New Korea Herald editor John Yoo said he would appeal against the decision but did not think he would have the resources to keep the business afloat even if he won. He said he would continue to publish the news he gathers online.

Justice Paul Heath ruled last month that a series of articles the paper published had set out to “destroy” the character of 73-year-old Jung Nam Lee, a martial arts pioneer in New Zealand. He had sought $400,000.

The judge said the articles were a “deliberate, if misguided” attempt to destroy Mr Lee’s character and there was no defence to Mr Lee’s claim that he had been defamed.

The New Korea Herald is a free newspaper, distributed mostly to the 22,000 Koreans living in Auckland.

Korean Society vice-president Audrey Chung said Korean-language media was important and news of the demise of the New Korea Herald was sad but there were many other local newspapers and magazines and online media outlets aimed at the Korean community.

ights Commission is currently drafting its annual review of diversity and the media for inclusion in the 2010 Race Relations Report, due to be published in March. Do you have some news or views as to what should be included? Please send your thoughts and reports to nzdiversity@hrc.co.nz

The annual competition this year was to reward work by young New Zealand journalists focusing on Asian-related topics, and is convened by Whitireia Journalism School. The school’s head, Jim Tucker, says that although entry numbers were down this year the standard was very high.

Ms Todd’s winning entry told of a Bhutanese family’s migration to New Zealand. With the help of the Asia:NZ media programme,  Ms Todd and Press photographer Kirk Hargreaves, had been able to Nepal in February this year to visit families in refugee camps, and who were about to resettle in New Zealand under this country’s commitment to a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) programme.

She then tracked them as they arrived in New Zealand and spent time at the Mangere Refugee Resettlement Centre, and then met them again after they arrived in Christchurch. “We wanted to illustrate — through pictures and words — the lives that these people were leaving behind and the huge amount of hope they have for their futures,” says Ms Todd.

One of the judges, Asia: NZ Foundation media advisor Charles Mabbett, says Ms Todd was the standout candidate.  “Rebecca takes the reader through the culture shock felt by the family, by observing a series of experiences we would take for granted, including a first trip to the supermarket.”

Ms Todd says she learnt about courageous people who have been through awful events and living in a terrible situation, but still have great hope for the future.

She is also grateful to Asia: New Zealand for allowing her to cover such stories in more depth. “They have been very supportive. I know that the communities really appreciate having stories that are focused on them in a positive way, and their lives and what they do so. That’s really positive for everyone.”

Ms Todd has also just won Canterbury University’s Robert Bell Traveling Scholarship in Journalism to investigate the impact of the tablet computer on newspapers in England. “They are the next big thing and New Zealand is going to get involved in that technology, so hopefully the research will be helpful to the New Zealand industry.”

Joint runners up of the Excellence in Reporting Diversity awards were Joanna Davies of The Aucklander and John Hartevelt from Fairfax’s political bureau.

The award was judged by Mr Mabbett, Mr Tucker and Race Relations Commissioner Joris de Bres.

For the past two years, Homai Te Pakipaki has been Māori Television’s star performer in the ratings.

It is a “grass roots” singing competition with no judges, with winners decided by audience text messages.

This, says producer Erina Tamepo, is one of the reasons for its success. “We were getting over the concept of judges, and wanted to let the people decide. We wanted to have an interactive element, which meant that if you cared enough, and you voted, you had an impact on that show.

It’s a show that depends on having connections, preferably a large whanau. One recent winner, for instance, had a father with 23 brothers and sisters. “The way maoritanga works is through whanaungatanga and iwitanga, and being connected to people,” says Ms Tamepo. “It seemed like a natural fit. I thought it was a point of difference that nobody else was exploiting.”

Ms Tamepo says that the values of the show are quite different from other sing-and-win shows on television. She points to one participant, Warana Pomana, who had been sent by his whanau in the Wairarapa. “He’d got in a bit of trouble and his whanau said to get in their good books again he had to do as they asked, and then they asked him to go on Homai Te Pakipaki. He was in his 60s, he didn’t have a tooth in his mouth, he had a walking stick, and he had a voice like an angel.”

The show isn’t slick; participants frequently turn up in jeans and jandals. It also has a relaxed spontaneity that has worked in the show’s favour.  “I think too many shows are over produced, and they’re all about the look and nothing is there in terms of substance,” says Ms Tamepo. “We want people to be relaxed and have the most candid korero possible. I personally haven’t seen a show where people are so at ease on a live show.”

