Double Vision: Election News Coverage on Mainstream and Indigenous Television in New Zealand

At a time when traditional media industries are searching for new models, the rapidly growing Indigenous media are gaining in confidence and influence. New Zealand’s Ma–ori Television Service (MTS) has been dubbed the country’s only real provider of public service television and has appeal far beyond a narrow target audience. An analysis of 2008 national election coverage shows that MTS, while focused on Ma–ori concerns, was closer to public service expectations on a number of measurements than the two mainstream prime-time news programs. The paper examines coverage on state-owned TVNZ, private channel TV, and MTS, aiming to throw light on the contribution that a different—indigenous—perspective can make.