Te Whakaruruhau o Nga Reo Irirangi Māori

Te Whakaruruhau o Nga Reo Irirangi Māori
National Māori Radio Network
Broadcast area New Zealand
Format Indigenous radio
Class Terrestrial/Internet
Owner Local iwi
Webcast Live stream
Website Official website

Te Whakaruruhau o Nga Reo Irirangi Māori (National Māori Radio Network or the Iwi Radio Network) is a New Zealand radio network, consisting of radio stations set up to serve the country's indigenous Māori people. Each station receives contestable Government funding from Te Māngai Pāho to operate on behalf of an affiliated iwi (tribe) or hapu (sub-tribe). Under their funding agreement, the stations must produce programmes in the local Māori language and actively promote local Māori culture.

Each station operate on an annual Government grant of $350,000 and additional funds raised through sponsorship and advertising. They have their own local shows, personalities and breakfast programmes, and broadcast through both terrestrial frequencies and online streams.[1] The network, chaired by Māori broadcaster Willie Jackson, oversees the sharing of news bulletins, the pooling of resources and the production of network programmes.[2]

Most stations combine an urban contemporary playlist during breakfast and drive shows with full service broadcasting and Māori language programmes at other times of the day. There are regular segments updating people about local events, and teaching people Māori language and tikanga (customs). There are also national and local news shows, Māori music, educational programmes, comedies and dramas.[3][4]

History

Network

The Māori Media Network was officially formed in March 1998, with many stations taking Radio New Zealand News in the network's early years.[5]

Ruia Mai

Māori language radio station Ruia Mai served Auckland from April 1996 to April 2005. Ruia Mai was started by Mai FM owners Ngāti Whātua, one of the largest Maori tribes in New Zealand, in 1996.[6] For a period, the station was broadcast live on the Internet as well. Although Ruia Mai itself was a radio station in Auckland broadcasting on 1179am, it provided the network of 21 iwi stations across New Zealand with hourly Māori language news bulletins. It also produced current affairs, children's programmes and documentaries for the iwi radio network.

Ruia Mai was part of Mai Media Limited and was primarily funded by Te Māngai Paaho. It won various awards for best Māori broadcast at the New Zealand Radio Awards in 1999, 2000, 2002 and 2003 and was the first radio station in New Zealand to broadcast only in Māori.[6] Its tagline was Te Ratonga Irirangi o te Motu.

The station went off air and was replaced by The Voice of Samoa in 2004, with Te Māngai Pāho awarding a large news and current affairs contract to a rival bilingual Māori/English radio station, Radio Waatea.[6] At the time of closure, Ruia Mai had been employing 15 staff.[6] Within a few years MediaWorks New Zealand purchased Mai Media's assets including Mai FM and its Auckland, Northland, and Rotorua FM frequencies. The 1179AM frequency was retained by the Auckland tribe Ngāti Whātua, who use it to run AKE 1179AM.[7]

Awards

The National Māori Radio Network has held its own annual awards since 2012. Te Upoko o te Ika was the inaugural winner of Station of the Year, Willie Jackson calling it a tribute to their work towards promoting the Māori language.[8] Taranaki's Korimako FM won Station of the Year in 2013.[9] In 2014, Maniapoto FM in Te Kuiti, Moana Radio in Tauranga, Radio Ngāti Porou in Ruatoria, Te Korimako in New Plymouth and Te Hiku o te Ika in Kaitaia were finalists for Station for the Year.[1][10]

Programmes

Overnights

Moana Radio's Tai Pari Tai Timu programme is simulcast across the Iwi Radio Networkk from midnight to 6.00am every day. The show's rotating hosts discuss news, views, issues and events from te ao Māori (the Māori world) in a free format. Retro phone requests are received after 4.00am.[11]

News

Waatea News

Radio Waatea produces hourly bulletins for the Iwi Radio Network under a contract with Te Māngai Pāho. Its Waatea News website publishes national news articles and interviews, and bulletins for Te Hiku o Te Ika (Auckland and Northland), Tainui (Waikato), Te Korimako (Taranaki and Wanganui), Te Manuka Tutahi (Bay of Plenty), Turanganui A Kiwa (Gisborne and Hawke's Bay), and Te Upoko o Te Ika (Wellington and the South Island).[12][13]

A 2013 Queensland University of Technology cited the service as an example of indigenous values shaping journalistic practices.[14] Whitireia New Zealand runs a course preparing people to become Iwi Radio Network journalists.[15]

Stations

Northland

Te Hiku O Te Ika broadcasts in Kaitaia on 94.4 FM

Radio Tautoko broadcasts in Mangamuka on 90.8 FM, 98.2 FM and 92.8 FM

Ngāti Hine FM broadcasts in Whangarei on 99.5 FM and 96.4 FM

Auckland

Radio Waatea is based in Favona in the Auckland suburb of Māngere.