Another key premise of the show is that contestants actually have a good time.

“Our motto is ‘kia whakamana te tangata’. We want out people to feel fantastic, because I’m over this way of making people feel stink. Even when we give them good news, we drag it out so that they are so uncomfortable. And then we tell them they lose the cry, and we think that that’s great TV, make people cry and feel stink.

“At the end of the day, Māori get beaten up enough as it is, they don’t need to come to their station and get beaten up again. And when they leave here, in our world, they are megastars.”

The inaugural radio conference was first held a decade ago. “When people studying radio got together and decided to have their own conference, rather than getting stuck in the corner at the film and television conference,” says Matt Mollgaard, chair of this year’s conference.

Around 60 presenters have been booked for the event, which includes academics, teachers and broadcasters from all over the world.

Keynote presenters include Andre Dubber, a reader in Music Industries Innovation at Birmingham City University, whose research interests include music as cultural identity, radio in the digital age and specialist music radio.

The line-up also includes Jack Perkins, who was awarded a QSM for his services to radio in New Zealand, and Tony Stoller, who was chief executive of the Radio Authority in the UK from 1995 until it was subsumed into the Office of Communications in 2003.

Research being presented includes topics such as:

• Radio broadcasting in different languages and dialects in Turkey during the European Union harmonisation process.
• University student radio in Indonesia.
• Radio as the dominant medium of mass communication in Botswana.
• News on South African community stations.

Despite the digital revolution radio remains a high value medium that people depend on, says Mr Mollgaard. “Look at something like Planet FM, where you have 150,000 listeners and which covers around 170 languages.

“Radio is still cheap to produce, easy to access and still very important, especially in the developing world. It’s worth reflecting on that. It’s one of the more democratic media.”

The Radio Conference: A Transnational Forum, will be held January 11-14, 2011. For more information contact 
Matt Mollgaard or phone 09- 9219999 ext. 7876.

Massey University’s Professors Paul Spoonley and Richard Bedford have researched the way immigrants are perceived by the general public and the those public perceptions are reflected in the media. This will be summarised in a chapter in their upcoming book, Welcome to Our World; Immigration and the Remaking of New Zealand.

“I think the media environment has changed noticeably since the turn of the century,” says Professor Spoonley. “I hesitate to say it’s more balanced, but we get much more nuanced coverage of immigration; there’s a realisation that the migrant flow is very diverse, that immigration has positive outcomes and so on.”

Professor Spoonley says that in recent decades, particular immigrant groups have been singled out and perceived as a threat, which has been reflected in the media. In the 1970s, hostility against immigration was often directed at Pacific Islanders, who were portrayed as “competing with New Zealanders for jobs, as well as being responsible for the decline of urban landscape.

“We politicised a term, ‘overstayers’, but as we have learned subsequently the bulk of overstayers weren’t Pacific Islanders, even though something like 86 per cent of prosecutions were against Pacific Islanders.”

In the 1990s, hostility towards immigration was directed at Asian communities (and Fijian-Indians who were often misunderstood as being from Asia). Again, there were some clear themes; “why are they buying up all our houses, why are they speaking in a language we don’t understand in public spaces, why are they driving so badly.” Later these communities were often linked to particular crimes, such as extortion, certain sorts of fraud, certain types of drugs.

“But as we have learned, Asians do not commit crimes, in anything like their proportion of the population. They are a very law-abiding set of communities.”

He notes that between 1997 and 1999 there was a marked re-evaluation in the media in the way it covered immigrant communities, possibly because a drop in Asian immigration had a detrimental effect on the housing market and labour market.

“After 2000, in terms of editorials, features, opinion pieces, there’s a much more positive approach to immigration.”

In this light, Deborah Coddington’s controversial article “Asian Angst” in North & South magazine and broadcaster Paul Henry’s comments about the Governor-General this year, were more anomalous than trend-setting.

The fact that public opinion went against them was indicative of a shift in attitudes says Professor Spoonley.  “Both illustrate how much we have moved between 1996 and 2006…it’s quite a journey in the way that we perceive immigrants and the way they are portrayed in the media.”

Welcome to Our World will be published by Auckland University Press in 2011.

During an episode of Breakfast in June this year, Mr Henry interviewed a representative from AA Insurance about a recent survey of the top ten frustrations of drivers on New Zealand roads. Mr Henry then discussed his own frustrations with his co-host Pippa Wetzell and said: "You know the thing when people, it happens all the time in Auckland, a lot of Asians do it, all of a sudden they just start slowing down and I sit in my car going, 'What? What is it you want? What are you looking for?'"

