This week marks 40 years since the first broadcast of Te Karere - the country's first reo Māori programme. What began as a two-minute daily news update via New Zealand's state broadcaster in an effort to revive the Māori language has paved the pathway for many more reo Māori programmes to follow.
The many faces of Te Karere are a familiar sight to TV watchers whether they speak Te Reo Māori or not. The stories presented have contributed to the survival of the Māori language.
Te Karere presenter Scotty Morrison says, "I think the language has evolved and grown a lot in the past 40 years. If we go back to the language of that time, it has changed."
Te Karere has become a household name and the launchpad for many Māori broadcasters such as Hinerangi Goodman whose career spanned 25 years on-air.
"I got a phone call saying, Moari Stafford wants me to work at Te Karere. I couldn't believe that because I had just started work at Radio Aotearoa," she recalls.
Paul Yurisich has been the head of news and current affairs at TVNZ including Te Karere since 2020. He was a senior producer for One News before departing for Al Jazeera English in the mid-2000s.
“I think it’s the prominence that it really has now across the newsroom, the influence it has in the centre of everything we do now, even its physical presence. We’ve now moved it right into the heart of the newsroom and it’s such an integral part of everything we do every day,” Yurisich says.
The centre of everything
Te Karere first went to air during Māori Language Week in 1982. Derek Fox was its first anchor. The programme had many supporters, and just as many critics, Goodman says.
“There were racist slurs, belittling us but, regardless of the negative undertones, you take it and continue with your work in a humble and modest manner because as a reporter you’re there for the language above all else, that’s why you are there.”
Twenty-odd years later, Morrison began his journey with Te Karere and recalls some of the criticism he first endured.
"It was as if I was being thrown under the bus. I'd arrive at a marae and be lectured by elders who'd say, 'We don't have a clue what you're saying with those fancy words made up by the Māori Language Commission'. Today though, the language has developed and grown because of Te Karere. It's widely used now because of Te Karere. The whole country knows there's an indigenous language of this country and Te Karere has been one of the bearers of te reo Māori to our communities."
It's a challenge that was taken seriously by Te Karere staff despite the challenges of the time. Goodman, also known for her necklace of pearls and fashionable sense of style, says presentation was of the utmost importance.
'Te reo is everything'
“I think you must have high standards because you’re representing the language. The language is everything, so you must stand proud.
“The women must become the ultimate representation of femininity, and so I adorn myself proudly inside and out, and that is why I wear all my jewellery and lipstick. These days though this (my moko kauae) is what adorns my face.”
Te Karere is still going strong. It has helped entrench the Māori language, and diversified New Zealand media. Its survival is an achievement in itself.
Te Karere executive producer and former reporter Roihana Nuri says, "By working together, by teaching the up and comings is how we forge forward. Not just for Te Karere but also for the survival of our language. These are pathways that have been left behind by those before us, like Whai Ngata, Derek Fox. My job is to ensure their legacy continues."
"I think in the past, when Te Karere first began all those years ago it was this smaller operation on the side but it is now the centre of all we do," Yurisich says. I see it every day, and the fact that there's inspiration between the whole whānau across the newsroom and the people are going and seeking advice on Te ao Maori and te reo and pronunciation. It is now just one big team- there is no just Te Karere, and One News; it is now just one big operation," he says
Te Karere has survived for 40 years - here's to 40 more.