Revolutionising Māori Broadcasting for the Digital Age

Aukaha News is a regional reo Māori news service grounded in the values, perspectives, and voices of our people. We are proud to operate under the governance entity Te Whakakitenga o Waikato, the tribal parliament representing the people of Waikato Tainui. As mana whakahaere, Te Whakakitenga ensures that our work is guided by the aspirations, tikanga, and collective voice of the iwi. Through this partnership, Aukaha News is empowered to deliver news content that reflects the mana motuhake of our people and honours our reo and worldview.

At Aukaha News, our storytelling comes straight from the hearts and minds of our communities, making it deeply meaningful, relatable, and impactful. Our growing and loyal audience reflects this connection, with increasing engagement across social media, digital platforms, and radio.

We focus on the unique stories and perspectives of the people of Tainui Waka, Te Arawa Waka, and Tauranga Moana (Mātaatua Waka and Takitimu Waka). These rohe are often underrepresented or misrepresented by mainstream media and are often overlooked by national news providers. Our regional news and voices strategy ensures that our communities are seen, heard, and valued not just as subjects, but as active participants and narrators of their own stories.

By platforming grassroots stories, Aukaha News gives voice to the rich cultural heritage of our iwi and hapori, especially those whose experiences and contributions are too often overlooked or misrepresented. Our kaupapa goes beyond simply reporting the news; it is about reclaiming the narrative and setting the news agenda from our Māori perspective. We've led coverage on key issues that mattered to our people: when Hobson’s Pledge misused the image of our Ngāti Pikiao kuia, Ellen Tamati; when heavy-handed police enforcement overwhelmed the Matapihi community in Tauranga during the gang patch ban; and when whānau across Waikato were being scammed by a fraudulent headstone seller. These are just a few examples of Aukaha News leading the way, ensuring our people’s stories are told with integrity, context, and mana: from our regions, for our people.

We also invest in the development of our own rangatahi with the support of our iwi. Our newsroom produces news by us, for us, while actively mentoring and training the next generation of Māori journalists. Many of the country’s leading Māori journalists have returned home to be part of this movement, to share our stories from the whenua, and to support our rangatahi in building skills and careers locally.

We recognise that mainstream journalism training is failing our people, both culturally and professionally. Aukaha News is stepping in to fill that gap because it’s critical to provide opportunities for our rangatahi to grow in environments where reo, tikanga, and whānau are central. This allows them to pursue media careers without having to relocate to cities where they face isolation and financial hardship.  

While our regional news contracts with Te Māngai Pāho do not specifically require us to provide training, the reality is that tertiary institutions are not adequately preparing journalism graduates to meet the reo Māori proficiency and cultural competency required in our newsrooms. There is currently no training pathway that is fit for our purpose. As a result, we are left to carry the responsibility of on-the-job training, a burden that mainstream newsrooms do not face. They are resourced and expected only to produce news, while we are expected to both train and deliver. This creates a clear disadvantage and must change if we are serious about building a sustainable, high-quality reo Māori news workforce.

Our vision is clear: our people, telling our stories, from our whenua, with our voice.