04 January 2022 - Māori broadcaster becomes first to anchor news with traditional chin tattoo
Māori journalist becomes first person with facial markings to present primetime news
Jeevan Ravindran (CNN, 31/12/2021)
A Māori journalist has made history in New Zealand by becoming the first person with traditional facial markings to host a primetime news program on national television.
Oriini Kaipara made headlines worldwide after hosting her first 6 p.m. bulletin for Newshub on the TV channel Three, with many lauding the milestone as a win for Māori representation.
"I was really elated. I was over the moon," Kaipara told CNN of the moment she found out she would cover the primetime slot. "It's a huge honor. I don't know how to deal with the emotions."
Māori news anchor becomes first woman in New Zealand to present with traditional chin tattoo
Daniel Keane (Evening Standard, 31/12/2021)
A reporter in New Zealand has become the first person to present a prime time news programme with a traditional Māori chin tattoo.
Oriini Kaipara, 37, presented Newshub Live at 6pm this week with a moko kauae – a traditional tattoo worn by Māori women.
The mother-of-four, from Auckland, said presenting the show had fulfilled a life-long dream and she hoped it would encourage other Māori women to enter the industry.
Why the world cares so much that Oriini Kaipara read the prime time news
Siena Yates (Stuff, 04/01/2021)
It’s a rare feat for a newsreader to make global headlines for anything other than a massive, viral-worthy blunder but Oriini Kaipara has done it for all the right reasons.
The Newshub presenter, who is of Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Rangitihi and Ngāi Tūhoe decent, presents the 4.30pm bulletin but took over anchoring the 6pm news in place of Sam Hayes and Mike McRoberts over the Christmas break.