Ulamila Kurai Wragg born 18 June 1968 is a Fijian

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...

currently based in Rarotonga,

Cook Islands ) , image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , capital = Avarua , coordinates = , largest_city = Avarua , official_languages = , lan ...

Personal life

Wragg was born in Natewa, Fiji, and is the daughter of the late Fijian Chief

Ratu ''Ratu'' () is an Austronesian title used by male Fijians of chiefly rank. An equivalent title, ''adi'' (pronounced ), is used by females of chiefly rank. In the Malay language, the title ''ratu'' is also the traditional honorific title to re ...

Tevita Vakalalabure (the Vunivalu of Natewa) and Nooroa Edna Tupuna Strickland (of the Tearetoa and Strickland families of

Aitutaki Aitutaki, also traditionally known as Araura and Utataki, is the second most-populated island in the Cook Islands, after Rarotonga. It is an "almost atoll", with fifteen islets in a lagoon adjacent to the main island. Total land area is , and the ...

Cook Islands ) , image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , capital = Avarua , coordinates = , largest_city = Avarua , official_languages = , lan ...

). She is the younger sister of former politician

Rakuita Vakalalabure Ratu Rakuita Saurara Vakalalabure (born 1962) is a Fijian lawyer and former politician. He was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1999 and following the elections after the 2000 political upheavals was a candidate of the Conservat ...

. She was educated at Adi Cakobau School and Rotorua Girls High School (NZ) before pursuing higher education at the University of the South Pacific in Fiji, University of Otago and University of Canterbury, both in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. She moved to the Cook Islands after the 2000 Fijian coup d'état and married Dr Graham Wragg. The couple have four children - Adi Tara Chloe-Ane, Henry, Jean and Ratu Tevita. The family resides in Vaima'anga, Rarotonga,

Cook Islands ) , image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , capital = Avarua , coordinates = , largest_city = Avarua , official_languages = , lan ...

Career

Wragg's career as a journalist in the Pacific region spans over twenty years as of 2008. Her first job was as a writer with Rubine Public Relations Company, in Suva, Fiji. She next took a position as a reporter for Communications Fiji, Ltd., which is Fiji's largest

commercial radio Commercial broadcasting (also called private broadcasting) is the broadcasting of television programs and radio programming by privately owned corporate media, as opposed to state sponsorship. It was the United States′ first model of radio (a ...

company. Wragg was hired by

publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

Floyd Takeuchi as a senior reporter for '' The Daily Post''. Following a stint at ''The Daily Post'', Wragg took posts as a

sub-editor Copy editing (also known as copyediting and manuscript editing) is the process of revising written material ( copy) to improve readability and fitness, as well as ensuring that text is free of grammatical and factual errors. ''The Chicago Manual o ...

at both the ''

Fiji Times ''The Fiji Times'' is a daily English-language newspaper published in Suva, Fiji. Established in Levuka on 4 September 1869 by George Littleton Griffiths, it is Fiji's oldest newspaper still operating. ''The Fiji Times'' is owned by Motibhai G ...

'' and the ''

Fiji Sun ''Fiji Sun'' is a daily newspaper published in Fiji since September 1999 and owned by Sun News Limited. ''Fiji Sun'' was founded by and is part of CJ. Patel Group. The Fiji Sun has its main newsroom in Suva, Fiji. Its print center remains in su ...

''. Additionally, Wragg led a team which developed the ''Fiji Sun's'' Sunday Magazine. Wragg relocated to the Cook Islands to take a position as a writer with the Pitt Media Group. She also joined the ''

Cook Islands News The Cook Islands News is a daily newspaper published in Rarotonga in the Cook Islands. It is the national newspaper of the Cook Islands. Its print version is published daily from Monday to Saturday. Originally government-owned, it was privatized ...

'' as a reporter. Wragg was later promoted to deputy editor of the ''Cook Islands News'', a position she held until her departure from the newspaper in May 2008. Wragg has also worked as a correspondent for

Radio Australia ABC Radio Australia, also known as Radio Australia, is the international broadcasting and online service operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), Australia's public broadcaster. Most programming is in English, with some in Tok ...

in the Cook Islands. On October 1, 2008, Floyd Takeuchi, the publisher of ''

Pacific Magazine ''Pacific Magazine'' was a regional news and current affairs magazine and online news agency specializing in the coverage of the Pacific Islands region, including Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia. The magazine was headquartered and published ...

'', appointed Wragg as the

Managing Editor A managing editor (ME) is a senior member of a publication's management team. Typically, the managing editor reports directly to the editor-in-chief and oversees all aspects of the publication. United States In the United States, a managing edit ...

of ''Pacific Magazine''. She replaced editor

Giff Johnson Giff Johnson is a Marshall Islands based editor and journalist. He is also author of the self-published book ''Don't Ever Whisper'' which tells of his late wife Darlene Keju's fight to share the Marshall Islanders plight with the rest of the wor ...

, who had supervised ''Pacific Magazines transition from a print publication to a strictly online magazine. Takeuchi had previously hired Wragg as a reporter '' The Daily Post'' earlier in her career. Wragg had also worked as Pacific Magazine's Cook Islands correspondent before her appointment as its editor. Takeuchi praised Wragg, saying, "I’m extremely pleased that Ulamila Wragg is joining us as Managing Editor...she’s one of the finest journalists working in the region." Pacific Magazine suspended its operations on January 1, 2009, citing the ongoing

financial crisis of 2007–2010 Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of fi ...

and a decline in advertising revenue. In December 2008, Wragg co-founded the Pacific

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

"WAVE" (Woman Advancing a Vision of Empowerment) with the Cook Islands-born journalist Lisa Williams. WAVE is a not-for-profit Pacific network with three thematic areas:

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...

/Aids and Violence Against Women. Since 2009, Wragg has been part of the Cook Islands' delegation to the

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) established an international environmental treaty to combat "dangerous human interference with the climate system", in part by stabilizing greenhouse gas concentrations in ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wragg, Ulamila Kurai Fijian journalists Fijian editors Cook Island journalists Cook Island editors 1968 births Living people People from Cakaudrove Province I-Taukei Fijian people Fijian expatriates Expatriates in the Cook Islands Cook Island environmentalists