Tini Molyneux, who fell into Māori broadcasting by chance, says her involvement with Te Karere didn't change her life but definitely altered the course for te reo Māori.
"Te Karere was a foundation for fluent speakers to share the language with their audience. It was a different time back then, the language was under attack, and Māori had become embarrassed to speak their own language. So this is the foundation that shifted that thinking through seeing Māori on television and hearing the language they were speaking," she told Te Ao Māori News, reflecting on the 40th anniversary of Te Karere's broadcast in 1982.
Molyneux joined Te Karere in the late 1980s as a reporter, and for much of the 1990s was the presenter of what had by then had moved from a two-minute bulletin to a full 30-minute broadcast, Monday to Friday. She also served time as a producer for the programme, before becoming Māori affairs reporter for One News. In that time, many kaupapa were covered by Te Karere in Aotearoa and abroad.
The Queen's tangi
Molyneux says she has taken a lot of enjoyment from her career, especially the many Waitangi Day events and the various hīkoi and occupations in the name of Māori land rights.
"Those [the marches for land] were some of the events that gave us strength today.
"But, if I were to pinpoint a highlight, it would have to be the funeral of Te Arikinui Te Atairangikaahu," she says. "That showcased the Māori funeral process for those who were unaware and highlighted the prestige of our people."
Molyneux, who received the Legend of Television award in 2018 at the NZ TV Awards, says there have been many challenges for Te Karere over the course of 40 years, not least of which was being sandwiched by reo Pākehā programmes. She also says she encountered racist experiences "but what I saw was ignorance, ignorance of tikanga and the value of the language. The language was attacked and it's now thriving.
Keep speaking te reo
"They realise that now, and are less ignorant. I experienced racism but I ignored it. There was one racial attack but it didn't come from Pākehā. It was a Māori women at Auckland Airport who said there's no value in the language and Māori are embarrassed."
Māori broadcasting is a family affair for Molyneux, having followed her sister, Puhi Rangiaho into the industry, while cousin Hineani Melbourne has forged a career across the industry, and another cousin, Peata Melbourne, is an experienced journalist and presents Māori Television's flagship news programme, Te Ao Mārama. Daughter Taiha Molyneux is a former journalist and producer.
Having been a key part of Te Karere, and Māori broadcasting for much of its near-half century on-air, Molyneux says it's vital that those who have grown up alongside, and since Te Karere keep looking after the iconic programme, and all that has come since, including iwi radio and Māori Television.
"These programmes will continue if there's interest. My time has passed. It's now the responsibility of those who grew up in kōhanga reo. If you and your children continue to speak our language, it'll survive."