1. The Whakapapa and Functions of Māori Television
Māori and Media 2016 MĀORI 371/370
The Whakapapa and Functions of Māori Television

2. Today’s lecture Barry Barclay on indigenous media
Barclay’s theory of Talking In/Talking Out
The whakapapa of Māori Television
Issues of Funding
The official function of Māori Television
What people think the role of MTS is
Some examples of programming

3. Barry Barclay (Ngāti Apa)

4. Barry Barclay:
“Every culture has a right and a responsibility to present its own culture to its own people. That responsibility is so fundamental it cannot be left in the hands of outsiders, nor be usurped by them.” (1990: 127)
From the constitution for Te Manu Aute, a Māori film producers’ organisation.

5. “Imagine as a whole culture not to be able to talk about your own land in your own way. Imagine if you were born in London or Copenhagen, and the only – and I mean the only – images of yourself were scripted and shot by people from Algeria or Tamil Nadu and transmitted simply to capture good ratings amongst their own viewers”
(Barclay (1992)‘Amongst Landscapes’ in Film in Aotearoa/New Zealand. p.123

6. “Talking In” and “Talking Out”
Barry Barclay and Michael King filming Tangata Whenua

7. Broadcasting “selects knowledge”.
In doing this, it rejects other knowledge.
That which it selects is validated
That which it rejects is invalidated.
Leonie Pihama

8. Pihama
“The media is a key vehicle through which representations of knowledge, language and culture occurs, it is equally a site at which representations of knowledge, language and culture are suppressed”.

9. This course argues …
Māori Television is playing an absolutely vital role in New Zealand society.
BUT it should not be seen as something that should not uncritically celebrated

10. Some questions to consider
To what extent can Māori Television contribute to “the conscious-raising process essential to decolonisation” (Alia and Bull, 2005: 105) when it is dependent on the vagaries of government funding? And should it?
To what extent should Māori Television focus on providing programming that pulls in a Pākehā audience, and might this be at the expense of its Māori audience?

11. What impact do these factors have on Māori Televisions’ programming?
To what extent is Māori Television a vehicle for Māori to be in control of representation of Māori?
And there are many more questions we might ask

12. Tuhia te hā o Te Reo ki te rangi
E kaha ai te mapu o te manawa ora,
E rekareka ai te taringa whakarongo,
E waiwai ai, te karu mātakitaki
Let the language be heard on the airwaves, thereby causing the heart to leap with joy, the ear to appreciate its eloquence and the eyes to moisten at its impact.’
(Te Māngai Pāho Mission Statement)

13. ‘The argument for Maori broadcasting is not just about programming: it is an argument for a changed understanding of what it is to be a New Zealander.’
(Patrick Day 2000: 272)
[Note date – before the launch of Māori Television].

14. These quotes reflect two goals of MTS
the revitalisation and normalisation of te reo
an increase in the knowledge and understanding of te ao Māori for all New Zealanders.

15. Me timata mai i te timatanga: At the beginning
Since the 1920s, broadcasting in New Zealand had been delivered almost exclusively in English and designed for Pākehā audience.
It took Māori activism in the 1960s and early 1970s to push the issue of Māori language broadcasting out into the public arena as a subject for debate.
Groups such as Ngā Tamatoa (an urban activist group), Te Reo Maori Society, and Ngā Kaiwhakapūmau i te Reo Māori (or the Wellington Maori Language Board) kept pushing the issue

16. Some of Ngā Tamatoa 1972 on steps of Parliament

17. Huirangi Waikerepuru was a key figure in the fight for Māori broadcasting. On the day that Maori TV was launched, he was a special guest of honour.

18. The Te Reo Claim (WAI 11)
Lodged by Huirangi Waikerepuru and the group Ngā Kaiwhakapumau i te Reo Māori.
The claimants asked that the Maori language receive official recognition, ‘concentrating in particular on broadcasting, education, health and the Public Service’.
They argued that the Crown had failed to protect the Maori language and that this was a breach of the Treaty of Waitangi.

