Who gets voice? (Re)presentation of bicultural relations in New Zealand print media

This study investigates the role and performance of the print media in (re)presenting the voice of different groups in its coverage of bicultural relations in Aotearoa New Zealand. Specifically, it explores media coverage of Maori protest occupations in terms of the agency afforded to these groups, and in terms of the reiterative role of the media in 'performatively' reproducing the social spaces that constitute New Zealand. The 1995 occupation of Pakaitore/Moutoa gardens in Wanganui by local Maori, was the focus for this investigation. The study located eighty articles printed in The New Zealand Herald and eighty seven articles printed in The Dominion over the 79-day occupation period. First, coding and word counts were used to determine amount of voice afforded to the main interest groups. Second, the way media (re)present these voices was examined through: amount of quoting vs. paraphrasing; length of quote; and juxtaposition of accounts with alternative accounts. The amount of voice afforded to Maori was found to be more consistent with status as a minority under multiculturalism, than with their status as equal partners under the Treaty of Waitangi (and biculturalism). Media (re)presentation of Maori voices was found to differ from that of other interest groups involved in the occupation on these measures. We contend the outcome was a diminution of agency for Maori.