‘Our stories, finally seen’: Pacific media excellence honoured

Two of New Zealand’s prominent Pacific women in media have been recognised for their achievements in broadcasting and documentary film-making at the 2025 Voyager Media Awards.

Renowned Pasifika creative and Coconet TV Executive Producer Lisa Taouma ONZM, along with TVNZ broadcaster and in-depth journalist Indira Stewart, proudly represented the Pacific at the prestigious event.

Taouma says she was “extremely surprised” to receive the award for Best Current Affairs - Long Form or Documentary for Myths and Maidens, a collaboration with RNZ.

Speaking to John Pulu on Pacific Mornings, Taouma described the experience as both humbling and historic.

“I felt extremely surprised, and the reason I felt extremely surprised is because our fellow broadcaster, Indira Stewart, had made such excellent, excellent work,” she says.

“I felt like a total imposter because Indira had two nominations, two docos in that category, so it was an amazing event…but there's definitely never been a Pacific person or work in those kinds of categories.”

The award-winning documentary provides an unflinching look at the colonial barriers and mindsets influencing how Pacific communities treat each other, especially women.

Taouma says the project aimed to spark hard but necessary conversations about issues like colourism, which leads to the marginalisation of darker-skinned Pacific women within their own communities.

“Myths and Maidens is a look at the harm that that caused, but it’s supposed to be just our wake-up call... The way that we treat people has become normalised.”

Watch Lisa Taouma’s full interview below.

Stewart’s entries included the runner-up for the category, Gang Mums, a series of interviews with four women affiliated with gangs, and Believers & Betrayers: Inside the Shincheonji ‘Cult’, an emotional exploration of a secretive religious group infiltrating Pacific communities.

Taouma highlights the significance of being recognised beyond the usual Pacific-specific categories.

“These are all Pālangi categories… because usually, we only get nominated in the Pasifika category, which is not to take away from that... but that’s sort of the place that all our work usually stands up.”

Taouma views the nominations as victories for the creators and the communities whose stories are at the heart of these works.

“Those pieces come with people. They’re all community pieces. It’s not just us… they document the stories of these communities that have trusted us to tell them.

"It’s those communities who are being honoured.”

She adds how the moment is rare, as Pacific work has started to break through the traditional silos of mainstream media.

Stewart won the award for Best Current Affairs (Short) category with Children of Prisoners, which features interviews with three teenagers grappling with the invisible chains of having a parent in jail.

Stewart also achieved a back-to-back win for the Le Mana Pacific Award.

In a social media post, Stewart says it is the confrontational nature of the work, acknowledging that the industry is suffering from the loss of many “fantastic storytellers”.

“These stories came with their own challenges, editorial battles, and personal cost,” the post read.

While Stewart remains humble about the recognition, she is hopeful for “thriving, robust, independent, and sustainable newsrooms” and acknowledges those still working in in-depth and long-form journalism.

“Those of us who remain feel a different kind of weight and responsibility with this work now.

“Our names are on these nominations but the people who deserve the real honour are those who have trusted us, were courageous to put themselves out there and share their stories with the public.”