19. The Tribunal found …
Under the Treaty the Crown promised to recognise and protect the Maori language
that guarantee required affirmative action
that educational policy over many years and the effect of the media in using almost nothing but English had ‘swamped’ the Maori language and done it great harm

20. Te reo Maori is vitally important to Maori culture and this is encapsulated in the proverb ‘Ka ngaro te reo, ka ngaro taua, pera i te ngaro o te Moa’ (‘If the language be lost, man will be lost, as dead as the moa’).
Te reo Maori must be regarded as a taonga, a ‘valued possession’.
The article 2 guarantee requires affirmative action to protect and sustain the language, not a passive obligation to tolerate its existence

21. And particularly important for us …
In formulating broadcasting policy, regard must be had to the fact that the Treaty obliges the Crown to recognise and protect the Maori language.

22. The importance of/need for Māori political activism
a chronology of events between 1973 and 2000 ‘reflects the difficult struggle that various Māori groups have endured with the Crown’ (MBAC 2000: 7).
Court cases against the Govt go all the way to Privy Council – at considerable cost to those Māori involved

23. But finally …
frequencies for both television and radio were reserved for Māōri,
Te Māngai Pāho (the Māori Broadcasting Funding Agency) was established

24. BUT still …
‘certain officials involved throughout this period [1973 – 2000] have been obstructive rather than facilitative’ (MBAC 2000)
“the widespread assimilationist sentiment [in general Pākehā population] based on the belief that Maori are “brown-skinned pakeha” (Donald Browne).

25. Browne gives other reasons for “mainstream” opposition to Māori broadcasting
concern that separate Māori media would lead to separatism and more division in society
reluctance to “waste” public money
a predominant belief in Pākehā society that New Zealand is an open, discrimination-free nation, where anyone who really wishes to succeed can do so, regardless of their gender, ethnicity or present economic circumstances.
SO (it is argued)
no special efforts on behalf of Māori are needed.

26. How is Māori Television funded?
The Government provides funding for the operational administrative costs of both Māori Television channels in acknowledgement of its commitment to promoting and protecting te reo and tikanga Māori
“taxpayer” funded?
Treaty right?

27. FACT
Just as the Govt (eventually and under pressure) decided to fund Māori Television, so it can “un-decide” if conditions change

28. Consider then …
How “provocative” can Māori Television be in its programming?
The political advantage of having a loyal middle-class Pākeha audience

29. Funding continued Most programming is funded by Te Māngai Pāho:
TMP has certain criteria for funding, and so has considerable power to determine programming

30. So in summary: Māori had to fight for years to get Māori Television
It emerged into a climate of criticism from the wider public
Its future is not necessarily secure as the Govt could withdraw its funding
It does not have full control over its programming because it has to meet Te Māngai Pāho criteria (which is a Govt agency).

31. What is the main role of Māori Television?
“The principal function of The Māori Television Service, Te Aratuku Whakaata Irirangi Māori, is to contribute to the promotion and protection of te reo Māori me ona tikanga through the provision in te reo Māori and English of a high-quality, cost-effective television service that informs, educates and entertains viewers and, in doing so, enriches New Zealand’s society, culture and heritage.”
(Section 8 (1) of the Māori Television Service (Te Aratuku Whakaata Irirangi Māori) Amendment Act 2013)

32. That is … to promote te reo Māori me ona tikanga
to inform, educate, and entertain
to enrich New Zealand's society, culture, and heritage
(Whew!)

33. So what do people see as the role(s) of Māori Television?
How to reference these comments if you want to use them in your essay:
Interviewee 1 [2 etc] (2014). Cited in Māori and Media lecture, University of Auckland, 1 August.

