Press Release – NZ On Air Around 40% of the first funding round for Public Interest Journalism has gone to projects benefitting Māori journalism. Established in February with a $55m government allocation to NZ On Air, the fund aims to support at-risk public interest journalism, meeting local, regional and national audience needs. The first funding round of $9.6m has just been awarded by NZ On Air, and $3.5m from the first round will go to projects with a Māori journalism impact (with a further $1.6m already committed for a second year in one large-scale project.) The Te Rito training programme will provide the country’s first comprehensive Māori and diverse voices journalism cadetship scheme to train and hire 25 new journalists.