April 18, 2024
Māori voice missing from Newshub Stuff up
A veteran Māori journalist says Stuff’s deal with Warner Brothers-Discovery to take suppl¥ news bulletins for TV3 is a band aid that fails to address wider problems exposed by the closing down of Newshub.
Jason Ake says over its 30 years TV3-Newshup has developed an impressive list of Maori talent both in front of and behind the camera – although like all mainstream organisations its commitment to te reo content has been minimal.
While Stuff has 400 reporters round the country, its commitment to Maori journalism has been almost non-existent.
“I would like to see a bit of commitment from Stuff in how they populate that newsroom with a Maori voice or with somebody who can accurately reflect the Maori voice heading forward,” Mr Ake says.
He says the job losses at Newshub’s rival TVNZ show how the failure to complete a merger between TVNZ and Radio New Zealand was a massive missed opportunity.