Ms Wetzell interrupted Mr Henry saying, "I don't know if you can say that is just due to one group of people; all sorts of people do it".

Mr Henry responded, "No, other people do it as well because the Asians have taught them how to do it. 'What do you want? Why are you slowing down?' "

The complainant alleged that Mr Henry's comments about Asian drivers breached standards of good taste and decency that "such a generalisation is unfounded and contributes to anti-Asian sentiment".

The BSA acknowledged that Mr Henry's comments were intentionally provocative and borderline in terms of their acceptability and perpetuated a negative stereotype about Asian people, and this would have been offensive to a number of viewers.

However it also concluded that the Bill of Rights Act allows people to express opinions that others may find offensive, illogical or rude. "We consider that the host's comments, on this occasion, while deliberately provocative and ill-conceived, were not sufficiently objectionable as to warrant us imposing a limitation on the broadcaster's freedom of expression."

The report will be compiled by the Ministry of Justice in consultation with other government departments, with input from the public. Non-government organisations and the Human Rights Commission will have the opportunity to report directly to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) after the report has been submitted, but there is also an opportunity to provide the Ministry of Justice with indications of what people think are the most important issues for the first draft of the report.

The report is limited to 40 pages, so suggestions for inclusion need to be prioritised.

The Human Rights Commission has agreed to encourage and facilitate public input to the report. The information will also be used to inform the annual Race Relations Report, which will be published in March 2011.

Please email us your response to the following questions, or complete a quick online form:

1. What are the five most positive developments in race relations in the past five years (2006-2010)?
2. What are the five greatest race relations challenges for the future?

Please send your response to the Commission at nzdiversity@hrc.co.nz by Sunday 21 November 2010.

There is more information on the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, including its previous examination of New Zealand's performance and the Government's response, on the Human Rights Commission website.

The conference aims to explore investigative journalism and documentary techniques, methodologies and technologies, as well as provide support to journalists, photographers and filmmakers working in this area.

Speakers include some of the most experienced investigative journalists in the region.

• Professor Wendy Bacon, director of the Australian Centre for Independent Journalism.
• Kunda Dixit, editor of the Nepali Times, who will be visiting New Zealand as the PMC's 2010 Asian Journalism Fellow sponsored by the Asian New Zealand Foundation.
• Nicky Hager, New Zealand author and independent investigative journalist and New Zealand representative of the Washington-based Consortium of Investigative Journalists.
• Barbara Dreaver, Pacific correspondent for Television New Zealand.

The conference will also feature an exhibition of a collection of Dixit's photojournalism and peace journalism, Frames of War, comprising investigative images of the 10-year Maoist war in Nepal, and show excerpts from emerging investigative documentaries such as Jim Marbrook's, Cap Bocage, about an environmental and mining conflict in New Caledonia.

Other speakers include Shailendra Singh of the University of the South Pacific, who will speak about the investigation of corruption in Fiji, and Patrick Matbob of the Divine Word University, on investigative journalism in Papua New Guinea.

Simon Collins of the New Zealand Herald and James Hollings of Massey University will also convene an investigative journalism course for younger journalists and postgraduate student journalists.

Date    :           6-8 December

For more information visit AUT Pacific Media Centre.

"When we first started doing it we attracted around 15,000 people," says Radio Tarana managing director, Robert Khan.  "Now we expect somewhere between 25,000 to 40,000 people. Logistically, it was becoming very difficult to manage over one day."

Radio Tarana, an independent radio station established 13 years ago, is a 24-hour, free-to-air radio station broadcasting news, current affairs, sports, talkback and music, and is the exclusive provider of BBC Hindi and Urdu Fiji News in New Zealand.

The station supports numerous events and festivals aimed at the Indian community, including the Diwali Festival and the Festival of Lights. It first hosted a Fiji Festival four years ago, in response to "public demand" from its 80,000 plus listenership in the greater Auckland area.

Mr Khan says the radio station caters to a diverse mix of listeners of Indian origin including people from India, Fiji, UK, South Africa and ethnic groups including Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, Sri Lankans, Nepalese and people from the Middle East.

"This is an event that appeals to our listeners, but showcases the diversity of Indian culture and the different aspects of Indian culture to the rest of New Zealand," says Mr Khan.

Those who gathered in Manukau earlier this year for the festival saw performances by Radio Fiji personality Bobby Darling, traditional Fijian meke, Māori kapa haka, Indian nail walking and a Bollywood performance by Pacific Spice, a dance group made up of Cook Islanders, Samoans and Tongans.

