Radio NZ review – how white can it get?

1. I went to the RNZ public meeting the other week organised by Grant Robertson. It was a very informative evening with lots of good answers, but one of the more concerning responses was to a question about diversity within RNZ, considering their plans to reach out to a ‘more diverse’ (less Pakeha-based) audience. They admitted they did not have the kind of staff diversity they would ideally enjoy, but then made a strange comment about being ‘colour-blind’ – which I assume means they don’t see the ethnicity or cultural background of a person as being relevant to the job. I hope this was just the Chairman’s opinion and not indicative of wider consensus within RNZ. They may find it hard to get a diverse range of people feeling connected to their programmes if they aren’t bringing many new (non-Pakeha) perspectives/voices to their organisation.

2. I would also like to see more socio-economic diversity. This and ethnic diversity could easily be done, in some small part, from the daily ‘Panel’ portion of the day’s broadcasting.

3. Who cares? This is nonsense. The important thing is the content, not the colour of the person talking.

   To try to make a song and dance about the perceived need for some kind of racial quota is to show you up as a racist and I’m sure any self respecting member of a minority group would less appreciate your biased and patronising opinion than an honest representation of the already diverse part of the world we live in.

   GROW UP!

   • Nice that you can speak on behalf of “self respecting” ethnic groups

     • They are speaking for themselves loudly and proudly through a myriad of other radio stations that play and say exactly what they want to hear, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. From one end of the country to the other….and no thought police to be seen.

       They don’t need your patronising nonsense. All power to them!

4. I’m a longtime listener to RNZ, and I’m pakeha.

   I’ve noticed that there are what seem to be hundreds of radio stations, catering to Maori along with many other ethnic groups. I could listen to these stations if I wanted to, but I do not. The content doesn’t interest me; quite frequently, I can’t understand a word that’s being broadcast.

   For the life of me, I fail to see the problem with RNZ catering to the tastes of people like me. Our views and our preferences matter too.

   • Well, one of the problems is that RNZ ISN’T “for people like you”. It’s NZ’s public broadcaster. It does have a credibility problem at the moment as it grows ever more middle class and fails to adress the issues for working New Zealanders.

     • @ Rob: “Well, one of the problems is that RNZ ISN’T “for people like you”.”

       Nonsense! Of course it’s for people like me. I suspect that you intended to say “isn’t just for people like you”. And I wouldn’t disagree with that.

       “… it grows ever more middle class and fails to adress the issues for working New Zealanders.”

       What exactly does this mean? That the middle classes aren’t working NZers? I’m sure that’ll come as news to said middle classes….

       When I say that I’m a longtime listener to RNZ, I mean really longtime: large chunks of the day and night, and right through my years in the workforce. I’ve usually listened to whatever was on offer: news, current affairs, music (these days, frequently not to my taste), special interest programming… you name it.

       At the time of the ChCh quakes, it would’ve been hard to beat RNZ’s coverage. In my view, its staff, in particular those actually in ChCh during the quakes, ought to have got medals for dedication to duty in the face of sheer terror and destruction all around them.

       As a result, it’s seemed to me when discussing with others what’s going on here and in the wider world, that I’ve been pretty well-informed, on the whole. That’s what I want of radio: entertainment; information; up-to-date coverage of big events; politics.

       AND, most importantly, it’s done without commercials!

5. I think the point that’s being made is that this is Radio ‘New Zealand’, not Radio White people.

   As to the station being colour blind, thats some sort of non statement meets position of denial people in positions of cultural privilege say. If they meant colour blind, the only blind being demonstrated is that noone else in this purported multicultural nation exists, which motivates the platform for independent radio stations of ethnic specificity (Maori, Indian, Chinese).

   I don’t think its all ‘racist’ to point this out. If you consider ‘racist’ means “a person who believes that a particular race is superior to another.”

   In this instance how is the writer being racist, to point out the complete absence of any race other than white people?

   New Zealand is a nationality, and not an ethnicity, so by that very notion, it encompasses people of multiple ethnicities. If you were a listener from another country, and knew nothing about New Zealand’s ethnic make up, you would (obviously) be led to assume only white people lived here, no?

   I don’t think its at all amiss to point out Radio ‘New Zealands’ abit wanting for diversity.

   • @ Pixilator: ” If you were a listener from another country, and knew nothing about New Zealand’s ethnic make up, you would (obviously) be led to assume only white people lived here, no?”

     Well, no! I conclude that you don’t actually listen to RNZ, if that’s what you think. The programme content – and the presenters thereof – has, over many years, been much more diverse than Selwyn’s critique suggests. In all the years I’ve been listening, RNZ has covered Maori and Pacific issues, for instance, very thoroughly.

     Of course programmes such as “Nine to Noon” and Jim Mora’s afternoon show ought to cater to the tastes of their respective audiences, and if that audience tends toward middle classness (though not exclusively pakeha, from what I’ve heard), that’s just the way of it.

6. That’s current affairs you’re reviewing Tim, try another week when the Royal family aren’t coming to town and there’s some crisis somewhere in the Pacific. Oh, not this week because the plight of 20,000 or so homeless Papuans hardly makes a blip over the other road show. It’s not just National
   radio, it’s media in general. Nine to Noon has a particular (large) audience who feel, in general, well served. Another thing to consider, radio is a purely auditory medium, the talent has to be understandable to be of any value at all. Thick accents do not work and drive the audience to switch off because they are too difficult for most to understand without applying all their attention, and who does that? I agree Maori news and issues is somewhat corralled but I get to hear the Maori news most days and the issues are generally similar to whatever else is covered through the day. I think you perhaps need to understand radio. And what are you comparing it with? Radio NZ National is the best we’ve got by any measure.

7. I think you have a valid point there Tim. At some stage there should be a “fusion” if this multicultural identity thing is to have any credibility.
   Personally I would like to hear recordings of stuff like: http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~hetaonga/merchant/the_production.html
   and:http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-17769799
   making the airwaves…
   I can’t find a decent radio station since the one announcer on local FM who played decent music and cracked seriously good jokes got made redundant, not sure why.

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