Title – 6733 NZ: Ethnic media ponder challenges ahead
Date – 30 March 2010
Byline – Lloyd Burr
Origin – Pacific Media Watch
Source – Pacific Scoop, 30/03/10
Copyright – PS
Status – Unabridged
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Opinion:
CLEARING HEADS ON CHALLENGING ISSUES FACING NZ’S ETHNIC MEDIA
http://pacific.scoop.co.nz/2010/03/clearing-heads-on-challenging-issues-facing-nzs-ethnic-media/
By Lloyd Burr
CHRISTCHURCH (Pacific Scoop/Pacific Media Watch): I walked out the doors of the Ethnic Media Forum in Christchurch at the weekend feeling somewhat ignorant. As a student in my fifth year of tertiary education, I thought that “ethnic ignorance” was something of my past … and it would no longer trouble me.
But I was wrong. In my years at the University of Otago – before I came to the New Zealand Broadcasting School – I was submerged with a critical studies approach to the media: it was corrupt, it enforced state ideology and was majority focussed; mainstream media was a bulldozer that powered through minority views and shunted them to the sideline.
All this time, in my liberal, idealistic student mind, I genuinely believed New Zealand was exempt from this type of issue.
Now, as I learn to become a part of this mainstream media that I once questioned so much, I am learning that the case is relatively true.
Four weeks ago, my tutor assigned me my main portfolio for the next two years – “ethnic and migrant issues” in New Zealand, focusing on Christchurch.
Since then, I have tried to immerse myself with these issues and follow them around in local and national media in order to gain an understanding.
What has surprised me is that articles relating to this topic are fairly non-existent; I have three articles in my news-clippings folder and my peers, with more generic portfolios – like “environment” and “education” – have dozens of articles.
Improving things
Convinced it was not my poor work ethic that had resulted in such a shortage of articles, I was introduced to Deborah Lam and Candy Wu Zhang at the Office of Ethnic Affairs. This pair invited me to the Ethnic Media Forum (EMF), held at Mancan House, Christchurch, last Saturday.
This is where my ignorance comes in. And it is ignorance at my lack of depth about how the mainstream media is that bulldozer I was taught about at Otago. The question now is how do we improve things?
Is it a slow process like issues such as gay or black rights entering the social acceptance circle after constant rejection? Or is there a quick fix?
Quite simply, I don’t know and I won’t know until I have been in this industry for some time.
The forum presented some interesting arguments. Jim Tully, head of the School of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Canterbury, opened with a summary of how the mainstream media system works.
He emphasised that mainstream media ignores minority groups because it is “uneconomical”.
Current structures are also problematic because a given ethnic reporter is stretched between the demands of their community and the demands of their editor.
Pulling in punters
In order to integrate “ethnic issues” (an umbrella term covering our diverse and different ethnic communities) into the mainstream media, it must be cost effective.
And this is where my first question comes up: why is current ethnic media not cost effective? Does it not pull in the punters?
Is demand so small that it cannot be justified? How do we go about making it economical?
Dr David Robie, director of the Pacific Media Centre at Auckland University of Technology, provided an insight into how ethnic issues in the mainstream media can grow: education and journalistic acculturation by developing independent media like the Pacific Scoop project. Both he and Tully gave many Pacific examples.
I agree with him, we have talked the political correctness and all-inclusive talk for a while now and it’s time to get on our feet and walk the walk.
And his solution to this is acculturing training journalists with a news and current affairs approach that encompasses ethnic issues. In my mind, this type of training is already happening, especially given that I am being trained to go out into the ethnic community here in Christchurch, understand the realm and find stories.
For me, I think the integration is inevitable.
Status quo
But what about the status quo? How is today’s media finding stories on ethnic issues? The Press deputy editor Coen Lammers says you can’t just call up the Korean Association, for example, and ask: “Is there anything happening in the Korean community this week”.
He also says local ethnic papers are not a source for stories because he can’t read them – papers in a native tongue are a major barrier.
How then, do we overcome this when there are ethnic communities that only know the most basic English? Do we wait for a wave of new age journalists to integrate more with Chinese communities? With Nepalese or Bhutanese communities?
Or do we just allow these niche media to run parallel with the mainstream? It’s the same segregation vs assimilation debate.
There was no black or white outcome at the EMF, but it helped an educated audience understand the problems with the way things are done. And at least I’m no longer ignorant.
Lloyd Burr is a first year journalism student at the New Zealand Broadcasting School and a first time contributor to Pacific Scoop.
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