John Pulu is a director/reporter on TVNZ's Tagata Pasifika programme.
He graduated from AUT University in 2010 with a Bachelor of Communication Studies in television and also won the Spasifik Magazine prize and PMC Storyboard Award for diversity journalism. He was an AUT/Pacific Islands Media Association (PIMA) scholarship winner in his final year.
While still at high school, Pulu was lucky enough to get work experience on Tagata Pasifika.
He had always been interested in Pacific issues and saw there was a lack of Pacific Island people working in the media. Inspired to become a journalist. he enrolled in the BCS.
“In the television major, you gain hands-on experience in production roles from directing through to camera operation and presenting. This gave me an idea of what to expect in the real thing,” he says.
A highlight was having the opportunity to share his culture in the mini-doco Kava Commune, which looked at the traditional customs of fai kava faka-Tonga or the Tongan kava seremony still practised in New Zealand today.
“AUT also provides additional resources like the Pacific Media Centre, which offers courses and information for Pasifika students studying towards a career in the media industry.”
John Pulu stories on PMC Online
John Pulu story on the PMC - YouTube