DJ breaks rank to spill on ‘Howraki’

A Radio Hauraki DJ has said what many have long suspected: The rock music radio station intentionally mispronounces its own name.

Alex Behan has been working for Radio Hauraki each weekday from 10am till 2pm.

He was on-air yesterday morning, filling in for hosts Matt and Jeremy, when his story was published online.

A Radio Hauraki spokesperson said the station did not know about the blog article until it was published.

Radio Hauraki brand manager, Nathan Hartsaid today would be Behan’s last day with the network, before he moved to Radio New Zealand.

In a parting shot, the radio host posted on pop-culture website The Spinoff about the station’s decision to purposefully mispronounce Hauraki.

In the article, Behan said his first question to Radio Hauraki bosses was ‘‘am I allowed to pronounce it correctly?’’

‘‘The answer was explained.

According to Behan, the only time Radio Hauraki management would allow correct pronunciation was during Maori Language Week. Behan told The Spinoff that during the cultural week he ‘‘Hoeraki’ed all over the place’’. ‘‘I mean, that was the one week where they couldn’t touch me.’’

In a statement, Radio Hauraki content director Dan Bradley said he was ‘‘a little surprised to see [the article]’’.

Bradley said he had spoken to Behan about ‘‘consistency in the pronunciation of Hauraki’’.

However, the station’s presenters were free to pronounce the name however they wanted, he said. ’’To quote the email I sent Alex ‘knock yourself out. Up to you how you’d like to do it’.’’ no,’’ he