Barbara Dreaver is a Kiribati-born New Zealand broadcaster. She is best known for working as TVNZ’s Pacific correspondent for over 18 years.
With many years of covering Pacific issues, Barbara Dreaver has reported on innumerable stories from islands. She has always been passionate about the Pacific Islands.
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| Quick Facts | |
| Name: | Barbara Helen Dreaver |
| Born: | Banaba, Kiribati |
| Parents: | Peter, Lavinia |
| Nationality: | New Zealander |
| Alma mater: | University of Auckland Manukau Institute of Technology |
| Occupation: | Journalist |
| Employer: | TVNZ |
Early Life
Dreaver’s story starts in Banaba, a coral atoll in Kiribati, where she was born. She grew up on the island of Tarawa. Her father, Peter, is from New Zealand and was a schoolteacher, while her mother, Lavinia, is from Banaba.
With her family, Barbara relocated to the Kiribati capital of Tarawa and then later to New Zealand when she was about 10 or 11.
Education
Barbara majored in education at the University of Auckland. She found work as a cleaner to pay her way through university. Initially, she had no “real desire” to become a teacher.
Dreaver enrolled in a Pacific Island journalism course at the Manukau Institute of Technology.
Career
After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree, Dreaver headed to Rarotonga in 1990. She worked as a reporter for Cook Islands News. She eventually became an editor and co-owner of Cook Islands Press, a weekly newspaper.
Having her fair share of run-ins with authority, Dreaver clashed with Sir Geoffrey Henry on several occasions. She was accused of breaking into his office to steal documents.
Barbara returned to New Zealand in the late ’90s. She worked as a business columnist and freelance feature writer for the NZ Listener, National Business Review, Radio New Zealand, and others.
In 2002, she joined TVNZ and became Pacific correspondent in 2003. She has won several awards following her career at TVNZ.
Her work has made the police detain her in Fiji and Nauru. In December 2008, she was detained in Fiji, then deported and banned from returning for eight years after her reporting offended Frank Bainimarama.
Dreaver was arrested in Nauru in September 2018 and stripped of her media accreditation for the Pacific Island Forum meeting after interviewing refugees at the Nauru Regional Processing Center.
The journalist launched a two-year training program through the Pacific Cooperation Broadcasting Ltd in 2020. It aims to support new Pacific journalists across the Pacific region.
Dreaver became a member of the Establishment Board for the Aotearoa New Zealand Public Media body in 2022.
Awards
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With over thirty years in the broadcast industry, Dreaver has several experiences in print and radio. She has bagged many awards for her input.
Dreaver received two awards – Best TV/Video News Item and Best Coverage of a Major News Event – at the 2019 Voyager Media Awards for covering the 2019 Samoa measles outbreak.
In 2020, she was honored with best news coverage and best TV story for the Samoa measles crisis at the Voyager Media Awards. She was named Reporter of the Year at the 2022 New Zealand Television Awards.
Dreaver was appointed Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit at the 2024 New Year Honours in the New Years Honours list, for services to investigative journalism and Pacific issues.
References.
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- “Barbara Dreaver – Inspired by women of courage and bravery“. Pacific Media Network.
- “Shaun Bamber (30 June 2021). Tears, battles and making a difference – Barbara Dreaver’s Pacific Odyssey. Stuff.
