Success of Maori Television under scrutiny
massey-university
Thu Jun 24 2010 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)
Success of Maori Television under scrutiny
Thursday, 24 June 2010, 11:38 am
Press Release: Massey University
Success of Maori Television under scrutiny
British media studies researcher Richard Turner is keen to find out why Mäori Television has such growing appeal to a non-Mäori audience.
Just six years after it went to air, the station is already a world leader among indigenous broadcasters and potentially an inspiration to others, Mr Turner says.
He is at the University's Albany campus on a Commonwealth Scholarship to conduct research for a master's degree into the reasons for Mäori Television's popularity and why so many non-Mäori viewers are tuning in. He says he was a fan of the station when he lived in London, viewing it online like growing numbers worldwide.
Maori Television's latest ratings poll, released last week, indicate that three-quarters of its two million-plus New Zealand viewers are non-Maori.
Mr Turner says the appeal to non-Mäori audiences appears to be a distinctive aspect of its success. "My research will explore, through qualitative study, why such a high volume of Päkehä are tuning into the channel. I am interested to discover what shows non-Maori are watching, and whether Päkehä are embracing te reo me ngä tikanga Mäori [Mäori language and culture]. I want to find out if Mäori Television is offering Päkehä an alternative to New Zealand's mainstream channels."
He says part of it may be about what Mäori Television is doing right – but part also may relate to what mainstream stations are doing wrong in viewers' eyes.
"Is it because they want to learn about Mäori culture, language and views? Do they identity more strongly with a Mäori perspective? Or, is it because they are fed up with mainstream television's menu of mostly imported American and British soaps, dramas and reality shows?"
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Preliminary research indicates viewers are attracted to what he calls a more "thoughtful" style of reporting and debate on news and current affairs programmes such as Native Affairs and Te Käea, where different viewpoints are expressed and viewers see Mäori communicating with each other rather than responding to what he considers an often aggressive, negative mode of questioning on mainstream television.
Mr Turner believes the quality and range of its programming, the scope of its Mäori language broadcasting, and rating success may make it an inspiration to other indigenous television stations – even those that are older but have not gained the same degree of popularity beyond their target audience, such as Welsh language channel SC4. Mäori Television hosted the World Indigenous Television Broadcasting Conference in 2008, which led to the establishment of the World Indigenous Television Broadcasters' Network.
A statement on the station's website says it has growing numbers of online viewers in 188 countries, with New Zealand first, followed by Australia, the United States, Britain and Canada.
Mr Turner is conducting interviews as well as focus groups with Päkehä who watch Mäori Television regularly or sporadically. Anyone interested in taking part in the study can email him at: richard.turner.6@uni.massey.ac.nz .
EMDS
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