This month's event, at the Telstra Clear Pacific Events Centre, includes a similar line up, with cultural performances, dance competitions and fire walking.

Date    :           20 - 21November
Venue :           Telstra Clear Pacific Events Centre 770 Great South Rd, Manukau

"It's important for people to know who they are, for people of any race," says co- producer Paula Jones. "And whakapapa is very important in Māori culture. If you are Māori and can't stand up and say who you are and where you come from, it can be quite soul destroying."

Ms Jones says that she continues to be surprised to find out how many people, even in a small country with a low population, have no knowledge of their ancestral history. "Or they know who they are, but don't know how to go back. They don't know what to do, or the circumstances that their father or mother or grandfather might have left. You could just rock up, but what will you find?"

With the help and support of a kaumātua-led research team, the programme aims to guide six participants in their search, in a way that preserves their dignity. Over the duration of a series a minority of stories have not resulted in happy endings, however most have with people's lives transformed as a result.

"Knowing our heritage is central to identity," "For people who have lost that connection - discovering or rediscovering can provide a pathway to the restoration of dignity, security and humanity."

For more information and an application form please email Bravestar Films.

This year's media awards went to TVNZ (Broadcasting, Mainstream), Turanga FM Gisborne (Broadcasting - Maori Media), The Gisborne Herald (Print) and Awawhenua Ltd (Rotorua) (IT and Telecommunications).

This was one of the most significant resolutions made at PIMA's annual general meeting at AUT in Auckland last month.

The meeting was part of the PIMA's annual conference, which included DIY workshops, panel discussions and a keynote speech from Kalafi Moala, publisher and chief executive of Tonga's Taimi Media Network.

PIMA's chair, Iulia Leilua, says the idea of a Pacific Island television channel has been around since the 1980s. Initial lobbying resulted in the five-minute show, See Here, which was replaced by Tagata Pasifika in 1987. "But ever since then people have been lobbying for an entire channel," she says. "The only thing that is required is political will and funding."

While serious proposals for a Pacific Island channel have been put forward in recent years, the idea has been put on the back burner due to the recession. However Ms Leilua believes the concept is more viable than ever. "Technology is more affordable, there's more equipment that is available and there's more content that can be sourced from television channels throughout the Pacific region."

Ms Leilua says that Māori Television provides an ideal business template. "We'd need to be self-sustaining." Just as Māori Television has a major role promoting and revitalising the Māori language, a Pasifika television channel would promote and revitalise Pacific Island languages.

"Cook Island Maori, Tokelauan and Niuean are endangered languages, and those countries have a strong links with New Zealand. So we have to ask, what responsibility does New Zealand have in preserving them -given that its education policies help endanger them in the first place?"

While the working group will be primarily focused on the television channel, it also aims to provide support for emerging scriptwriters. "There's a lot of frustration expressed by Pacific Island script writers who say that not enough of our stories are making it on air," she says. "We've definitely got enough script writers out there to have some really good drama."

"I remember when I was 24, and I had come back from overseas and still didn't know what I was going to do," recalls Lizzie Belcher. "I had really low self-esteem, but then I came in here, and there was support and positivity that I ended up doing a radio show and then going to broadcasting school."

Since 1988, Plains Fm 96.9 in Christchurch has provided training and facilities for local community groups, schools, organisations and individuals to make and broadcast their own radio programmes. These programmes allow people to share ideas and express opinions in their own language; the schedule now includes 85 programmes, 23 of which are in languages other than English.

"For instance, we have Nepalese man, Dilli Rajal, who does 'Namaste Nepal. It is his programme and in his language. He's not a representative [for Nepal] and he might be mainly playing music, but it's really important for small communities here to be able to hear that."

"That is why access radio exists, because all of these different ethnic groups and cultures make up our landscape and they must be represented in the media," says Ms Belcher. "And they wouldn't be represented without it."

Ms Belcher has worked in radio broadcasting for the past 15 years, only recently shifting from commercial radio to access radio. "They are like chalk and cheese," she says. "Commercial radio is about the money, but that's not what we are interested in. We're interested in getting as may diverse cultures on air. Here I feel like I'm making a difference, in a little way."

Access radio stations are financially supported by New Zealand on Air, which has guidelines on what sort of programmes require most support, but it is not exclusively for ethnic groups.

