport reporter. In the 1978 football season he travelled from Auckland every weekend to play for Gisborne City in the Central League. He returned to work with The Gisborne Herald in 1979. In 1982 he was made deputy chief reporter, a position he held until he left in 2001 to open a secondhand-book shop, La Boheme, in Gladstone Road. From 2008 he worked part-time in the Herald sports department, closing his shop in 2012 to coincide with a hip replacement, and resuming full-time employment with The Gisborne Herald. In recent years he has worked from home on reduced hours, caring for his elderly parents.