WhaiNgata
- Producer
- Reporter
- Executive
Whai Ngata worked in Māori broadcasting at Television New Zealand for 25 years, a period when the quantity of Māori broadcasting underwent a major expansion. Starting as a reporter, he rose to become TVNZ's general manager of Māori Programming, a post he held from 1994 until retiring in 2008. Ngata was named an Officer of the Order of New Zealand Merit in 2007. He passed away on 3 April 2016.
Screenography
Biography
Whai Ngata was putting Māori language and issues on New Zealand television screens over a period of major expansion in Māori programming. When Ngata retired in 2008, TVNZ chief executive Rick Ellis argued he had been "a rock in turbulent waters", and one of a handful of key figures in the "revitalisation of Māori language and culture".
Awards
2007 Officer of the Order of New Zealand Merit (ONZM)
For services to broadcasting and television
1998 TV Guide Television Awards
Best Māori Language Programme: Waka Huia, Ngā Take
“Much of the revitalisation of Māori language and culture and its improved standing in Pākehā New Zealand has been the direct result of a handful of skilled, dedicated and passionate people like Whai. ”
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