One of the longest running shows is the Elvis Presley Show, started by Elvis fan Lynn Campbell 20 years ago, and which is still presented by her, along with Maria Van Ham and Judy Pyne. "One of the great things for access is that anybody can come along here and share their passion and interests," says Ms Belcher.

Note: The Association of Community Access Broadcasters annual conference takes place in Nelson this week from 15-17 October. View the programme here.

The three annual scholarships are designed to give promising young journalists a chance to test their journalism skills in a region of the world that is increasingly vital to New Zealand's future.

This is the second year of the programme, with the inaugural candidates, Jono Hutchison (TV3) and Amanda Fisher (Fairfax Media), taking up temporary placements in Hong Kong and Manila.

The Philippine Star is an influential daily English language broadsheet that is circulated nationally. CNBC Asia is an Asian business news network based in Singapore and Sydney with bureaus in Hong Kong and Tokyo.

The International Herald Tribune is an international English language newspaper owned by the New York Times Company with a Hong Kong bureau operating as an editorial and production office for its network of Asia correspondents.

While the internships are unpaid, Asia: NZ will provide $5000 to cover return flights with the balance to go to accommodation and other expenses.

Applicants must:

• be enrolled in a current journalism course or be graduate journalists who have undertaken and passed a journalism course of study in the past three years
• be under 28 years of age
• hold New Zealand passport
• be based in New Zealand.

Applications are accepted until 1 November 2010 for placements in 2011. For more information go to the Asia New Zealand Foundation website or contact Charles Mabbett.

The winner of the top prize will receive a $4000 grant from the Asia New Zealand Foundation (Asia:NZ) to support travel to an Asian news outlet to further his or her knowledge and experience.

Now in their third year, the awards are being run by Whitireia Journalism School in Wellington in conjunction with the Asia:NZ Foundation, the Human Rights Commission and the Communications and Media Industry Training Organisation.

The inaugural winner of the awards was Catherine Wellington of the Dunedin Star community newspaper, for the paper's special edition on ethnic minority communities in Otago. Last year's top entry came from Pacific affairs reporter for TV One, Adrian Stevanon.

Entries must be received by Friday, November 12, 2010 and judging will take place in early December. For more information contact Jim Tucker, Journalism Programme Manager.

"'Freedom of expression' is a very wide topic so we want to hear people's thoughts to help us refine our focus," says BSA's Chief Executive, Dominic Sheehan. "In relation to the BSA's work and broadcasting standards in general, what do people consider would be the most important question or questions for us to investigate?"

The right to freedom of expression is enshrined in the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 (BoRA), which states in section 14: "Everyone has the right to freedom of expression, including the freedom to seek, receive and impart information and opinions of any kind in any form."

However such freedoms often conflict with the desire to protect racial harmony, public morals, notions of social responsibility, good taste and decency, and the protection of children, individual privacy and reputation. 

"So while people have the freedom to express themselves, there are limits," says Mr Sheehan. "It's about finding a balance. So we want to get a snapshot of what freedom of expression means in New Zealand, which we can use in a practical way in our own decision-making."

Mr Sheehan says that while they haven't received a huge response, the responses have been diverse. "The broadcasters want us to look at the freedom of expression in terms of access to information. That's what is important to them. But another respondent suggests that the whole concept of freedom of expression was outdated, that it was passé, that the world and the world's media have gone global, other issues have taken over."

If you would like to contribute to the BSA's study contact Dominic Sheehan by 26 October 2010.

That draft document notes that freedom of expression is important as it "embraces free speech, the sanctity of an individual's opinion, a free press, the transmission and receipt of ideas and information, the freedom of expression in art and other forms, the ability to receive ideas from elsewhere, and even the right to silence."

It also explores those instances in which the limits and restrictions of those freedoms are tested, such as when they conflict with various sections of the Human Rights Act.

Proposed priorities for action are that Section 61 of the Human Rights Act (which relates to racial incitement) be reviewed to ensure it fulfils its legislative purpose, that debate be promoted about access to the internet as a human right, and whether a Charter of Internet Rights should be developed in New Zealand.

The draft document will be available on the Commission's website in the coming week. Feedback on the draft is invited.

The item, which was broadcast on TV One at 7.30pm on March 2010, investigated forced marriages in New Zealand, and in particular brides under the legal age of consent.

The programme featured an interview with Farida Sultana, the founder of a group called Shakti, which provides refuge for migrant women and their children.

