Diversity and News Media in Aotearoa, New Zealand: A Literature Review
How does New Zealand’s news media influence public perceptions of diversity, and what are the implications for minority groups?
A new literature review prepared for Tāhono Media synthesises research from universities across Aotearoa to address this pressing question.
This evaluation uncovers patterns in how diversity is represented in national media, revealing key trends and challenges. While the international academic literature has long debated the relationship between public attitudes towards diversity and media depictions, this review places a much-needed spotlight on the New Zealand context.
The research was completed by Frankie Goodenough (Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington), Dr Verica Rupar (Auckland University of Technology) and Dr Priya Kurian (University of Waikato – Te Whare Wananga o Waikato).
You can read the report in the link or find a summary of its findings and recommendations below.
Report summary
The Purpose of the Report
This report evaluates recent postgraduate research from New Zealand universities (2016–2021) on patterns of diversity representation in national news media. The focus is on understanding how various minority groups are portrayed and the broader societal implications of such representation. It provides insights into systemic biases, stereotypes, and gaps in media coverage, supporting advocacy for better representation in Aotearoa’s media landscape.
Why is it needed?
The portrayal of minorities in the media plays a pivotal role in shaping public attitudes and discourse, influencing equity and inclusivity in society. Key reasons for its importance include:
- Informing Policy and Practice: The findings can guide media practices and policy improvements.
- Promoting Equity: Shedding light on biases helps foster a fairer and more representative media environment.
- Broader Societal Impact: The research can challenge stereotypes and initiate discussions of diversity, equity, and social justice.
Summary Findings
The research reviewed covers themes such as:
- Media’s Role in Public Perception: Studies highlight how mainstream media perpetuates inequalities, often reflecting political agendas and systemic biases.
- Political messaging scapegoats minorities (e.g., immigrants) during crises, further alienating them from civic participation.
- Media coverage often mirrors language from political statements, reinforcing discriminatory narratives.
- Intersectionality in Coverage:
- Women in politics face gendered and racialised misrepresentation, with systemic issues like poverty or inequality framed as individual problems.
- Māori women face compounded marginalisation in media narratives.
- Crime, Poverty, and Immigration:
- News media frequently ignores systemic contributors to crime or poverty, focusing on individual failings instead.
- Immigration reporting is ambivalent, valuing migrants economically while often dehumanising them.
- Pacific and Ethnic Media:
- Ethnic and Indigenous media provide counter-hegemonic narratives, though they face limitations such as underfunding and narrow identity framing.
“…there is a notable lack of research about the media’s coverage of certain diversity issues, especially religion, sexuality, and disability. Transgender and gender-queer minorities are also underrepresented in discourses around gender.”
“Even when subjects facing discrimination or hardship are treated sympathetically, their situations are seldom framed as being connected to a broader system of exclusion. This limits the news media’s ability to hold the powerful to account.”
Recommendations
The report offers actionable steps to improve media representation:
- Media Accountability: Encourage media organisations to promote responsible reporting through the education and training of journalists on social issues. This would include highlighting systemic factors and engaging with diverse perspectives.
- Diversity and Representation: Advocate for diverse representation in media coverage, ensuring that the voices and experiences of Maori, women, migrants and other marginalised groups are included in the narrative.
- Education and Awareness: Develop educational programmes and initiatives to enhance public and media understanding of the complexities of specific issues, such as crime, poverty and inequality, sex work, gender and disability, addressing stereotypes, and promoting empathy and rehabilitation rather than perpetuating stigmatisation.
- Collaboration and Consultation Efforts: Foster collaboration between policymakers, researchers, media professionals, and affected communities to ensure that policies and media representations align with the realities of issues.
- Partnerships: Establish partnerships between academia, media organizations, and policymakers to ensure the application of research insights in shaping media policies and practices.
- Publicly-Funded News Outlets:
- Increase funding and resources for publicly-funded news outlets to enhance their capacity for in-depth reporting and diverse perspectives.
- Strengthen collaboration between publicly-funded news outlets and independent media platforms to amplify the reach and impact of balanced and accurate reporting.
- Political Education and Empowerment:
- Integrate gender equality and diversity education into the curricula, raising awareness among future politicians, journalists, and policymakers.
- Encourage journalists and political parties to support equity and diversity measures and recognise the importance of increased representation of women and minority groups in politics.
- Indigenous Media: Recognise the value of Indigenous media in fostering cultural understanding and inclusivity, and support collaborations between mainstream and indigenous media outlets to challenge Eurocentric normativity and promote diversity.
- Ethnic Media: Engage and collaborate with Chinese-language media to ensure accuracy, fairness, and balance in political coverage, minimizing informational disadvantages for Chinese-speaking migrants and residents.
- Pacific Media: Support Pacific media to continue to explore diverse narratives and experiences within the Pacific community.
