ScreenTalk: Whai Ngata

Whai Ngata (Ngati Porou, Whanau a Apanui) has had a long and distinguished career in print, radio and television.

In this ScreenTalk interview he talks about the importance of Maori programming and reflects on highlights from his career, including the huge impact the Te Maori exhibition had in the US.

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Beginning as a Maori reporter for the Auckland Star, Ngata moved on to Radio New Zealand in 1975 and over the next few years covered such important Maori stories such as the 1975 Land March led by Dame Whina Cooper, and the Bastion Point occupation and evictions in 1978.

Ngata joined Television New Zealand in 1983, working for Network News. He began reading the news in Maori on Te Karere, and while doing so traveled to the USA to cover the Te Maori exhibition.

Along with Ernie Leonard, Ngata helped set up the Maori Programmes department at TVNZ, and became a pivotal member of the team at Waka Huia. Eventually Ngata became head of the Maori department and was instrumental in creating popular and long-running Maori programmes such as Marae and Mai Time. In his long career, Ngata attended 30 years of Waitangi Day celebrations.

In 2007 Ngata became on Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to broadcasting and television.

In this ScreenTalk interview, Ngata discusses:

• The controversy surrounding the launch of Te Karere in the early 80s

• Encountering gang members in the Hokianga along with fellow Te Karere newsreader Derek Fox

• How saving the Maori language was not the rationale behind the news in Maori

• The huge impact the Te Maori exhibition had in America

• The difficulty of shooting the sacred exhibits

• How Waitangi Day changed in 30 years of covering the event

• How he thinks journalists should report on protests

• Making the best of not having Maori programming in primetime

• The huge success of The New Zealand Wars documentary series

• The importance of Maori programming and language to New Zealand

This video is available on YouTube to embed and distribute via a Creative Commons licence.

NZ On Screen: Interview, Camera & Editing - Andrew Whiteside