The reporter asked Ms Sultana how often forced marriages occur in New Zealand, to which she replied, there were "quite a few cases". Ms Sultana went on to express her view that people involved in these forced underage marriages did not "think the New Zealand law even applies to them".

On behalf of the Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand (FIANZ), the organisation's president Dr Anwar Ghani made a formal complaint to the TVNZ. Dissatisfied with that result, the organisation complained to the BSA.

FIANZ argued that the item "further reinforced post-9/11 bias, prejudice, stigmatism, and bigotry toward Muslims". It also contended that the item was inaccurate, because it had portrayed the practice of forced child marriages as widespread among Muslims without any hard evidence. FIANZ also argued the item was unfair as it had stereotyped and been derogatory towards Muslims, particularly Muslim women.

The BSA released its decision last month and concluded that:

• Under Standard 5 (accuracy), that comment made by interviewees were opinion and exempt from the accuracy standard under guideline 5a. It also concluded that the item did not characterise the issue of forced child marriages as a widespread Muslim problem, but a "problematic cultural phenomenon, as opposed to a religious one".
• Under Standard 6 (fairness), that individuals and organisations taking part and referred to treated fairly.
• Under Standard 7 (discrimination and denigration), that the item did not encourage denigration of, or discrimination against, Muslims.

 For more information on the decision go to the BSA's website.

The item by reporter Bharat Jamnadas, to be broadcast on TV One on 17 October, focuses on the research presented by the Victoria University Centre for Applied Cross-cultural Research (CACR) on Asian discrimination in New Zealand, research that was commissioned by the Commission.

The report was co-authored by CACR graduate student Adrienne Girling and Centre directors Professors James Liu and Colleen Ward and showed that Asians in New Zealand:

• face more discrimination than all other ethnic groups
• experience the highest levels of verbal and physical harassment
• are at adisadvantage in finding employment, even though many are recruited here fortheir skills.

Their research also indicated that Asian people are satisfied with their lives in New Zealand, value the opportunities available to them, lodge fewer complaints about discrimination than other groups and barely feature in social welfare statistics.

Asia Downunder can be viewed after it has been broadcast by going to the Asia Downunder website.

CACR has also launched a new website to promote discussion around diversity issues, where the report can be downloaded and a video of the presentation is available.

Talkback host Michael Laws' comments about the Governor General on Radio Live were also initially defended by his employer. After further discussion, however, Laws gave an apology. 

The issue was not about freedom of expression but about broadcasting standards - and whether or not it is appropriate for broadcasters to use the power of their medium to engage in racial denigration.

Hopefully, Television New Zealand, as well as Radio Live, will now re-emphasise to their presenters and hosts that they must observe basic standards of decency or face the consequences.  All those who contributed to the pressure for the broadcasters to take action are to be applauded.

Mr Wicks, editor of Real Groove magazine and contributor to Radio New Zealand's Music 101 programme, travelled to Japan with a grant from the Asia New Zealand Foundation. "I've had a long-time love affair with Japanese culture from a distance, and this trip has cemented that, and given it a whole new dimension," he says.

The main aim of the trip was to cover George FM's, Nick Dwyer, as he was filmed for an episode for the second series of Making Tracks, which Mr Dwyer presents.

Making Tracks could be described as a series about cross-musical exchange. It explores the local music of far-flung places (Ghana, Argentina, the Ukraine) but also introduces the local musicians to New Zealand music.

In each episode a well-known New Zealand track is refashioned by musicians from the country being visited - in the previous series, for instance, a group of Palestinian rappers did their own version of Scribe's "Not Many".

The previous series of Making Tracks has been picked up by Nat Geo Music, a 24-hour music channel. "It's about music, and its entertainment, but it has real kaupapa," says Mr Wicks. "It's about making connections between New Zealand music and different countries."

Nick Dwyer speaks Japanese and has a long relationship with Japan and the Japanese music scene, which helped open a lot of doors. "I had access to true insider knowledge of some of Tokyo's most boutique music communities," says Mr Wicks.

He will publish a feature article about the trip that will appear in Real Groove in November, just after the debut episode of series two of Making Tracks.

Read more about Mr Wicks travels on the Asia New Zealand Foundation website.

One Day a Taniwha was written in 1974 by Te Arawa teacher and entertainer, Piatarihi Tui Yates, affectionately known as Aunty Bea. It is a story and a song that is sung to the tune of "You Are My Sunshine."

A QBook is an interactive read-along colour picture book format for children and is an innovation in digital publishing that combines the ebook format with the interactiveness of touch screen devices, like the iPad and iTouch. Developed by Auckland's Kiwa Group, QBook takes traditional children's books and represents them in a colourful interactive touch-enabled digital format.

