The term representation describes “the way aspects of society, such as gender, age or ethnicity, are presented to audiences” (BBC Bitesize, 2018). Representation impacts the future behaviours of audiences, as they act in a way, whether consciously or not, that conforms or breaks from how the media has depicted them. With this, the fact that “Māori make up 15.8% of the population in New Zealand but around half of the offender rate” may be the product of constantly negative crime news media representation of Māori. (Department of Corrections, 2017). This essay will compare and contrast two New Zealand crime news media stories to analyse and critique the argument Sue Abel’s article “Māori, media and politics” makes that most news media representation of Māori in Aotearoa New Zealand news is inadequate to foster a just and equitable society (2016).
Aotearoa New Zealand’s news media has been inequitably representing Māori for decades (Barnes et al., 2012). Abel argues the control that majority groups have over major media institutions in having “the power to decide whose stories get told” and how they are framed has negatively influenced Māori in the context of news media, a statement media scholars worldwide agree with (2016). Further, the ways in which Māori are represented in crime news media stories, while “not necessarily intentional” have major implications, whether that be in sculpting the attitudes of Māori towards their own communities or the attitudes of dominant Pakeha towards Māori, especially in regards to politics and public policy, according to Abel (2016). Specifically, “built upon Western cultural stereotypes” where non-white people are considered ‘others’, “the notion that Māori are inherently violent and criminal” emerges. Abel highlights this ‘us’ versus ‘them’ mentality herself. Abel emphasises how stories are “told in such a way that sets up one party as ‘us’ and the other as the antagonist” (Abel, 2016). Examples of this include where terms such as ‘savage’ and ‘uncivilised’ are commonly used to describe Māori but seldom Pakeha, and more contemporarily, where terms like ‘gang’ and ‘terrorism’ are underpinned “default settings” to which the media describe Māori (Barnes et al., 2012).
Like all news stories, the online crime news story of former Feilding Māori boys' school principal Elvis Shepherd being released on parole after five years imprisonment for child sex offenses has been framed particularly by Stuff writer Galuszka (Stuff, 2015). As a Māori man, the ways in which Shepherd is talked about have the stereotypes of Māori behind them, regardless of whether writer Galuszka had them in mind. “Key assumptions are that Māori and Māori men in particular, are inherently violent and criminal, and that these characteristics are cultural or even genetic”, per Barnes et al. (2012). Abel’s case is not explicitly backed up by this news story, in that the language used remains largely objective. Despite the Stuff article reading simply and unemotionally (such as where Shepherd’s family is discussed, it is brief and impassive), the negative discourses Māori face brings another meaning to the story, as the story serves as yet another reason to believe the antagonistic stereotypes Māori face. As such, Abel’s case is backed up by every instance of news media about Māori citizens as soon as the story is linked to the negative discourse. While journalists and major news media organisations will avoid explicitly racially charged language, for example, “studies exploring racism in Aotearoa New Zealand” “underscore the findings that modern racism is subtly stated, rather than overt” (Pack, Tuffin, and Lyons, 2016). Pack, Tuffin, and Lyons elaborate in suggesting subtle racisms stem from colonial power structures, in that a “neoliberal rhetoric” is employed rather than directly referencing race. “Such rhetoric deflects charges of prejudice while simultaneously justifying society's status quo of Māori underachievement”. Overall, Abel’s case is backed by this Stuff news story, but not because of explicit language use or a wide exclusion of Māori voice within the piece, but rather due to the negative discourses surrounding crime and Māori that are working behind it.
In comparing Shepherd’s story to that of the similar online story of former South Island principal Michael Hogan, who was sentenced to nine years and three months in prison for child sex offenses, the inequitable nature of Māori and Pakeha centred news stories is illustrated (TVNZ, 2016). Besides the aforementioned ‘’us’ versus ‘them’’ and subtle repetitive markers that Abel describes, this TVNZ crime news story illustrates a point Abel illustrates as “the ‘whiteness’ of mainstream news” (2016). How Hogan’s story, that of a Pakeha man, is framed would often not prioritise accounting for his race or ethnicity, unlike Shepherd. Instead, in comparison, TVNZ depicts Hogan in less impassive way, outlining Hogan’s remorse and emotional turmoil through the inclusion of quotes (such as "It was a living nightmare that no one should have to go through” and "You made my family believe you were looking after me,") which are seldom found in the news story of Shepherd. Similarly, the lack of these emotional quotes n Shepherd’s story contributes to the inequity in the two stories, a phenomena Abel puts down to an absence of understanding and recognising of history in modern news media. “What is not said in a news story may have as great an influence on news audiences as what is said” (2016). Similarly, Barnes et al., call for “a better understanding” of Māori history, including “the impacts of family (poverty, dislocation, beaten for speaking Māori at school) and colonial histories (Land Wars, raupatu, racist policies) within which events occur” (2012) as a means of accentuating Māori voices.
