One News' new weekend weather presenter says she is doing it to share her love of te reo Māori.
Former Te Karere reporter Te Rauhiringa Brown (Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Apakura, Ngāti Kahu) is presenting the weather while Renee Wright is on maternity leave.
Brown says the opportunity gives her a chance to promote and share her love of te reo Māori.
“Sophie Baird, who is in our leadership team here in the newsroom approached me and she said ‘Is this something you’d be interested in?’
"It's not every weekend, I do have tamariki and I'm still reporting for Seven Sharp during this time but it's a great opportunity for me to grow, and celebrate and promote our beautiful language of te reo Māori."
She’s been inspired as well by the weather presenter Dan Corbett and his use of te reo Māori for his weather segments during Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori every year.
In Tina Carline's footsteps
"Also, during this journey, I found out that the first female presenter in all of Aotearoa was, in fact, Māori. Tina Carline, from Tūwharetoa and Te Arawa – she would use te reo Māori at a time when you would never hear it on TV; Te Karere wasn't even thought of.
“I was really proud knowing that I was following in her footsteps.
“It’s great to be a part of the shift that we’re seeing in mainstream TV at the moment.”
Brown revealed that she’s allowed to speak as much Māori as she wants during her weather segment, so long as she follows up with the English translation.
“Not only are you getting the weather but it’s a great learning opportunity to learn about some of these kupu related to the weather."
The training for such a task to present the weather took six to eight weeks, learning from others such as Corbett and Wright, “sitting alongside the best of the best”.
'Overwhelmed' by response from Māori
Throughout the mahi she has done in broadcasting, Brown says presenting the weather is the hardest she’s had to do.
“Speaking English for three minutes and 30 seconds straight, learning how to use the clicker, talk to the vidwall, edit the sequences.
“Heaps of layers of learning, of growth, I struggled, I cried, I was nervous, all the beautiful things.”
The response to Brown’s presenting has been nothing but praise.
“When I came off [air], I was so overwhelmed and humbled by the response from Māori. I didn’t think it was a big deal until I did it.
“People were just so happy to see te reo Māori in that space.”
