A Right to Media? Lorie M. Graham - Columbia Law School

494 COLUMBIA HUMAN RIGHTS LAW REVIEW [41:429
According to one indigenous broadcaster, “the recognition of Maori
language and the need for Maori broadcasting were particular
landmark cases” coming from the commission of inquiry. 260 This
recognition allowed for more government support of Maori media.
According to the most recent census, about one in seven
people in New Zealand consider themselves Maori, and one in four
Maori speak an indigenous language. 261 Despite such a considerable
population, little Maori programming existed through state-owned
broadcasting until recently. 262 In fact, throughout much of New
Zealand’s history, “mainstream news media . . . played a central role
in processes of colonization; being used as a tool for convincing
colonizing and colonized groups that what was occurring was in the
interests of ‘everyone.’” 263 When the Maori opted to protest their
treatment at the hand of the government, media coverage was often
dismissive of Maori concerns, labeling them “unreasonable and
unnecessarily hostile” toward the interest of society. 264 Joris de Bres,
the Race Relations Commissioner for New Zealand, notes that
“[w]hen the public is fed a diet of predominantly negative stories
about Maori, it is hardly surprising that negative attitudes are
fostered. This impacts on one-to-one relationships between Maori and
Pakeha [non-Maori].” 265
While more needs to be done to reverse this trend, major
changes are taking place with the advent of new media sources such
Waitangi—A Century Ahead, 28 Aboriginal L. Bull. 6 (1987), available at
http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/AboriginalLB/1987/47.html (explaining
that the Waitangi Tribunal found deficient the government of New Zealand’s
protection of the Maori language in the areas of education, justice, and
broadcasting). See generally Wena Harawira, HOD News and Current Affairs,
Maori Television, Challenges Facing Indigenous Broadcasters, Address
at Pacific Media Summit (Apr. 16, 2008), available at
http://www.pcf.org.nz/archive/pacific_media_and_human_rights
(follow
“Challenges facing indigenous broadcasters” hyperlink) (describing the
development of Maori Media and the work of the Waitangi Tribunal).
260. Harawira, supra note 259 (noting that the Tribunal’s “decisions are
not binding but they have made an impact in areas such as protecting Maori
interests . . . and providing a public forum where the damage wrought in the past
can be aired and acknowledged.”).
261. David, supra note 212, at 31.
262. See Harawira, supra note 259.
263. Hodgetts et al., supra note 2, at 192 (citation omitted).
264. Id. at 191–192.
265. Bad News–Maori and the Media, PSA J. (N.Z. Pub. Serv. Ass’n,
Wellington, N.Z.), Sept. 2003, at 18.