HUMANS OF THE ISLANDS - JOHNSON RAELA

JOHNSON RAELA

JOURNALIST and PRESENTER ABC AUSTRALIA'S 'THE PACIFIC'

COOK ISLANDS 

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Kia Orana, my name is Johnson Raela and I am a proud New Zealand born Cook Islander from the island of Aitutaki and my village is Amuri (Te Upoko Enua). I’m also proud to be from Mangere, South Auckland. 

I’m currently living in Melbourne/Naarm, and work at ABC Australia as host of ‘The Pacific’ TV show. 

I have a background in television (Tagata Pasifika, Sky Sport News, What Now, Operation Hero and Polyfest), radio (Flava FM) and communications. 

Prior to moving to Australia I owned 008 Media, which is a creative communications agency specialising media, digital and communications management. I guess the easiest way to describe this mahi is that I helped to advise organisations on various campaigns. 

You'll be presenting Season 2 of the ABC Pacific show 'The Pacific' which premieres 03 .  Can you tell us a bit more about the show and how the opportunity came up? 

'The Pacific' is a 30-minute news program that airs on ABC Australia. The show covers Pacific news, sport, politics and entertainment from across the region. 

I am the host of the show and this season I’m joined by a new co-host Alice Lolohea who Aotearoa audiences will know from Tagata Pasifika. We are also well supported by a team of correspondents with deep regional expertise including Evan Wasuka, Lice Movono in Suva, Fiji, Chrisnrita Aumanu-Leong in Honiara, Solomon Islands, and Marian Kapu in Nuku'Alofa, Tonga.

The show is very new, we debuted in April this year and following a very successful first season ABC Australia renewed the programme which means we will see more Pacific content across our screens in Australia and the region. For me, the series' return signals the ABC's long-term commitment to having Pacific people at the forefront of Pacific content.

How this role started for me - the ABC were looking for Pacific journalists to join the show in the first season, so I signed up initially as a producer, and that was only supposed to be for 4 months. Throughout season one my role then gradually grew to being more on screen alongside experienced (Samoan) reporter Tahlea Aualiitia who was then the host of the show. I guess the ABC liked my work and it looks like Melbourne will be home for as long as they keep wanting me to stay haha.

Why is it important for Pacific people to be telling Pacific stories?

Honestly, it's not just important, but necessary for Pacific people to be the ones telling our stories. Actually it’s necessary for people of any specific culture to be telling their own stories. I think it comes down to authenticity, representation, preservation, empowerment and inspiration. 

Only Pacific people can understand the complexities, nuances, and subtleties of our culture, because we live it.

We know that for a long time, a lot of our stories were told from a Western viewpoint. As a result, many of our stories have been untold, misrepresented, or misunderstood. 

But this has changed now, there are many platforms where our stories are now being elevated by our people, offering a more accurate representation of our many different cultures.

By telling our own stories we are preserving our unique cultures, languages, and traditions. We are also controlling our own narratives, changing and challenging stereotypes, and showing our communities in a way that aligns with our lived experiences. Our stories also inspire our people. 

Take the Tongan community for example, the content we see in the way they show up to support their people, the mafana vibes, is inspiring the next generation of Tongan greatness across many different industries. 

If I bring it back to ‘The Pacific’, having experienced Pacific journalists based in the region like Lice in Fiji, Chrisnrita in Honiara and Marian Kapu in Tonga - these journalists know their community best and will know contacts and how to get a story a lot faster than any other journalist from other parts of the world.

Their insight into local issues ensures we are telling stories from a lived Pacific perspective.

I do want to be completely honest and say that we do have non-Pacific people working on the show, both in my team and as part of the wider Asia-Pacific newsroom at the ABC. I love working with these people too, they have a heart for helping to tell our stories. It's my role to be able to use my experience to guide Pacific narratives alongside our non-Pacific staff.

Unfortunately, in Australia at the moment, we just don’t have enough Pacific journalists to fill all the roles, that was clear when we advertised for roles and there were very few Pacific applicants. 

So, this means that I have a duty to try and help attract Pacific people towards a career in journalism. I hope through ABC shows like ‘The Pacific’, ‘That Pacific Sports Show’, radio shows - Pacific Beat, Nesia Daily, On the Record, In The Fale and Nesian Footy - our people, especially young people, are able to see us doing these jobs and come and take our place.

What were the pathways that led you to where you are today?

That’s an interesting question, because I don’t think I’ve followed any traditional pathways. I created my own, with the help of some amazing people. 

Fate puts the right people in your path to help steer you in the direction of wherever it is you’re going. Sometimes when you start, you have no idea where the destination is, but the journey is going to be one hell of a ride.

My radio career started after giving up my seat for a Samoan lady on a train. She happened to work at The Radio Network (now NZME.) and she got me a job at Flava radio. After eight years of radio and presenting TV shows What Now, Polyfest and Operation Hero, I got bored and said to myself - “there has got to be more to a career than this”.  Don’t get me wrong, I was blessed to do what I was doing and for many that would be a dream job, but it wasn’t fulfilling my soul.

So in 2015 I decided to go back to university to do my Masters and figure out what I wanted in the next phase of my career.

Since then I’ve tried a number of roles; I worked in sports communications and media management at national and international level, helped to create a youth digital series called Oompher for Careers New Zealand which had millions of views online, I was cast in a lead theatre show role, represented New Zealand on the Ship for World Youth programme which took me to Japan, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and Fiji, served on the board of Aorere College and worked in Government. 

