Two Sides of the Story

Recently I stumbled across an old article written by Dr Pita R Sharples on the scoop website that caught my attention. The article refers to how mainstream media and Maori television have different views, particularly when it comes to Maori. The topic in question was the flying of the tino rangatiratanga flag at the Alinghi Base. Sharples stated that this was a proud moment for Maori everywhere as it represented Maori at a high level. However this was not the case when the story was covered on mainstream news, instead it was reported that the flag was only a mere scare tactic as it is a very competitive sport. It is very disappointing to see that this is clearly a case of one story but two very different outcomes.

In order for New Zealanders to make their own opinion, they must watch both shows like Te Karere as well as the mainstream news at six. Otherwise, they will only be getting one side of the story, making it biased. This could be a major problem because mainstream news is hegemonic. Meaning that all news is chosen in way that supports society norm at that point in time. This supports the majority’s views and attitudes. This is not so great for Maori as Sharples stated in his article that a study in 2004 had shown that Maori stories depicted in the media tend to be more 'bad' than 'good'.

Personally, I think this is wrong, only because we should be a nation that tries to work together instead of becoming divided in every possible way. Maori should not have to worry about how the story is going to come across in mainstream news because the stories shown by the media should be the same. It annoys me to think that something as significant as the flying the tino rangatiratanga flag can be put down to merely being a game plan to win. Why is it so hard to show Maori in a good light in the mainstream news?