Ex-Māori TV broadcasters to go hard at Press Club
What on earth has been going on at Māori Television? And what kind of future is there for Māori wanting to report Māori issues?
Two high-profile journalists formerly with Māori Television promise to take no prisoners when they share the stage as guest speakers at Hamilton’s Wintec Press Club in August.
Mihingarangi Forbes and Annabelle Lee will address an invite-only audience of 100 when they appear at the August 28 event in Hamilton.
Senior politicians and well-known broadcasters are expected to be in the audience, alongside journalism students at the Waikato Institute of Technology (Wintec).
Forbes was a presenter at Native Affairs, and Lee worked as producer. Both left the network this year – the latest departures since the controversial appointment of Paora Maxwell as CEO. Carol Hirschfeld and Julian Wilcox started the trend when they exited in 2014.
Forbes said she and Lee wanted to ask important questions about Māori news media in their Press Club address.
She said, “Māoridom and ordinary Māori deserve good investigative journalism. But is the future of Māori reporting in the Māori TV box, or mainstream?
“We’ll also talk about taking on the Māori establishment, and why transparency is more important when you’re Māori – and how not being closely related to powerful people helps.”
Author and Press Club president Steve Braunias said he was “delighted but also somewhat deeply afraid” the two eminent broadcasters had agreed to accept his invitation.
“They speak their mind, they’re clever, they’re unpredictable, they’re good-looking and confident – goodness knows what will come out of their mouths when they get on stage.
“But it’s a great honour for Press Club to host Mihi and Annabelle. They’re both first-class journalists who break cracking yarns and go about their work with vigour and intelligence.
“If it was careless for Māori Television to lose the wonderful Carol Hirschfeld, and then reckless when it also lost the superb Julian Wilcox, it’s just kind of freaking nuts to further lose people of such blazing quality as Mihi and Annabelle. We welcome them at Press Club with great pleasure.”
Former speakers at the legendary lunch extravaganza event have included Sir Paul Holmes, Winston Peters, Pam Corkery, Greg King, Robyn Malcolm, Patrick Gower, and Duncan Garner.
The Wintec Press Club lunch series is held three times each year on behalf of the journalism students, and staged by the Wintec School of Media Arts. The star-studded guest list always features well-known names in politics, media, entertainment, sport, business, law, and the arts.
The 12pm-2pm lunch will be held at the Ferrybank restaurant and convention centre in Grantham St.
