The first person to read a news bulletin with a Māori face tattoo was a newsreader.
On Monday, December 27, Oriini Kaipara read the news bulletin for Newshub after she filled in for the usual hosts.
The Mori woman has a chin tattoo that Māori women traditionally wear and she noted how it has been her lifelong dream to read prime-time news.
The first person with a face tattoo to present news was a journalist. December 28, 2021, 13:55
The first person to read a news bulletin with a Māori face tattoo was a journalist.
On Monday, December 27, Oriini Kaipara read the news bulletin for Newshub after she filled in for the usual hosts.
The Mori woman has a chin tattoo that is traditionally worn by Mori women and she noted how it has been her lifelong dream to read prime-time news.
She got a tattoo after discovering she was Māori.
Kaipara was the first woman to have a Mori face tattoo on a news bulletin and she was enjoying it.
She said, “I’m not speechless, but it’s a buzz. I am proud of how far I’ve come in being able to anchor 6.00 pm right now. It’s definitely a step forward, and a step-up. If there was a goal for me, it would be anchoring prime-time news, and that’s happened.”
Kaipara said that she doesn’t feel the pressure as much as she used to when she first started out in journalism.
‘But that comes with doing the hard yards, and then actually realizing it and doing it is really exciting,’ she added.
Kaipara left TVNZ in May to take up a presenting role with Three and hopes to become a permanent host for the bulletin at 6.00 pm.
She said, “I’ve been realizing for a while that it’s much bigger than just reading the news, or doing stories that matter to all of us. It’s also a big win for this generation and the next 10 generations – don’t let identity or your culture hold you back from anything. In fact, you use it as your power, to be greater and do great things for everyone.”
‘It’s breaking new ground for us as Māori, but also for people of color. Whether you’ve got a moko kauae or not’, she concluded.
Kaipara will be reading the news on Newshub Live until December 30.
