Real Life: Fair Go’s Kaitlin Aldridge on standing up for the underdog – ‘It weighs on me’

Kaitlin Aldridge TVNZ. Photo / Facebook

Kaitlin Aldridge has spent a big chunk of her career trying to prove herself as a journalist.

But she’s learning to cut herself some slack. These days, the Fair Go reporter knows how to ask for help if she needs it.

“I’ve got a brilliant team around me at Fair Go,” she told Newstalk ZB’s Real Life with John Cowan on Sunday night. “Sometimes, particular stories might be a little bit tricky, they might keep you up at night. But I can go to them and get some really good advice.”

That Aldridge (née Ruddock) would end up a journalist, let alone holding dodgy contractors to account week to week, was never the plan.

She had always envisaged herself as an actor, but the decision to forego that dream to pursue a media career was one shaped by her deep Christian faith.

“When I went into journalism and broadcasting… there was always an element of ‘Is this what I want to do? Is this actually what I’m made for?’” Aldridge said.

Kaitlin Aldridge Fair Go. Photo / Facebook

“I feel like I’ve gone from breadcrumb to breadcrumb with my faith, showing me and shaping me to go ‘this is the person and the career that I am supposed to be in’, and I’ve found my purpose in that.

“We’ve come to know the word uncertainty a lot in these last few years with COVID, in particular. Faith for me is that one sure thing that I’ve always had.”

Now, in her role standing up for the underdog on Fair Go, she feels like she’s in the right place. But she admits the shift from 1NEWS reporter to the iconic consumer affairs show has been a “steep learning curve”.

“People have a great memory of Fair Go because we’ve been around for 45 years – that’s a lot of history, and I’m stepping into that legacy and wondering where I am in that mix and how I can fight as hard as I can for the rights of other people,” Aldridge told Cowan.

Kaitlin Aldridge One News. Photo / Facebook

“It’s easy to think – especially because it’s television, at the end of the day – that there are goodies and baddies. But more often than not, humans are complex characters and it’s actually dealing in shades of grey. My job is to try and sift through that and find the truth of the matter.”

Aldridge’s work on Fair Go deals in that grey area a lot, which she says “can be a real challenge”. Managing the expectations of people who come forward with their stories weighs on her, especially when they may be partly at fault for the predicament they find themselves in.

“Even if the ‘villain’ of the story is a total douchebag and a hopeless case and should never have been in business, the person may have missed a clause in their contract.

“So [in that case] it doesn’t matter how poor that person’s character is. I will still have to point out that they didn’t do their due diligence and that I have to be fair to both parties.”

Another challenge of the job is keeping viewers onside in a cultural climate where accusations of being PC or ‘woke’ are common. It’s something she’s been thinking about a lot as she prepares for an upcoming campaign about accessibility for people with disabilities.

“Part of my job is thinking, how are we telling the story in a way that people don’t feel like we are simply preaching at them? We hear those terms like ‘woke’ being bandied about.

“But we’re going: ‘No, no, take a minute. Let’s see if you can see this through somebody else’s eyes.’ If we can do that, then we’re all richer for it when we can understand each other a bit more.”

Real Life is a weekly interview show where John Cowan speaks with prominent guests about their life, upbringing, and the way they see the world. Tune in Sundays from 7:30pm on Newstalk ZB.