I also made sure to keep my hand in broadcasting through being a TV reporter for Tagata Pasifika and Sky Sport News as well as a freelance director for FreshTV and the CoconetTV.  Being a broadcaster is what I’m good at and what I enjoy doing, telling positive stories about our people. However my good friend & mentor Sandra Kailahi said to me, "There’s no reason why you can’t do multiple things, if it makes you happy then do it".

Although I’ve created my own pathways… it hasn’t been without the help of amazing people. It’s crucial to be a good person, be kind and hard working. Do that, and the right people will advocate for you and open up spaces for you to thrive in.

What have been the biggest challenges & lessons you learned along the way?

Media and entertainment is a tough slog. People think it’s glitz and glamour, but in reality it's low-paying and only a handful of people make mega bucks. 

The countless audition rooms I’ve sat in and not landed the role, the many times a producer or programme director has told me I wasn’t the right look or fit for the show, or even the endless emails that you send to networks that go unanswered really does help to build a thick skin and resilience. 

I would just tell myself, ‘ok Jons, that just means the role was not for you, but eventually the right one will come along’.

I’m a firm believer in ‘you get what you deserve’.

When I was dropped from the 'What Now' presenting team, strangely I remember feeling at ease. I just had this innate feeling that everything was going to be all good. I had a whole new set of skills added to my kete of tricks and have consistently continued to add to the kete.

I also believe in not hanging around in a job just for the sake of having a job. I know this is not as easy for some, especially parents and caregivers that have to provide for their family. But for me, if i’m not feeling challenged in a role, I will happily move on to another that will push me beyond my limits.

But if there’s a lesson I always want to impart on someone I’m working alongside, it’s to make sure I leave them in a better place professionally than when we first met.

This means sharing my knowledge and skills that I've learnt from years in the industry and also helping to try and open doors for them and encourage them to keep pushing their limits and abilities.

A few years ago you launched a podcast series with Silver Fern Maia Wilson - tell us how you met and why you wanted to start a podcast with her?

I first met Maia Wilson at an event I was MCing at the Otara markets in 2015 for Flava radio. Fast forward 2 years and I'd taken up a media manager role for the Northern Stars netball team, who she plays for in the ANZ Premiership league. 

Over the last few years we just clicked and built a friendship largely over mocking each other lol. I have a shady sense of humour, but she’s one of few people that will happily mock me back without missing a beat. Maia is also an incredibly driven and gifted athlete - trust me, she has dragged my unfit body out for training sessions with her which has left me questioning my will to live lol.

In 2019 I went to Maia and pitched to her the idea of starting a podcast together. As well as being one of New Zealand's top netballers, she’s studying communications and is an incredible communicator for someone so young (we’re actually 10 years apart in age). She is always being interviewed through her job as an athlete, but I knew she’d make a great host and interviewer because of her natural ability to talk to anyone she meets and make them feel comfortable.

We are both passionate about our Māori and Pacific heritage - so with my broadcasting background and her possibly having a career in broadcasting alongside being a world class athlete, we felt our podcast could be something interesting that people would like to listen to. 

What is the name of your podcast and can you tell us a bit about what the series is about and why you wanted to do it?

The Coco-Ngāti podcast was 18 months in the making. We actually put a question on our Instagram story asking for suggestions for a podcast name for us. One of the responses we got was Coco-Ngāti. It’s a perfect name that reflects our Pacific and Māori heritage. Coco-Ngāti combines cross-cultural, wahine Māori and Pacific male perspectives on issues and topics relating to us. It’s our stories, by our people.

Season one focused on ‘being mixed race here in Aotearoa’. Although we aren’t entirely mixed race ourselves, we talk to and learn from inspiring people who openly share their experiences of being Pacific or Māori and another ethnicity. 

Our guests talk openly about the struggles of cultural identity, finding their place in the world, mixed race relationships, raising children who are mixed race and their experiences with racism. 

Aotearoa today is full of beautiful mixed race people and it was important to us that we didn’t just speak to celebrities or influencers, we wanted grass roots guests that anyone could relate to. 

What do you love about being a Cook Islander today?

I’m currently in a phase in Australia where I’m having to build connection with Cook Islands communities here, which is exciting for me. I’m learning about how Cook Islanders here have been raised and their connection to our culture. I’m also learning about how they navigate their culture in a country I’m unfamiliar with. But ultimately - I love that together we are fiercely proud of representing the Cook Islands in Australia.  

I love that we can unapologetically be ourselves - and that goes for being a Pacific Islanders in general. I see many of our youth confidently walking proud in their skin and commanding presence in the spaces they’re in. Our parents, grand-parents and great-grandparents toiled the soil so we could bloom and flourish. 

Don’t get me wrong, I know New Zealand (and Australia) still have a long way to go in addressing racism and systemic issues that have long plagued our people. But I also know we have more Pacific people occupying spaces that can create tangible change. Those numbers will increase if we keep applying pressure to changing the narrative and taking up roles that historically weren’t meant for us - Government leadership roles, board of director roles, senior leadership and management roles.

We are good enough to be in those positions. 

What is the best piece of advice you've been given?

Be a good person, share what you have learnt to empower others and always smile, because it could make someone's day. 

Beatrice Faumuina always says to me - ‘make sure you take care of YOU’.

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You can watch Johnson and the team on 'The Pacific' every Thursday on ABC Australia
🕗 🇵🇬 7pm / 🇸🇧 🇻🇺 8pm / 🇫🇯 9pm / 🇼🇸 10pm

You can watch ‘The Pacific’ here:  https://iview.abc.net.au/show/pacific