Margie Comrie

The rules of the (leadership) game: Gender, politics and news

The abiding interest of researchers to explore the nature of political communication continues to provoke lively debates about who controls the moveable feast of the news agenda – politicians or journalists. This article argues that despite journalistic claims of impartiality, a careful, multilayered analysis of print and broadcast news of a general election (New Zealand, 2008) and, more specifically, reportage about the leaders of the Labour Party (Helen Clark) and National Party (John Key) demonstrates clear bias against the long-serving (older female) incumbent in favour of the (younger male) challenger. This bias is manifest in several ways, including the visibility of the two leaders measured by column inches, their uses as quoted sources and the tone and tenor of reportage. Whilst we found few examples of explicitly sexist commentary, there were numerous ways in Clark’s personal attributes, including her sex and age, were slyly used to undermine her continued suitability for the top job.

Retrieving public service broadcasting: treading a fine line at TVNZ

When New Zealand led the world in its deregulation of broadcasting in the late 1980s, the publicly owned but commercially oriented Television New Zealand (TVNZ) became uniquely popular, attracting two-thirds of the national audience and returning substantial profit dividends to the government. However, in 1999, partly in response to concerns about quality, an incoming centre-left government decided to reverse the trend and reinstate public service values in television through a controversial charter. This article examines the three-year battle to establish the Charter in the mixed broadcasting sector and looks at the possibilities of success in New Zealand’s small market. TVNZ continues to rely on advertising funding and may have been assigned an impossible task, given the government’s commitment to supporting private creative industries combined with an arguably tardy response to the structural and funding challenges imposed by Charter obligations in the new configuration of state-owned television.

Facing up to Facebook: politicians, publics and the social media(ted) turn in New Zealand

Social media have an increasingly important place in the lives of citizens, and their potential to expand the reach of communication messages beyond individual networks is attractive to those looking to maximise message efficiency. The influence of Facebook in Obama’s 2008 campaign success galvanised many politicians into taking it seriously as a campaign tool. Our study explored the Facebook wall posts (1148 in total) of New Zealand Members of Parliament (MPs) leading up to the 2011 general election to determine posting behaviours and differences. Among other things, we found that women posted more frequently than men and that Labour MPs posted more than their National counterparts. Additionally, most politicians do not invite dialogue with readers of their posts, rarely get involved in comment threads and mostly take a monologic approach, using Facebook as a way of broadcasting information rather than as a medium enabling two-way flow. In other words, same old, same old.

Barriers to Pacific women's use of cervical screening services

Objective: The present study explored barriers to the use of cervical screening information and services from the perspective of Pacific women.

Beyond the Feel-Good Factor Measuring Public Journalism in the 1996 New Zealand Election Campaign

The promise of public journalism is that it makes politics “go well.” However, empirical evaluation of it has been fragmentary. The introduction of a new electoral system in New Zealand saw the print media experiment with the new model. In our study, we examined the journalistic interpretation of election campaign issues under the new circumstances and compared conventional coverage with the use of public journalism. The findings reveal that public journalism provided readers with a different, more constructive framing of political news.

Empowerment or Encumbrance? Exercising the STV Option for Local Authority Elections in New Zealand

The introduction of proportional representation into New Zealand parliamentary elections in 1996 increased the momentum for introducing proportional representation into local elections. Legislation passed in 2001 provides local choice regarding the electoral system for triennial local authority elections from 2004. In this article we review the way local authorities responded to the opportunity to choose between the current first-past-the-post (FPP) system and single transferable voting (STV). We examine the communication and consultation carried out by local authorities and discuss the degree to which the exercise of the STV option reflects the principles of the Act and contributes to the goal of empowering communities.

New Zealand Polynesian women’s access to information about cervical screening

Immigration by Pacific Island people into New Zealand has raised issues of equal access to a range of government and social services, including health information. This study reports on an investigation of access to information by women in Pacific Island cultures resident in Palmerston North. The New Zealand health environment is quickly changing and features market-style reforms, greater accent on privately-funded health schemes and an ideological shift in the direction of individual responsibility for ones health. We describe what we found to be the major impediments to quality of health information accessible by Pacific Island women and conclude with proposals for changes and developments in public health communications.

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.

Pathway to rehabilitation - prisoners’ use of a public library

There has been a long, though often little explored, relationship between prisons and libraries. In the 19th century, in-prison libraries were introduced for evangelical purpose. Now they are seen as a key element in raising literacy levels and supporting prisoner education programmes which are ultimately aimed at rehabilitation and reintegration. Many public libraries have strong links with prison libraries and provide support. However, in Whanganui, New Zealand, the district library has entered an unusual partnership with the local prison where prisoners from the self-care unit regularly visit the library. This case study explores perceptions of both prisoners and district librarians about the project. It reports on prisoners’ perceptions of and use of the library. Librarians give their views on how the system works and what could make it even better.

On-Screen Politics: The TVNZ Charter and Coverage of Political News

Concern about falling standards and ratings-driven political coverage was behind Labour’s introduction of a public service charter for state broadcaster TVNZ in 2003. But has the Re been any real change in the nature of political reporting on television? This article explores contemporary political coverage on New Zealand television news from a variety of perspectives. First, using results from a content analysis of One News and 3 News in 2000 and 2003, along with comparable figures going back to 1985, it charts the decline in political coverage on television news and its replacement by tabloid subjects and sports news. It then examines the nature of political coverage on the two channels, looking specifically at the kinds of stories making the headlines and the top part of the news bulletin, and the role of political correspondents. A brief discussion of election year coverage highlights the conclusion that any Charter-driven changes to political coverage have been limited. The political furore surrounding the resignation of TVNZ’s CEO Ian Fraser in late 2005, and the return to a strongly commercial news format, has underlined TVNZ’s continued reliance on ratings. At this stage New Zealand seems, if anything, to be retreating from the public service ideals of in-depth, comprehensive political coverage promised by the Charter.