Māni Dunlop, he uri o Ngāpuhi, is to present the midday news programme Midday Report on RNZ National. She becomes the first Māori presenter to host a regular weekday news programme on RNZ.
Māni Dunlop joined RNZ as an intern at the end of 2011, starting in the general newsroom and specialising in housing and social issues. She then moved into RNZ’s newly established Māori news unit, Te Manu Korihi and became Māori News Director in 2019.
For Māni, there has always been a passion for journalism and story-telling. She says she is excited about the new role and acknowledges the influence of previous Māori broadcasters and journalists who have paved the way for her and others.
“I am looking forward to bringing a cultural and generational shift to presentation at RNZ. It’s been a long time coming and it’s exciting to have a Māori presenter in a regular weekday slot at RNZ. Our voices can and should be heard on the public broadcasting network and I hope with this appointment, our young people can see themselves in the media – across multiple channels – asking the hard questions and exploring the pressing issues facing all of us in Aotearoa.”
Maori News Director Mani Dunlop is the new presenter/producer on the revamped Midday Report.
RNZ Head of News, Richard Sutherland, said both Māni Dunlop and new Supervising Producer, Denise Garland, bring extensive experience with RNZ to their new roles and will do a great job for the revamped programme.
“Midday Report will retain all its existing features, such as business, rural news, sport, weather and World Watch. It will also include interviews with newsmakers and RNZ journalists on the biggest stories of the day.
” As the country and the world faces the unprecedented challenge of dealing with Covid-19, these changes to Midday Report will further enhance RNZ’s ability to bring the latest news and information to New Zealand audiences.”
Māni Dunlop presents her first programme today, Monday 23rd March.
Midday Report
Monday to Friday, Midday - 1pm
RNZ National 101 FM
www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/middayreport