Putting the Maori into the news

Tu Tangata, Issue 25, 1 August 1985, Page 14

Putting the Maori into the news

by Sherrill Tapsell

An old woman walked into a maori finance company in Rotorua and offered them her old Bycroft biscuit tin stuffed with money worth $19,000, some in old pound notes.

Another kuia turned up with a kit full of money worth $15,000.

“There are lots of these ‘good news’ stories appearing in your community which you are not recognising,” said television broadcaster Derek Fox from Te Karere, to a seminar of media chief reporters.

“The Maori perspective is not given in this country.

“We see the news media only wanting to knock us, it’s only the bad news, the negative things,” he says.

He was speaking to the seminar in Rotorua with author Michael King, and chairman of the Waiariki Journalism Course Advisory Board, Maanu Paul, on the topic “Is It Racist?”

The aim of the seminar was to examine whether maori news was being reported in a fair way.

The chief reporters were primed on the subject the night before, with the launching of author Michael King’s book Kawe Korero, which offers advice on ways of avoiding racist writing.

The stories about the kuia with their nest eggs were two examples of the lots of good yarns in maoridom, said Derek Fox.

“In the last 40 years there have been attempts to make New Zealand a monocultural society, as if the Maori people had nothing to offer,” he said.

Criticism was made of the monocultural view of New Zealand society which the media portrayed.

“We have no choice but to accept we will be a bi-cultural society. We are the tangata whenua. There is no other place in the world where the Maori language is spoken, and of course it has existed for over 1000 years,” Derek Fox said.

Maanu Paul explained how Maori people placed a lot of mana in giving a story to the media, but they had become increasingly wary when stories were changed.

“We analyse stories that are published and broadcast and we see their racist nature,” he said.

The media have the power to change this, said Maanu Paul.

Some of the chief reporters said they were satisfied with their arrangements for reporting maori news.

They had good relations with marae

committees, had a Maori reporter on their staff, or felt their maori affairs reporter was doing a good job, they said.

One chief reporter asked what Maori people wanted.

“We want our rightful share of the media and we aren’t getting it,” said Maanu Paul.

It was important to have sufficient numbers of people, both Maori and pakeha who would understand and report maori news, said Michael King.

“Reporting maori news requires more leg work. You can’t just whip out and whip back to the office,” he said.

Maanu Paul agrees that reporters would have to stay overnight on the marae to adequately cover a hui.

Derek Fox said that Maori people spent their weekends attending functions. That was how they became informed.

“You will go to marae and hui where people will insist on speaking Maori.”

He told the chief reporters they will see an increased resurgence in Maori pride, tinged with arrogance.

From the Auckland Star, Darrell Giles said he would personally look for the Maori view in his stories and follow it up with his reporters.