August 25, 2022
Te Rauhiringa Brown – racist backlash
TVNZ journalist Te Rauhiringa Brown says she’s not put off by racist reactions to her mixing te reo and English in the weather report.
The Seven Sharp reporters received online pushback for her prime-time presentation.
She says the media is embracing te reo Maori and she feels for those being left behind.
“Me taku aroha ki a ratou. I feel very sorry for them because I know that’s something they were taught and something their ancestors were taught in a time when imperialism and colonisation were just rampant, talking about the apartheid, talking about the Springbok and we had segregation and that was just normal for them, that was their condition,” she says.
Ms Brown says growing up there was little te reo Māori heard on television, so she’s proud of what she can do through presenting, acting and music to expose it to more people.