Acceptance grows for Maori language on TV
By Kathryn Stewart
When the Maori news programme Te Karere went to air in 1983, many
viewers got vocal.
Whai Ngata, a Te Karere reporter at the time who later headed Maori programming at TVNZ, says those viewers bridled at having to listen to Maori on television.
He also recalls much fiercer sentiment.
"There was a huge reaction, a redneck reaction to having, and I quote, 'those black bast**ds on my TV'," Ngata says.
He says the response was one that the Te Karere team did not
expect or even deserve. When the bulletin started out it was just a
few minutes long - hardly a blip on the day's programming.
Watch
Waka Huia's special on the history of Maori broadcasting
here.
Twenty-seven years later, Kathryn Graham, the current commissioner for factual, Maori, Pacific and Children at TVNZ, says the broadcaster still gets complaints from viewers about things such as news presenters saying 'kia ora'.
But, she says, times are changing.
The prime time reality show One Land , which screened late last year on TV ONE, is a good example. Around 20% of the show's dialogue was in Maori, and while it was subtitled in English, it was a coup for Maori language to feature heavily in prime time.
Typically, broadcasters steer away from niche content that could potentially dent peak hour ratings. Though, Graham suggests, One Land may not have escaped unscathed given that it did not rate as well as it could have.
"There's such a huge choice of programming that why watch a show that has a language that you don't speak when you can turn to any number of any other channels and have a fully English show?" she says.
The challenge of getting Maori content to air during prime time is not just about convincing broadcasters of ratings success. Graham commissions independent Maori production companies to make shows for TVNZ, but she says there is often little enthusiasm from independents to make broad appeal shows suitable for prime time.
This means that Maori programmes, by nature of their specialied focus on Maori language and culture, tend to be tucked away off peak. TVNZ's core Maori shows Waka Huia and Marae air on Sunday mornings, and Te Karere at 4pm on weekdays, well outside the 6pm-10:30pm peak.
However, there has been a push to make Maori programmes more accessible to a wider audience. Te Karere, for example, includes around 30% English content, and when it is rebroadcast the following morning is complete with English subtitles.
Non-Maori presenters also use Maori greetings and sign-offs - not just during Maori Language Week - illustrating their growing acceptance of its use.
While this still agitates some viewers, Graham says everyone needs to realise that mainstream New Zealand is not just Pakeha, but a collection of other ethnicities too.
The government funding agency NZ On Air is also keen to see more Maori representation on mainstream television. This could be, for example, documentaries with a Maori focus made for a general audience.
Likewise, Graham encourages Maori to traverse between Maori-only programmes and those that will give them more exposure, saying it is vital if Maori are to be heard.
"We as Maori have to be prepared to go outside of our comfort
zone as well...When more Maori diversify into a broader spectrum of
programming, then we will affect content effectively, then there
will be a Maori voice."