It allows young readers to customise each title by reading and recording the story in their own voice, colour in the illustrations, and listen and read it in numerous languages, including Māori, English, Chinese, Spanish, Italian and Japanese.

Kiwa's Creative Director, Derek Judge says he is constantly amazed at how quickly children respond to technological advances. "Show them once, and it immediately sinks in while their parents are still working it all out. Kids who might not have wanted to read before can't get enough of them."

QBooks will mean that more children all over the world are exposed to stories in all sorts of languages. "So we have this song, about a boy who makes friends with a taniwha, which is being translated into Japanese," says Mr Judge. "It's really great."

One Day a Taniwha is one of several QBooks being produced by the Kiwa Group. The company's list also includes The Wonkey Donkey, Flick the Little Fire Engine and Hairy Maclarey from Donaldson's Dairy - by the end of July the latter was the top of bestselling list in the i-Tunes store in New Zealand.

Kiwa Group is a production company focused on developing post-production software for the film and television industry, but more recently found that the software and the talent behind it could be applied to digital books.

The books have been getting attention all over the world, having been mentioned in the New York Times and featuring in CNN's coverage at the Hong Kong Book Fair, 2010.

Mr Judge says the main challenge for the digital publishing industry was "finding out just how far it could go."

The scholarship is designed to encourage greater representation of Asian communities in mainstream New Zealand journalism.

A 2007 survey of New Zealand journalists undertaken by the New Zealand Journalism Training Organisation (NZJTO) showed that only about two per cent of all journalists working in the mainstream English language news media were Asian. This was despite Asian New Zealanders making up about ten percent of the population.

The 2010 scholarship will apply to the 2011 calendar year and be for the value of $5000 to be paid on completion of the successful candidate's course of journalism study.

To be eligible to apply for the scholarship candidates will need to be:

• a New Zealand resident or passport holder
• have an Asian or part Asian ethnicity
• be planning a career in news journalism
• under the age of 25
• accepted into a course of journalism study at an NZJTO affiliated journalism school.

The ability to speak an Asian language is an advantage. The deadline for applications is November 30, 2010. For more information, contact Asia:NZ media adviser Charles Mabbett on cmabbett@asianz.org.nz or 04 470 8701.

In 2009, the winner of the Māori media category was radio station Kotuku Rerenga Tahi and TVNZ took out the mainstream media award. The awards recognise initiative and effort to support Māori language in the home, community and wider society. The event follows on from Māori Language Week.

The winner of the top prize will receive a $4000 grant from the Asia New Zealand Foundation (Asia:NZ) to support travel to an Asian news outlet to further his or her knowledge and experience.

Now in their third year, the awards are being run by Whitireia Journalism School in Wellington in conjunction with the Asia:NZ Foundation, the Human Rights Commission and the Communications and Media Industry Training Organisation.

The inaugural winner of the awards was Catherine Wellington of the Dunedin Star community newspaper, for the paper's special edition on ethnic minority communities in Otago. Last year's top entry came from Pacific affairs reporter for TV One, Adrian Stevanon.

Entries must be received by Friday, November 12, 2010 and judging will take place in early December. For more information contact Jim Tucker, Journalism Programme Manager at jim.tucker@whitireia.ac.nz

The item uncovered a man dealing in the drug khat near the Hamilton mosque. Informants, with their identity concealed, made allegations about the Somali community that many at the meeting said were incorrect and hurtful. Independent of the meeting, a complaint about the programme has been made to the Broadcasting Standards Authority by a member of the Muslim community.

"After featuring more than 200 episodes we are definitely not running out of artists any time soon," says Executive Producer of Kiwa Media, Rhonda Kite. "The celebration of the diversity of artists in Māori communities is substantial and the appetite of the viewing audience insatiable.

"We will keep on going as long as the audience tunes in".

Each episode is half an hour long and covers a broad spectrum of emerging and established artists, including carvers, filmmakers, writers, painters and glass blowers, and highlights how a Māori view or perspective has informed the subject's art.

The opening episode of this series profiles photographer John Miller, who has spent his life documenting protests in Aotearoa and captured some momentous events and moments in the struggle for peace, ever since he began taking photographs as a secondary school student of demonstrations against the Vietnam War.

Other episodes feature moko artist Pip Hartley, celebrity chef Peter Gordon and composer Gillian Whitehead. There is also a profile of the Wellington-based violinist, Elena, a classically trained violinist who has now moved toward folk music.

