Decolonising Journalism in Aotearoa New Zealand: Using a Tiriti-Led Framework for News Practice

Abstract

ABSTRACT In 2020, newspaper conglomerate and owner of Aotearoa New Zealand’s largest news website, Stuff, issued an historic public apology for its racist portrayal of Indigenous Māori after an internal investigation showed it had contributed to stigma, marginalisation and stereotypes against Māori. This study explores what has changed since Stuff’s apology and, by deploying an analytical framework grounded in Māori worldviews and Te Tiriti o Waitangi (the founding treaty signed between Māori and British colonisers), demonstrates how an Indigenous lens can help news organisations better identify and rethink Western-centric journalistic norms to develop more inclusive and equitable practice. The study analyses Stuff’s then largest newspaper, The Press, via a content analysis of two constructed weeks, one before Stuff’s apology (n = 480 articles) and another post-apology (n = 430 articles), along with a topic modelling analysis of 5091 articles published between 2016 and 2021. Analysis grounded in kaupapa Māori and te Tiriti shows some improvement in news coverage—as well as opportunities for more equitable representation by incorporating Indigenous tikanga (custom) in reporting practice. It also finds ongoing problems, indicating more fundamental and transformative action is needed for news media organisations to meet their commitments to anti-racism and de-Westernising the field.