Atutahi Potaka-Dewes, left, and Kahumako Rameka - local radio hosts at Te Arawa FM who will be moving to Auckland to join the new Te Rito cadetship funded by NZ on Air.
Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air
Ko te nuinga o te wā ko rāua kē kai te ūpoko whārangi o te kōrero takiwā tēnā i ngā paiaka o te whenua e kimi kimi kōrero ana.
Hai te Pepuere o te tau hou pākehā haere ai tēnei tokorua a Atutahi Potaka-Dewes rāua ko Kahumako Rameka ki te auahi nui ki a Tamaki-makau-rau. Ko te wānanga kōrero-ā-nūpepa te take. Ka oti tēnei kaupapa i a rāua ka kōtahi atu ki te teihana Māori mahi ai, e taea ai tēnei āhuatanga e rāua nā runga i tō rāua kaha ki te kawe i tō tātou reo rangatira, mō te kōrero Māori, kai a rāua.
Nau mai ki te kaupapa Te Rito. He kaupapa nā te tāhua hāpori i amo, ko te take, he whakapakari i ngā pia kōrero-ā-nūpepa e whai whakapapa ai ki ngā iwi taketake pēnei i te Māori, te iwi o Poronēhia me ngā huanga o Āhia.
Nā tētehi huinga rangatira tokowha tēnei kaupapa o te ao pāpaoho i whakaara, ko NZME rātou ko Newshub, ko Māori television, ko Pacific Media Network. Kai te puku o te māra rātou e tukituki whenua nei kia tupu matomato ai, kia tōia hoki mai ngā paiaka hūmarie katoa o Niu Tireni hai whakakīkī i ngā rūma kawe pūrongo, ā, taihoa ake hoki ko te whakapāoho atu i ngā kōrero nui ki te motu a tiwi.
Nō te Oketopa ka whakapūtaina e Colin Peacock i Mediawatch tētehi whakamāramatanga kia mārama ai te motu whānui he tūranga utu ēnei kua utua e te marea, e rua ira wha miriona tāra te nui hai tautohu, hai whakaako, hai whakapakari me te hoko putuputu e rua tekau mā rima anō o ngā pia kōrero-ā-nūpepa.
Nā te Public Interest Journalism Fund (PJIF) tēnei pūtea. He kaupapa i whakarewangia i tēnei tau e te kāwanatanga o Reipā ko tana kaupapa kia, ' kauawhiawhi atu i te hunga pāpāoho i te whakawhanaketanga o ia wāhanga mahi, kia tika ai, kia ora roa ai te kaupapa o te whare pāpāoho o Niu Tireni kia kāua e rite ki te moa'.
Nā te PIJF hoki a Kāhu ki Rotorua e whai huruhuru ai.
Koia tēnei, tētehi o ngā tini kaupapa kua roa e whakapau kaha ki te whakapiki i ngā Māori ki te ao pāpāoho – hai aha noa atu te huarahi kūare onamata ko Whakaahu tā Kahumako rāua ko Atutahi e matapoporetia.
Kua waea kē te hunga whakarongo ki Te Reo Irirangi o Te Arawa ki te kaumatuatanga o tēnei tokorua. Ko te atatū, ki a Kahumako whakapāoho atu ai mai i te rā-tahi ki te rārima, hai te ahiahi a Te Atutahi, anō hoki mai i te rā-tahi ki te rā-rima. Engari mō te whakateitei i ō rāua pouarahi a Kereama Wright rāua ko Ngahuia Wade nā rāua i akiaki nā rāua i whakatangata ka tika kia mihia rāua.
Atutahi Potaka-Dewes, left, and Kahumako Rameka - local radio hosts at Te Arawa FM who will be moving to Auckland to join the new Te Rito cadetship funded by NZ on Air. Photo / Supplied
Mea atu a Kereama, ' haere koe ki te whakapōrearea i a rātou, whakapōrearea rawatia kia mau i a koe te kōrero'. Koia ko tā Atutahi.
'He tini hoki o ngā kōrero kai te hāpori kāua e mangere, kāua e ngākau kore whāia rawatia kia mau i a koe ngā kōrero-ā-rohe!"
Ko Ngahuia tō rāua rangatira take, koia hoki tō rāua rangatira whakahaere i ngā whakapāohotanga. Nā ōna pūkenga hohonu me tōna aroha nui ki te tuku i ngā mātauranga ki te hunga pīkoko e tika ai te haere o tō rāua waka kawe kōrero.
Kua pahemo atu e toru o ngā tau inaianei a Kahumako e mahi ana mā Te Arawa FM. E rua tekau mā rua ōna tau. Nō te wā o te rāhuitanga o te Maehe o tērā tau a Te Atutahi i kuhu mai ki te whare pāpāoho. E rua tekau mā iwa ōna tau.
Ka nui te whakamomori atu mō te pae tawhito o te reo irirangi-ā-iwi. ' Kai te pirorehe kē tēnei waka', hai tā Kahumako. ' Te manomano kē atu o ngā waka kawe kōrero o te ao hou nei me te taha ki te pūtea-ā-iwi nei, he hamuti noa iho'.
'Whoi anō, he awhinatanga mōku me te hūmarie hoki'.
Nā te kaha whakarongo atu o ngā taringa i a Kīngi Biddle me Ngātarawāhi Fairhall i pūāwai mai tēnei aroha nui ki te reo irirangi. Ko te kōrero tene me te manuwhiri te tihi o te mahi, kai reira tētehi wairua. Kīhai rāua i whai wā ki te tono atu ki a Te Rito nā te nui o te mahi.
'Ka hāmama te whōna, nā Kereama a māua ingoa i tuku – he poto noa te wā ki te whakarite mai i tētehi rīpene e rua mēneti te roa me ā māua mahi pāpāoho nei', hai tā Te Atutahi kōrero.
