RNZ: White noise
Radio New Zealand (National) used to have a slogan, "sounds like us", and I guess they dropped that when the Irish Noelle McCarthy was given a plumb spot hosting. I've posted before on how the network is a Pakeha network run and staffed and programmed by and for the white folk, but listening to a stream of Poms on air today it merits another comment.
Radio NZ is so racist that even the African correspondent is white. Everyone on air has to be white. It doesn't matter where they come from as long as they are white. British, Australian, European, American - as long as they are white. One foreign accent after another - as long as they are not any other colour other than white, being the white races of European origin. That is the policy of RNZ National.
Anyone who listens regularly will know exactly what I mean - although very few (because the audience is obviously going to be almost exclusively white) would be expected to be aware of this let alone see it as a concern. I listen mainly because they have no ads - a luxury subsidised by the NZ government. But sometimes even the horrendous intrusion every ten minutes of commercials for erectile dysfunction, quack medicines, local niche companies with awful jingles and so on blighting the talk stations is better than listening to white foreigners and white New Zealanders on Radio fucking Rhodesia. No wonder it is so lifeless, bland, stale, smug, irrelevant and old.
For so long as RNZ (and Concert is even worse than National) is a state subsidised bastion of Pakehadom with no equivalent Maori network it will be a racist institution no matter how many times they say "kia ora".
posted by Tim Selwyn @ 11:17 am
8 comments
8 Comments:
Statistically I think you are correct, however I'm not sure it's a POLCY of RNZ, more an ACCIDENT of it. With a few exceptions though, it is becoming a "comfortably-off middle class zone". Not surprising really when you consider the people appointed to its administration (by external forces).
Weekdays are very "nice" though aren't they!. The lovely Kathryn Ryan and everyman's friend Jim Mora. Both are at times stimulating, but both are becoming aloof and out of touch with things amongst a number of the audience they are supposedly there to represent as a public service broadcaster. Both have STILL got their 'pop-idols' all lined up to provide expert commentary on "things". If you look back at the last week - its not as if they don;t try though - that thing about food banks on Ryan, the oil spill et al. But...the white middle class comfort Ryan and Mora both enjoy really fucking grates sometimes, and I suspect there is a bit of an "old-boy" network at play too.
Christ!!!! it pisses me off when I hear certain "experts"...those I also suspect of being recruited on the basis that they were once neighbours with cultivated gasps/deep breaths etc. - the ones you grew up with - even went to school with - who are now in with the in-crowd and whose contributions are usually trite 'tell-me-the-bleeding-obvious' stuff. Fucking Gorgeous Darling!
I should really keep Natrad off during daytime and just listen nights and weekends. Actually I will.
No doubt if the great Jim ever saw this, OR indeed Kathryn, they'd have a ready answer to this criticism but frankly BOTH need a kick up the...
What percentage would you like to be Maori 14-15% as per population?
Now doing a Google site:radionz.co.nz the word Maori comes up 30700 times but the words: pakeha, white, racist, honky, cracker, caucasian all combined only make up 10939 so the percentage of logged events Maori out weights the rest three times over, add in the word England and you only get another 5610.
The word Aotearoa comes up 188,000 yet New Zealand only 163,000.
Now Maori TV has worked really well they have great programming soon to be the last bastion of educational TV(RIP 7) why doesn't the Maori party push for a Maori radio service?
Radio NZ is very middle of the road middle of the class this probably corresponds to the listenership. It has gotten worse this election for some strange reason.
Now no one liked Noelle and Matinee Idle still owes me a T-Shirt but to call the whole service racist is an insult to the service and yourself IMHO.
I suspect you are right regarding external forces. Mostly I'm guessing senior management giving the "this is an election year" speech.
At least media watch still mentions the current media issues. But this is only 1 hour per week.
I think it is much scarier that Jim and Kath are both playing along. Both normally being far more descenting and questioning. Are they scared they might get banned from parliament I wonder?
Re: 'tell-me-the-bleeding-obvious' I used to get annoyed by this also, but you have to realise what you or I might find obvious most people would find enlightening. I've heard about the BSD license twice this week already.
You're right that it is getting worse, but I hope that it changes after the election.
I've noticed that at times both main presenters during week are becoming a little obtuse . . .it's a though they've gone thru a NWO reprogramming !! Katherine has been really OTT about "not getting" the Ron Paul movement and wont have a bar of any deliberate shutting out from the media of him, a fact obvious to the dimmest intelligence here. And Mora with Bomba the other week . . he must've needed a nappy change after that. Kim Hill on saturdays is even more sanctimonius than normal if thats possible !!?? And again, nothing reaalllyy contentious gets covered.
When you hear reporters on RNZ say: "The stroiking foirefoighters couldn't get to the Poike River Moine on toime, so all the moiners were deed" you know they don't really sound like us brought up to speak English as a second language.
1. I actually liked Noelle McCarthy. Something about her accent was so novel, compatred to the rest of RNZ.
2. White, middle class, and safe? You betcha.
Until funding for RNZ remains at the pleasure of the relevant Minister, it will always be beholding to the guvmint of the day.
Chris Trotter had a very good point about the culture of "safety" that permeates RNZ (which led to Bomber's banning). The likes of Maggie Barry and Kim Hill are long gone -replaced with sports-mad Kathryn Ryan.
God help us, the guvmint doesn't need to privatise or close down RNZ - mediocrity will do the job just as effectively.
3. That "safety" now extends to not doing serious, hard, interviews. (Though Dear Leader still hasn't the cojones to front up to RNZ, even despite it's semi-docile state.)
The Bomber incident is appalling. I was disgusted. I do think there is a creeping, subtle, invisible thought police at Nat Radio. Call me suspicious, but the Bomber censorship incident was aBombinable!! Boom Boom!
I take it all back Tim I'm sorry that ever defended RNZ.
Radio New Zealand Racism taken to whole new level. 2.30 in Saying they should make a Terrorist or Suicide Bomber Barbie's after mentioning the Muslim world.
http://podcast.radionz.co.nz/aft/aft-20111027-1634-the_panel_with_tony_doe_and_john_bishop_part_2-048.mp3
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