Whetu Fala returns to Whanganui to manage Awa FM

Staff of Whanganui's Awa FM Māori radio station, including new manager Whetu Fala, are pictured with the Kaumātua Kaunihera o Whanganui (Whanganui elders' council). Photo / Supplied

Whanganui's Awa FM radio station has a new manager, Whetu Fala, who was brought up in Aramoho and went on to work in film and television.

Fala started work on March 4, and said it was wonderful to be home.

She's open to new ideas, and wants to talk to te reo Māori speakers from the rohe (area) about what they are doing, how healthy they think the local mita (dialect) is and how they want it to be. She can be rung on (06) 347 1402.

All Māori media are being reviewed, to see how print, radio and television can best serve te reo. The Kaumātua Kaunihera o Whanganui (the Whanganui council of elders) wants Fala to move with the times.

The station has a Facebook page, and she's testing what works best there.

Fala has links to the Ngā Rauru Kii Tahi iwi. Her mother, Lizzie (nee Jacobs), was a native te reo speaker.

Fala's first job was with Māori Affairs in Whanganui, working with the "brilliant" Uncle Matt Huirua. She got her start in film with the movie Te Rua, a production by Ngāti Apa film-maker Barry Barclay.

She's worked in television and film for 30 years, as an actor, writer, director and producer. She's on the board of Māori Television, Ngā Taonga Sound and Vision and Te Puna Ataata (the New Zealand Film Heritage Trust).

"Awa FM is very much about Te Ātihaunui a Pāpārangi. The boards provide me with national Māori media intelligence," she said.

At Awa FM, her job is to promote the stories and language cadence of the Whanganui River region for the world.

The station has existed since 1991, and is one of 21 in New Zealand's Iwi Radio Network. It has four staff, who are based in a large building in the Tupoho Community Complex in Campbell St but they may be moving soon.

Awa FM broadcasts 24/7. Rauru Broughton's Te Awa Korihi show, from 10am to 2pm, deals with the future of the mita and matters around this rohe. Manahi Cribb takes over from 2pm to 6pm, with the Rangatahi Show.

The station's licence is held by Ngā Tāngata Tiaki o Whanganui, and it's run by a board. Chairwoman Keria Ponga is pleased to have Fala home, to help guide the next generation of Māori media makers.