'He pōhēhē nō māua he wānanga noa iho, ka noho hoki ki te kāinga mahi ai, ka noho ki te marae hoki pea – e hoa mā, ehara!' Nā wai rā ka hautūngia te rori ki Tamaki-makau-rau kia ūia rāua e te pae uiui. Ka kī atu a Kahumako' Wiriwiri ana ōku pona tētete kau ana ngā maikuku engari nā Kereama māua i whakaratarata i whakawhenua'
He mana nui kua whakatōngia ki te tinana i a rāua āhua whaiwhai noa i te wairua Māori e mahi ana, he nui hoki ngā māramatanga me ngā akoranga i taka mai i tenei tūāhuatanga ako.
Nā Kereama rāua i toko ake kia mātika ai, kia poupou ai te tū ki te mahi nei, ā Kereama nei, mō te kimi kōrero kai a ia katoa ngā rautaki ! E kapakapa āmaimai kau nei te wairua mō te kaupapa hou ka tū ki East Tamaki, nōna hoki te waimarie nui ko Chris Winitana tōna matua tāne kaokaoroa, koia hoki tētehi o ngā pouako matua.
Kua māia kē tō rāua wairua ki te tū ātamira hoki, he pouhaka nō Tūhourangi- Ngāti Wāhiao a Te Atutahi engari ka whai pānga atu hoki ia ki a Ngāti Rangiteaorere ki a Ngāti Whakaue, ki a Ngāti Porou me Ngāti Hāmoa.
He ngongorotangiwai nō te whare tapere, ā, nō te tau e rua mano e rua tekau ka whakawhiwhia e ia ki te karauna nui o te whakataetae Miss Rotorua.
He Tūwharetoa a Kahumako, he Ngāti Rangitihi, he Ngāti Maniapoto, he Ngāti Mahuta hoki.
Kua hakokengia ngā koko me ngā kūmore mano o te ao nei hai pou haka. Kua tae atu ia ki Pārī, ki te whenua o Tiamana me Abu Dhabi – ' Ko te reo me te kapa haka te take i tae atu ahau'.
Kua rite ngā hoe, kua tika te māmari o te waka ko te mate kē ināianei ko te kimi whare. I wāuna hoki.
Meet a pair of dynamic Arawa women who are more accustomed to being the news rather than reporting it.
But come February, Atutahi Potaka-Dewes and Kahumako Rameka head to Auckland to study journalism. The Te Reo speakers have not yet decided which avenue to take at the end of the course.
Welcome to the Te Rito project, a publicly funded endeavour to train journalists from more diverse backgrounds — Maori, Pasifika and Asian.
It is a new collaboration between four media companies — NZME, Newshub, Māori Television and the Pacific Media Network — actively seeking trainees to boost the diversity of New Zealand newsrooms — and eventually, the news itself.
Colin Peacock, on Mediawatch in October, said the cadetships are paid positions and the public is paying: $2.4 million to "identify, train, develop and hire 25 cadet journalists".
The money is coming from the Public Interest Journalism Fund (PIJF) introduced this year by the current government to "provide transitional support to media organisations as the sector evolves in a way that ensures the longer-term sustainability of New Zealand's media".
The PIJF also funds Kahu ki Rotorua.
It is the latest in a long line of schemes that have tried for decades to increase the number of Maori journalists into the industry.
Atutahi Potaka-Dewes, left, and Kahumako Rameka - local radio hosts at Te Arawa FM. Photo / Supplied
But that chequered history cannot detract or distract from the enthusiasm of Kahumako and Atutahi for their new pathway.
Listeners to Te Reo Irirangi o Te Arawa will know of their professionalism. Kahumako hosts the 9-12 noon show Monday to Friday and Atutahi the drive show, 3-6 Monday to Friday.
They both cannot speak highly enough of their mentors — Kereama Wright and Ngahuia Wade — who pushed and prodded them.
"Kereama said go and be the hoha, be the hoha until you get a story," said Atutahi.
"There are always stories out there, go be the hoha until you get the story."
Ngahuia was their content manager, their shows' producer. Her extensive experience through all facets of media — and her willingness to share — have been key to their success and staying in the job.
Kahumako, 22, has been at Te Arawa FM for almost three years.
Atutahi, 29, started the time of the March lockdown in 2020.
Neither sees a bright future for iwi radio.
"It's going out of fashion," said Kahumako. "There are many online platforms out there for radio and tv. And putea-wise, iwi radio has zilch.
"But it has been a good stepping stone."
They both associated their experience as iwi radio listeners to tuning in to Kingi Biddle and Ngatarawaahi Fairhall. They enjoyed the live-on-air hosts.
They had little time to consider their application to Te Rito.
Kereama helped them with building platforms and helped to promote their social media presence. Anything to help find the story.
They can't wait to begin studies at East Tamaki and Kahumako feels privileged that she will get to study under Chris Winitana, one of the lead trainers.
Both women are used to being on stage, beginning with Tuhourangi-Ngati Wahiao kapa haka. Atutahi, who connects to Tuhourangi-Ngati Wahiao, Ngati Rangiteaorere, Ngati Whakaue, Ngati Porou and Samoa, has in the past been involved in musical theatre.
She was crowned Miss Rotorua 2020.
Kahumako, of Tuwharetoa, Ngati Rangitihi, Ngati Maniapoto and Ngati Mahuta descent, has toured the world performing kapa haka and contemporary dance. That includes gigs in Paris, Germany and Abu Dhabi — Reo and Kapa Haka experience really helped her gain these life changing opportunities.
So everything is in place for their move to Tamaki Makaurau and they are concentrating now on finding a whare.