Radio Waatea currently broadcasts in South Auckland on 603 AM. Willie Jackson - chairman of the National Māori Radio Network and the National Urban Māori Authority - is Radio Waatea's chief executive, morning talkback host and political commentator.[16] Musician, actor and commentator Moana Maniapoto has hosted an evening talkback show on the network, during an iwi radio career that began in 1990.[17]

Waikato

Nga Iwi FM has been broadcasting from Paeroa on 99.5 FM since March 1990, and was set up to cover local events and promote the Māori language.[18]

Radio Tainui broadcasts in Ngaruawahia on 95.4 FM, with relay stations in Kawhia on 96.5 FM and Huntly on 106.4 FM

Radio Maniapoto broadcasts in Te Kuiti on 99.6 FM, Benneydale on 91.9 FM, Piopio on 92.7 FM and Te Kawa on 96.5 FM.

Ruakawa FM

Ruakawa FM broadcasts in Tokoroa on 90.6 FM, 95.7 FM and 93.2 FM. Its programmes include Daybreak with Roger Mahu and Rangatahi Days with Ngaitarangi Toma. Ruakawa's night show, Rangatahi Vibes, is geared to younger audiences. Cilla Gardiner's Country Music Show shares the overnight timeslot with network overnight show Tai Pari Tai Timu. The Hakinakina Hard Saturday morning show is hosted by Cook Island New Zealander Josiah Teokotai, and Te Taura Vaanaga on Sunday nights is dedicated to the local Cook Island community.[5][19][20]

The station was set up by Te Reo Irirangi o Ngati Raukawa Trust, under the leadership of Emare Rose Nikora and Whiti te-Ra Kaihau, on 23 October 1990. Nikora, a leader of the local Māori language revival movement, received a Queen's Service Medal for services to Māori, including 18 years as the station's co-founder, first Māori language newsreader, manager and board member. Many of the station's first hosts were Tokoroa High School students, and it remains community-run and largely dependent on local volunteers.[5]

Ruakawa FM held its first concert in December 1990, received its first NZ On Air grant in January 1991, and conducted its first audience survey in April 1991. Ruakawa FM sponsored the Tainui Games in Kawhia in January 1992, supported the Ruakawa Education and Training Establishment in June 1992, and helped set up the first Ruakawa newspaper, Te Paki o Raukawa Kia Ora News, in August 1992. In August 1993, it changed from its old local frequency on 94.6 FM to its current high-power frequencies. It was a founding member of the network in March 1998.[5]

Bay of Plenty

Moana Radio broadcasts in Tauranga on 1440 AM. Marketed as "Te Reo o Tauranga", it features Māori music and talk for a 40-plus audience.The station's FM frequency, 98.2 FM, began as Tahi FM in November 2003 as an urban music format for the 15 to 30-year-olds local Mai FM and Flava stations were established. It has also been used to broadcast contemporary R'n'B, reggae, urban hits and waitata Māori station for a 25 to 35-year-old female audience. Both stations are locally owned and operated by Moana Communications.

Te Mānuka Tātahi broadcasts in Whakatane on 98.4 FM and 96.9 FM

Te Arawa FM broadcasts in Rotorua on 89.0 FM. It was established in the early 1980s by Te Arawa Trust Board, became a charitable entity in November 1990, and officially designated Te Rūnanga Nui o Te Arawa the license holder in 1992. The organisation now operates marketing, film and audio engineering services. It broadcasts a daily schedule focused on unifying Te Arawa people and using Te Arawa language.[21]

Sea 92FM has broadcast from Opotiki on 92.0 FM, and is available in Whakatane and Te Kaha. Whakaatu Whanaunga Trust set the station up in March 2015, to combine conversational Māori language programming with relevant local English programming. It employs three people and draws funding predominantly from advertising. The trust also operates the low-power Opotiki 88.1 FM, geared towards a young demographic.[22]

Central North Island

Te Korimako O Taranaki broadcasts in New Plymouth on 94.8 FM. Tuwharetoa FM broadcasts in Turangi 95.1 FM and 97.2 FM.

Awa FM broadcasts in Ruapehu on 91.2 FM, Taumarunui on 93.5 FM and Whanganui on 100.0 FM.

East Cape

Radio Ngāti Porou broadcasts in Tikitiki on 89.3 FM, Tolaga Bay 90.5 FM, Gisborne 93.3 FM, Ruatoria 98.1 FM and Hicks Bay 105.3 FM.

Turanga FM broadcasts in Gisborne on 91.7 FM and 95.5 FM, and Ruatoria on 585 AM.

Hawke's Bay

Radio Kahungunu broadcasts in Hastings on 94.3 FM and 765 AM.

