February 21, 2019
Māori radio thinking ahead of bureaucrats
A leading identity in iwi radio believes the bureaucrats are lagging behind Māori providers and need to change their ideas about what Māori media is and can do.
Peter Lucas Jones from the far north Radio Te Hiku is deputy chair of Māori radio umbrella group Te Whakaruruhau, which this week met with Te Puni Kōkiri to discuss the Māori media sector shift review.
He says over the past 30 years Māori radio has become the main influencer of the language in the home, while dealing with the challenges of insufficient funding.
It is already grappling with the shift from broadcast to digital delivery, platforms, and in funding terms should be seen as part of the way Māori language and cultural are put online.
"Quite frankly government policy isn't moving as fast as iwi radio. I think there needs to be some thinking around the policy tables. Those that sit in the shining towers in Wellington need to think about and iwi radio has a very important role in directing that conversation," Mr Jones says.
Copyright © 2019, UMA Broadcasting Ltd: www.waateanews.com