Media shouldn't have full access | The Jackal

26 Feb 2013

Media shouldn't have full access

Today, the NZ Herald reported:

Restrictions at this year's kapa haka championships has led to members of the public criticising mainstream media for the lack of coverage.

One Maori media outlet snubbed last week's competition, saying the lack of full access was a slap in the face. Te Matatini, held in Rotorua, finished on Sunday.

Media usually don't have full access to these kinds of events... That's because media people often run on ulterior motives and many of them simply cannot be trusted.

The media don't need full access to do their jobs properly and blaming a lack of coverage on management decisions instead of their own untrustworthiness is entirely disingenuous!

On Sunday, The Daily Post reported:

Te Matatini Incorporated Society has banned TVNZ from conducting interviews within the Rotorua International Stadium on finals day tomorrow of Te Matatini National Kapa Haka Festival 2013 after its Maori news bulletin Te Karere breached media guidelines.

Te Matatini managing director Darrin Apanui said he was disappointed with TVNZ's actions, after they previously adhered to news access guidelines on Thursday.

However a Te Karere reporter abused the privilege of being given access to a space by the VIP lounge to interview dignitaries and instead recorded a piece to camera within a restricted area which was broadcast in its bulletin on Friday.

So there's the real reason full access was declined to the media, because they abused their privileges. That shouldn't mean a lack of coverage though, and things like Hekia Parata being booed by the entire audience should have been reported on.

The fact that such an important event wasn't properly covered just shows how biased and spiteful our media representatives have become, and in my opinion gives even more grounds for not granting them full access in the future.

Five time winners Te Waka Huia in action at Te Matatini 2013