We're excited to be launching what we know will be one of the most comprehensive te ao Māori, bilingual news sites in Te Taitokerau! With our iwi media partners, Ngāti Hine FM, Tautoko FM & Te Hiku media - we'll be launching March! Here's an editorial that was published on Huaki The Northern Advocate this week:
Māori media tō the fore in Te Tai Tokerau
The presence of Māori media in Te Taitokerau is about to hit an all-time high with the launch of a regional news service in March.
Ngāti Hine FM is collaborating with iwi media partners Tautoko FM and Te Hiku Media to deliver a comprehensive news service across the three Northland Māori radio and online streaming networks, including iwi media partner social media platforms.
Content will include podcasts published on Whare Kōrero, audio-visual posts with sub-titles where required and accompanied by articles of up to 300 words, with those stories also used for print distribution.
Ngāti Hine FM Station Manager Erana Fenton, who has worked in Māori media for 30 years, believes the partnership will provide Māoridom the strongest news service ever seen in the region.
The Tinopai local says there has long been a need for a strong and balanced Māori perspective in media throughout Aotearoa but too often that has been lacking or ignored.
“Everything that I have grown up with and learnt, particularly with the likes of Mana Māori Media and Māori radio, has been about giving a sound and reasonable voice to Māoridom. Māori media has been my life blood for decades,” says Erana.
The media collaboration is called ‘te kūkupa’, a name gifted to the project by Tautoko FM’s Cyril Chapman. The kukupa is a taonga renowned as a messenger and is also known as the kererū, kuku or wood pigeon.
“Like the kūkupa and the noisy beat of its wings, our collaboration aims to deliver a distinctive sound by uniting the strengths, voices and unique perspectives of Ngāti Hine FM, Tautoko FM and Te Hiku Media to create a news service that resonates with the heartbeat of our Te Taitokerau communities – from the Brynderwyns and pockets of Kaipara right through to Hokianga and Muriwhenua.
“The physical and community footprint we cover is huge, so I am confident we will grow an even more loyal following and have a significant impact in telling the stories of our people.
“Our aim is to search every corner of Te Taitokerau for stories that matter and believe te kūkupa will become a symbol of excellence in regional news coverage, embodying the shared vision and commitment of Ngāti Hine FM, Tautoko FM and Te Hiku Media.”
Erana believes the collaboration will redefine the landscape of media in Te Taitokerau.
“That is because we know news is about storytelling. That means telling the stories of our whānau, hapū and hāpori within the maara of Te Taitokerau and providing a platform for those voices that have largely gone unheard and that is essential to building strong, informed and even more connected hāpori.”
Erana says the regional news team are committed to high-quality, authentic, impartial, unpretentious journalism and responsible reporting but with a Te Taitokerau twist.
“Our view is that te kūkupa is here to foster and promote news that is positive for ngā tangata whenua o Te Taitokerau.
“We have well-established relationships within our various hāpori – whānau, marae, kura, pākihi and rūnanga included. To enhance those connections, we have chosen distribution platforms that our audiences engage on, and our aim is to be a source of information and a catalyst for positive change.
“By informing our people about important issues, we hope to ignite conversations and debates leading to meaningful action while shaping the way the wider hāpori digest news content and stay connected, engaged and informed about te ao Māori,” says Erana.
“We will be providing regular updates to our audiences as we launch new content and are also on the lookout for local talent to be part of our regional media internships. And we are thankful for the collaboration of E-Tangata and NZME via The Northern Advocate and Huaki.”
Combined, those entities have a combined reach of over 150,000 followers on Instagram and Facebook, with strong broadcast footprints covering Te Taitokerau and Tāmaki Makaurau, which will strengthen the impact of the new Te Taitokerau regional news service.
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