34. …to deliver not just language and cultural revitalisation but self-determination which was always, always the primary goal - that by revitalising our language and culture we would strengthen our identity and our resolve for sovereignty, for self-determination (Henry, 2012).
Ella Henry

35. I don’t think it’s probably one of the objectives of Māori Television to be promoting Māori self-determination. I think I’d probably phrase it differently - that we’re a flagship Māori organisation that promotes Māori language and culture but more widely Māori success and, although respectful of the history of the organisation and the challenges to get it established, our focus is more firmly fixed on the future and what we can do there. We don’t have any aspirations around promoting Māori self-determination, but I suppose the term ‘tino rangatiratanga’ is important to us. Having the independence to make the decisions that we think are going to be in the best interests of Māori viewers is really important to us (Mather, 2012).

36. Interviewee 1 (MTS staff)
We’re empowered by an Act of Parliament that tells us what our role is. And you know, we were established as a result of a claim under the Treaty of Waitangi to do with revitalising the language, so it is very clear to me that that’s our primary purpose. Other things are important, but our primary purpose is to protect and promote te reo me ōna tikanga, that’s very clear to me.

37. Interviewee 2 (Māori academic)
Exposure to Te Reo and normalising the reo but also normalising being Maori, so that it is okay to be Maori because for a lot of the country it’s still not okay to be Maori. Being Maori is still stigmatised in this country but Maori Television is very clear that there is no stigma and it’s a norm to be Maori and I think that’s hugely important.

38. Interviewee 3 (Māori language expert)
I’ve always felt that Māori Television is a key factor in normalizing not only Māori language, but also Māori culture. All the research and the theory talks about the Māori world view, and so normalizing that - it’s a battle strategy – we’re at war here with the white man and his language and his culture so we have to use every strategy that we can to combat that overwhelming pressure of oppression. It’s a social engineering tool and I have known that for some time ...

39. … I can recall Rangi Nicholson, one of our colleagues and he said ‘you know, even the Wombles get more time on television than we do’ and we had to turn that around so that our truth became the reality. Māori Television presents our reality as the truth that we all can aspire to and can achieve … that we don’t have to remain an oppressed minority within our country - within our nation where we should be powerful.

40. Interviewee 4 (Māori media practitioner)
The role of Māori Television is telling Māori stories to Māori people - stories that haven’t been out there – putting them out there for Māori people. But it’s not just for us – we’re not just telling the stories to ourselves – why preach to ourselves? … We need to be always convincing others who are not from here – and even our own – around the stories that have value about who we are and what we are because otherwise we can’t co-habit this land together.

41. Interviewee 5 (Māori academic)
Role modelling - so Maori kids can see themselves on TV, Maori in general can see themselves on TV. And then when you get educated people going in as presenters and they do current affairs programmes, the boot is now on the other foot – they can call in the Prime Minister and put the acid on him – and any Minister – put the acid on them – and so you’re getting the two way discourse now – not just a one way. That’s what’s so important about Māori Television.

42. Interviewee 6 (Maori media practitioner)
It’s a fairly level playing field for Māori to actually get into the industry first and foremost because it’s so bloody hard for anyone to get in anywhere else. The fact that we’re training people and growing skills and nurturing people is just all a positive for me… It’s also a place that Māori can see themselves. It’s a place where we can feel positive and happy about our culture and our language. But I don’t think the language is the be all and end all of things. Most people don’t speak Māori.

43. Interviewee 7 (Māori academic)
I think the key role of Māori Television is to present a window of the Māori world to the mainstream New Zealand public and to an international public. I think that its key role and below that I guess there are sub-roles. Within the sub-role probably I’m looking at culture and language so it’ll be to present the culture of the Māori people whether it’s traditional or whether it’s contemporary, to present that view to the world with the view to having that outside world looking in. To have them understand us better and ultimately to win their support for our culture and the value of our culture.

