Maori Television's blog

Highlights of Maori Television’s marathon ANZAC Day broadcast earlier this year will be revisited in three, one-hour specials – THE BEST OF ANZAC DAY 2008: A TATOU TAONGA – screening every Wednesday at 8.30 PM from July 2.

For the third year in a row, New Zealand’s national indigenous broadcaster devoted its entire 18-hour schedule in April to coverage of key ANZAC memorial ceremonies at home and overseas as well as veteran interviews, documentary premieres, studio discussions and speeches, short films, special stories and songs.

Viewer feedback was overwhelmingly positive. According to a media consultant from Paekakariki: “This was television at its best – interesting, moving, fun, diverse and always courteous”. Another viewer said: “We had your channel on our TV all day and the mix of live in-studio discussions, coverage from ANZAC parades across NZ, old war movies and live feeds from the Sydney parade was simply fantastic”.

Presented by Wena Harawira, Julian Wilcox and Judy Bailey, the specials are:

THE BEST OF ANZAC DAY 2008: A TATOU TAONGA – Wednesday July 2 at 8.30 PM: First in the three-part ‘best of’ from Maori Television’s all-day ANZAC coverage on Friday April 25 2008. Tonight: A repeat of the ANZAC ADDRESS delivered by Pulitzer Prize-winning war correspondent Peter Arnett who is of Ngai Tahu descent. Currently a professor of journalism at China’s Shantou University, Arnett has been reporting on war and global conflicts from Vietnam to Iraq for more than 40 years. The one-hour special includes new material from the studio question and answer session that followed his delivery of the ANZAC ADDRESS.

THE BEST OF ANZAC DAY 2008: A TATOU TAONGA – Wednesday July 9 at 8.30 PM: Second in the three-part ‘best of’ from Maori Television’s all-day ANZAC coverage on Friday April 25 2008. Tonight: FROM THE ATTIC uncovered the stories, mysteries and meaning behind the ANZAC taonga or treasures so many Kiwis have stashed ‘in the attic’. The diary of a Maori soldier who never made it home is returned to his descendants, and the mystery of a locket bearing precious photographs is solved after 30 years.

THE BEST OF ANZAC DAY 2008: A TATOU TAONGA – Wednesday July 16 at 8.30 PM: Final in the three-part ‘best of’ from Maori Television’s all-day ANZAC coverage on Friday April 25 2008. Tonight: Highlights from the key ceremonies at Gallipoli including the combined Australian and New Zealand ANZAC dawn service at ANZAC Cove and the New Zealand memorial service at Chunuk Bair. Veteran broadcaster Judy Bailey goes behind-the-scenes to show what happens in the lead-up to ANZAC Day events in Turkey and also reflects on her experiences at Gallipoli as both a reporter for Maori Television and master of ceremonies at the Gallipoli services.

THE BEST OF ANZAC DAY 2008: A TATOU TAONGA screens in the New Zealand Documentary slot, Pakipumeka Aotearoa, at 8.30 PM on Wednesday July 2, 9 and 16. Viewers can call the helpline on 0800 MA TATOU (0800 628 2868) for advice on how to tune into Maori Television which is available on channel 5 on Freeview; channel 19 on Sky Digital and channel 6 on Sky UHF; and free-to-air on UHF or using a satellite dish and receiver.

Sunday July 13 at 8.00 PM

Reality television at its best: tears, tantrums and laughter are the order of the day as contestants learn to live together on a remote marae – and face up to the challenge to learn te reo Maori in eight weeks.

Sunday July 13 at 8.30 PM

Haare Williams presents this inspirational history series that uses sound and visual archival material to bring the past back to the present. Kaumatua and well-known Maori reflect on significant milestones in time. Tonight: the building of the Whare Runanga at Waitangi. (English subtitles)

Sunday July 13 at 9.00 PM

A documentary that follows a small group of prankster activists as they gain worldwide notoriety. The film begins when two members of group, Andy and Mike, set up a website that mimics the World Trade Organisation’s, and it’s mistaken for the real thing. They play along with the ruse and soon find themselves invited to important functions as WTO representatives.

Sunday July 13 at 9.00 PM

A documentary that follows a small group of prankster activists as they gain worldwide notoriety. The film begins when two members of group, Andy and Mike, set up a website that mimics the World Trade Organisation’s, and it’s mistaken for the real thing. They play along with the ruse and soon find themselves invited to important functions as WTO representatives.

Sunday July 13 at 9.00 PM

A documentary that follows a small group of prankster activists as they gain worldwide notoriety. The film begins when two members of group, Andy and Mike, set up a website that mimics the World Trade Organisation’s, and it’s mistaken for the real thing. They play along with the ruse and soon find themselves invited to important functions as WTO representatives.

Sunday July 13 at 9.00 PM

A documentary that follows a small group of prankster activists as they gain worldwide notoriety. The film begins when two members of group, Andy and Mike, set up a website that mimics the World Trade Organisation’s, and it’s mistaken for the real thing. They play along with the ruse and soon find themselves invited to important functions as WTO representatives.

Monday July 14 at 10.00 PM

An exploration of contemporary Africa through a lens of contrasting worlds – traditional and modern, rural and urban, coastal and inland. Also under the spotlight: the power struggles within African nations, weapon exchanges, the role of women and the impact of Westerners.

Tuesday July 15 at 8.30 PM

A season of Israeli drama. Tonight: The Zakuta family are poor, and live in the slums of Bnei Berak. Amram is a 40-year-old Torah scholar, and his wife Yaffa cares for their autistic son Yitzhaq-Shlomo. One afternoon, the boy enters the neighbour’s apartment and a miracle occurs. From that moment, a great crowd gathers around the home of the Zakuta family and changes their lives. A story of marriage, belief and parenting in crisis.

Wednesday July 16 at 8.30 PM

Final in the three-part ‘best of’ from Maori Television’s all-day ANZAC coverage on Friday April 25 2008. Tonight: Repeat coverage of key ceremonies at Gallipoli including the combined Australian and New Zealand ANZAC dawn service at ANZAC Cove and the New Zealand memorial service at Chunuk Bair. Veteran broadcaster Judy Bailey also goes behind-the-scenes to show what happens in the lead-up to ANZAC Day events in Turkey.