Joe Te Rito helped establish the station to address a lack of grammatical and spoken Māori language fluency in Rongomaiwahine-Ngāti Kahungunu. By allowing local elders to host programmes, he hoped the local Māori language could be in heard in homes where no one spoke it. By recording those programmes, the station was able to archive more than 2000 recordings. He has used these recordings to study and translate the tribe's distinctive dialect, teach courses on the local spoken and written language, and provide an international model for preserving dialects in other communities across Asia and the Pacific.[23][24][25]

Lower North Island

Kia Ora FM broadcasts in Palmerston North 89.8 FM, and includes a specialist science programme showcasing the research of Massey University researchers and postgraduate students.[26]

Atiawa Toa FM broadcasts in Lower Hutt on 96.9 FM and 94.9 FM.

Te Upoko O Te Ika broadcasts in Wellington on 1161 AM, and has done so since 1987.[1]

South Island

Tahu FM, based in Christchurch, is available on Sky digital 505. It also broadcasts in Marlborough on 90.7 FM in Kaikoura, Canterbury on 90.5 FM in Christchurch, Otago on 95.0 FM in Dunedin and Southland on 99.6 FM in Invercargill. In December 2014 it was recognised as the country's highest-rating Māori radio station.[27]

Other services

Each station has its own website, and most stations stream online.[28] Many of the websites were designed by Māori web developers. For example, the websites of Radio Kahungunu, Tekorimako 94.5FM and Turanga FM were the work of Ngāti Porou designer Alex Walker.[29]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Wepiha Te Kanawa. "Iwi Radio stations prepare for bi-annual awards night". Māori Television. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  2. ↑ "Iwi radio happy with Jackson's governance role". Radio New Zealand. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
  3. ↑ "A brief history of Māori radio broadcasting". Te Whakaruruhau o Nga Reo Irirangi Māori. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
  4. ↑ "TMP Radio". Te Māngai Pāho. Te Māngai Pāho. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 "History". Ruakawa FM. Ruakawa FM. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 "Funding cut silences Ruia Mai". Te Waha Nui, Retrieved 21 July 2009.
  7. ↑ "Official website". Ruia Mai. Ruia Mai. Retrieved 26 April 2010.
  8. ↑ "Oldest Maori Radio Station Takes Top Award". tangatawhenua.com. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  9. ↑ Claudette Hauiti. "Accepting their Tohu for Best Iwi Radio Station Korimako FM Taranaki". Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  10. ↑ "Contribution of Iwi Radio recognised at award ceremony". Ngāti Porou. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  11. ↑ "Tai Pari Tai Timu". Ruakawa FM Tokoroa. Te Reo Irirangi Raukawa. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  12. ↑ "National". Waatea News. Radio Waatea. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  13. ↑ "Regional News and Podcasts". Waatea News. Radio Waatea. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  14. ↑ Hanuscha, Folker (2014). "Indigenous cultural values and journalism in the Asia-Pacific region: a brief history of Māori journalism". Asian Journal of Communication 24 (4).
  15. ↑ "Diploma in Radio Journalism". Whitireia. Whitireia New Zealand. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  16. ↑ "Manukau Urban Māori Authority Team". Manukau Urban Māori Authority. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  17. ↑ "Tawera Productions and Black Pearl Productions". Moana Maniapoto. Moana Maniapoto. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  18. ↑ Staff writer (3 February 2015). "Celebrate 25 Years with Iwi Radio Station". Fairfax New Zealand. Hauraki Herald.
  19. ↑ "Ruakawa On Air". Ruakawa FM. Ruakawa FM. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  20. ↑ "Ruakawa Staff". Ruakawa FM. Ruakawa FM. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  21. ↑ "About Te Arawa". Te Arawa Online. Te Arawa Communications. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  22. ↑ Carlsson, Sven. "CONTRACTORS install the Whakaatu Whanaunga Trust’s far-reaching antenna last Friday.". Opitiki News. Opitiki News. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  23. ↑ "Strengthening Rongomaiwahine-Kahungunu Dialects through Archival Recordings". Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga. University of Auckland. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  24. ↑ Te Rito, J. S. (2012). Māori invocation for the 3S Community and for the world [Chapter section in]: Epilogue: A Spiritual Circle. In G. Pungetti, G. Oviedo & D. Hooke (Eds.), Sacred species and sites: Advances in biocultural conservation (pp. 457–458). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
  25. ↑ Te Rito, J. S. (2012). Struggles to protect Puketapu, a sacred hill in Aotearoa. In G. Pungetti, G. Oviedo & D. Hooke (Eds.), Sacred species and sites: Advances in biocultural conservation (pp. 165–177). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
  26. ↑ s "Professor Paula Jameson and Honours student Lai Fern Ow". Massey University. Massey University. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  27. ↑ Peata Melbourne. "Tahu FM named top iwi radio station in the country". Television New Zealand. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  28. ↑ "Listen Online". Irirangi. Te Whakaruruhau o Nga Reo Irirangi Māori. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  29. ↑ "Showcase". Falcon Creations. Alex Walker. Retrieved 28 April 2015.