44. Miharo
“Mīharo means wonder, surprise, amazement and awe and the show is designed to educate Māori-speaking children in a delightfully entertaining way. Primarily targeted at five to eight-year-olds, this weekday educational series breaks new ground by having programme content specifically aligned with school curriculum areas.”

45. Kay Ellmers, Producer of Miharo
“I would consider Mīharo a decolonisation programme if we’re showing kids speaking Māori’s cool. And particularly with Mīharo there’s a huge focus on equitable value for mātauranga Māori so we will constantly say “you can learn this science at school but Māori has a wealth of scientific knowledge and we have our own scientific construct”.
We’re not overtly saying that to the kids, but just by exploring for example a kumara. What’s the whakapapa of a kumara bla bla bla bla, Rongo-mā-Wāhine, - it’s showing them that there’s a scientific model and a wealth of scientific knowledge that Māori society have built up over hundreds of years that is equally valid as a western scientific model. So that’s de-colonisation isn’t it?”

46. Behind the Brush
A series in which the descendants of some of the Māori painted by Gottfried Lindauer in the late 19th century.
Director Julian Arahanga: “We’re not rewriting history. We’re discovering the stories that weren’t recorded.”
Funded by Te Māngai Paho, New Zealand on Air AND Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki, so it has high production values.

47. Some comments on BtB segment
oral history
importance of whakapapa
inclusive – Lindauer’s granddaughter also gets to speak about her tupuna
iwi/whānau histories are also widened out to Māori history and Māori realities, often in terms of the experiences of colonisation. Here Ranginui Walker comments
“presenters” not glamourised – do not speak perfect Pākehā English and that’s fine

48. “One thing is for sure, when the past comes back, the whānau actually knows the truth and they should produce it. Too many times past anthropologists have got to delve and create our past the way they see it. I’m here to dispute all those readings and those writings of old, and put the story right”.
Te Ohu Mokai Wi Kingi, descendent of Tuhoto Ariki the 2nd.

49. So back to Pihama
“The media is a key vehicle through which representations of knowledge, language and culture occurs, it is equally a site at which representations of knowledge, language and culture are suppressed”. Also: think about education too.

50. Iwi Anthems
“Iwi Anthems are the waiata and haka we love to perform. They reveal who we are as a tribe, where we're from, and what is important to us.” 

51. In one episode of Iwi Anthems the group sing a lament for one of Ngāti Ringinui’s fortified villages that had been lost to the Pākehā. At the time of recording the episode Ngāti Ringinui had just signed their settlement with the Crown, but the speaker in the programme told us that the lament was “a reminder that these memories haven’t left the heart and mind for those who lost their lives during that time of conflict”.
SO here Māori Television acts both as an archivist, and an educator about the past’s relationship to the present.

52. “I like [Iwi Anthems] because it starts to make you understand that, that waiata came from that area. It was Kahungunu’s turn last night. So yeah we have those melodies in our own head that we’ve heard when we were young and things like that but to actually put a place to where they come from it’s nice… And hearing their proper tune rather than the ones we’re used to from learning at school. Tutira Mai ngā Iwi - I didn’t know it came from there. So that was a learning curve for me.”

53. Excellent work from Miriam McIvor
Barry Barclay uses the marae as a metaphor; he uses it to show how Māori media can remain in te Ao Māori and also how this will benefit both Māori and Non-Māori consumers. Barclay argues that the marae is a place unique to Māori and retains its distinct characteristics because its essence does not change in order to accommodate Non-Māori. In this way, Māori media is something special which can provide unique viewpoints of interest to both Māori and Non-Māori. Barclay is also quick to point out that the marae is far from exclusive; it must be hospitable or it has not served its purpose and both Māori and Non-Māori will turn from it. …

54. Like the marae, Barclay believes that Māori media should stay true to itself and in time, Non-Māori will become more comfortable with it. Barclay believes that Māori media can turn inwards, creating media with cultural integrity which other cultures will notice, more so than if Māori media pandered to Non-Māori audiences.