It could be argued that the differences in the two stories could be the reason for the different tones, such as how here, Shepherd is beginning parole while Hogan is being sentenced. However, considering Hogan is entering prison, and society would rather know the antagonists are in prison and not re-entering society, like Shepherd, that would mean Shepherd should receive the more remorseful story. This may be due to the commonplace Pakeha perspectives hold. Per Barnes et al., another major effect of the negative discourses Māori face is the counter rendering of “Pakeha crime and violence, which are not ethnically marked, invisible”. This further thereby diverting attention “from the systematic impacts of repression and marginalisation of Māori by both state and society in general” (2012).
Abel continues by outlining the “absence of Māori stories and voices” which in comparing these two online crime news stories and the discourses behind them, is strengthened (2016). While one cannot say whether one story was more likely to be broadcast over another, both stories are written through the lens of a Pakeha individual. As journalists in Aotearoa New Zealand, in an effort to cater to the widest audiences, use language common to Pakeha and speak to the average New Zealander, who is in turn a white person. Here, despite Shepherd’s story possibly being better written by a journalist of Māori descent, who could relate better with Shepherd, his background, and those in court at the time such as his family, a Pakeha individual covered the story. This slippery slope of journalists and voices alike becoming increasingly white is one Abel acknowledges. In fact, in an effort to encourage Māori voices through the founding of “a substantial body of scholarship which sets out how mainstream news marginalises Māori, Māori tikanga (customs) and te ao Māori (the Māori world),” Abel notes a further divide (2016). The framing of news stories from white perspectives is not near as conscious as that of Māori, and in not being named, are therefore seen as more common-sense and normal. As Hokowhitu and Devadas state, the mere existence of Māori Television is to be questioned for similar reasons, in that while representation is important, it must not be compartmentalised nor diluted and easier palatable to white audiences. In noting how Māori Television is state funded, the pair pose the question that “to what extent can a culture change beyond the juridical construction of ‘Indigenous’ before it loses its rights to indigeneity?” (2013)
In comparing and contrasting these two New Zealand crime news media stories, the argument Sue Abel’s article “Māori, media and politics” makes that most news media representation of Māori in Aotearoa New Zealand news is inadequate is largely supported (2016). While the language of both stories remained simple at large, the stories differed enough in tone that Abel’s case held weight, matched with the discourses Māori and Pakeha face regarding such discrepancies. As a whole, the journalism itself was great but recognition of the wider factors at play failed to show. Aotearoa New Zealand continues to improve in mitigating the effects poor Māori representation has, yet must be mindful it does not glorify, dilute, nor take the diverse range of voices Aotearoa New Zealand has for granted.
Word Count: 1459 words
Reference List:
Abel, S. (2016) ‘Māori, media and politics’, in G. Kemp, B. Bahador, K. McMillan and C. Rudd (eds) Auckland: Auckland University Press, Politics and the media, 2nd edn, pp.310-325.
Al Jazeera (2016) Why are there so many Māori in New Zealand's prisons? Available at:
https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2016/05/maori-zealand-prisons-160525094450239.html (Accessed 17 September 2018).
Barnes, A.M., Borell, B., Taiapa, K., Rankine, J., Nairn, R. & McCreanor, T. (2012) "Anti-Māori themes in New Zealand journalism – toward alternative practice", Pacific Journalism Review, vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 195-216.
BBC Bitesize (2018) What is Representation? Available at:
https://www.bbc.com/bitesize/guides/z9fx39q/revision/4 (Accessed 17 September 2018).
Corrections Department NZ (2017) Reducing Re-offending Among Māori Available at: https://www.corrections.govt.nz/resources/strategic_reports/reducing_re-offending_among_maori.html (Accessed 17 September 2018).
Hokowhitu, B. & Devadas, V. (2013) The fourth eye: Māori media in Aotearoa New Zealand, University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis.
Pack, S., Tuffin, K. & Lyons, A. (2016) "Accounting for Racism Against Māori in Aotearoa/New Zealand: A Discourse Analytic Study of the Views of Māori Adults", Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, vol. 26, no. 2, pp. 95-109.
Stuff (2015) Former Hato Paora principal, child sex offender, gets parole Available at: https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/73426941/Former-Hato-Paora-principal-child-sex-offender-gets-parole (Accessed 16 September 2018).
TVNZ (2016) Former principal jailed for nearly ten years for sex charges against boy Available at: https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/former-principal-jailed-nearly-ten-years-sex-charges-against-boy (Accessed 17 September 2018).