American showman P T Barnum once famously said: “I don’t give a damn what you say about me as long as you spell my name right.”
My name is Tahlea (or Tali) Aualiitia and as someone who — through unsolicited commentary — has always been told how “different” and “difficult” my name is, this quote has always resonated with me.
In fact, the last person I had to correct for the misspelling of my name was someone from my own employer, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
I was invited to join a panel on representation in pop culture by the ABC News Channel earlier this month, and because the name super (the strap with my name at the bottom of the screen) was added during production, I wasn’t aware my name was spelled incorrectly until after the interview had finished and I was informed by my family and friends.
Typos happen and I understand how a slip of the finger on the keyboard turned my surname from Aualiitia into Auakiitia.
But while it was the first time I had done a TV interview, it wasn’t the first time I had seen my name spelled wrong in the media.
Just a month ago, my name was spelled incorrectly by a producer in my own department, the Asia Pacific Newsroom.
It was pretty disappointing especially given it was a Pacific story from my own newsroom.
Now, I want to be clear that in both instances my colleagues reached out and apologised and I hold no ill feelings towards them, but these small errors can have big impacts among communities that often don’t see themselves reflected in the