Suburban Newspapers' reporting of Maori news

A content analysis of editorial items about Maori issues and the Treaty of Waitangi in 14 Suburban Newspaper publications in Auckland and Northland found a low proportion of articles about these issues, despite high proportions of Maori resident in several areas served by these publications. Stories included a higher proportion of apparent news releases compared to a national sample of non-daily papers. Maori perspectives came largely from sources representing pan-Maori non-government organisations; Suburban Newspapers used a low proportion of iwi and hapu sources compared with other community papers. Use of te reo Maori was low, and there were no signs of attempts to support readers in learning or increasing their understanding of te reo Maori. This article concludes that Maori and non-Maori readers are poorly served by the poverty of Suburban Newspapers' reporting of Treaty and Maori issues.