In this episode she will be seen performing alongside a cellist and an opera singer, on the bar at a Wellington pub. "That's something I've never seen before," recalls the episode's director, Jane Reeves. "A cellist, an opera singer and a violinist standing on a bar in a pub in Courtney Place on a busy night."

And the audience response? "They were pretty dumbfounded at first. But then they were really swept up in it and it all ended to a chorus of 'encore, encore'."

Audio description refers to a narration track aimed at blind and visually impaired users of visual media, including television, film, dance, opera and visual arts.

In the case of television, a special audio track is built into the broadcast programme that runs alongside the normal soundtrack, in which a narrator describes what is happening on the screen. It will be available through TVNZ's digital channels in 2011.

Over 75,000 New Zealanders have a sight limitation that cannot be corrected by glasses or contact lenses and who are unable to clearly see what is happening on screen.

"This service is as important to vision impaired people as captioning services have been to people with hearing impairments," noted Broadcasting Minister Jonathan Coleman.

The Association of Blind Citizens of New Zealand welcomed the announcement. "We've been waiting many years for audio description," said National President Clive Lansink. "Now the technology is finally here, it's fantastic that NZ On Air and TVNZ have been able to work together to develop this service. Television plays a huge part in people's lives and now it is possible for the television industry to include us more in their audience."

The Facebook page offers a place to talk to the community about upcoming films, for the community to talk to each other and also to raise the profile of the service.

"It was set up as a way to communicate directly with the deaf and hearing-impaired and be able to send them up-to-date date info about what's showing and what's coming with Captions," says Karen Cafe, who does the programming and communications for Captioned Movies NZ. She plans to add competitions and interesting editorial on the films. "The page could evolve into a sort of film club."

Open Captions look similar to subtitles on foreign language films, but subtitles assume the viewer can hear but can't understand the language or accent and are therefore only concerned with dialogue and some on screen text.

Captions describe all significant audio content, including non-speech information such as the identity of speakers, their manner of speaking, music and sound effects.

The service was prompted by a complaint made to the Human Rights Commission in December 2001, regarding lack of captions in movies.

As a result a working party of representatives from the Motion Pictures Distributors Association, Motion Pictures Distributors and Exhibitors Association, Deaf Association of New Zealand, Hearing Association and Captioning Access New Zealand was set up in 2003 to bring captioned movies into New Zealand, facilitated by the Commission.

You can become a fan of Captioned Movies NZ online.

This international conference is dedicated to exploring investigative journalism and documentary techniques, methodologies and technologies of critical value to public interest issues. The conference hopes to identify and support journalists, photographers and filmmakers facing contemporary pressures and obstacles and establish a supportive group dedicated to investigative journalism in NZ.

Confirmed keynote speakers include Kunda Dixit, editor of the Nepali Times and a leading Asia-Pacific investigative journalist, and Professor Wendy Bacon, director of the Australian Centre for Independent Journalism.

Papers and presentations (commentaries) from the conference will be considered for publication in a double blind peer-reviewed special edition of the Pacific Journalism Review in May 2011. Papers not selected for publication will be published as part of the conference proceedings.

The conference will be held at AUT University in Auckland, from 4-5 December 2010. For more information about the conference go to the Creative Industries Research Institute website.

An integral part of the Games, the three-day human rights conference will be a safe place for advocates to explore current human rights issues, including language, culture and tradition, in the region.

Expressions of interest are sought from people who have proposals to contribute to the conference. This could include showcasing work, organising a presentation, or being part of a panel discussion. Proposals are due by 30 September 2010. For more information, go to the Asia Pacific OutGames website.

The New Zealand Human Rights Commission is supporting the conference and will be participating and running a forum on making human rights a reality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, takatāpui, fa'afafine, trans and intersex people. This forum is based on the Yogyakarta Principles, a universal guide to sexual orientation and gender identity human rights.

To register for the forum, first register for the conference and then contact Naomi Taylor at the Human Rights Commission saying you are interested in the Commission's forum. You can also register for OutGames email updates on the Conference website.

This is a unique opportunity to meet people working in human rights and sexual orientation and gender identity in the Asia Pacific region. Come along and take part! We hope to see you there.

enior lecturer in the departments of Māori Studies and Film, Television and Media Studies at Auckland University, has delivered a lecture on the lack of Māori voices in mainstream news bulletins. A transcript of this lecture, "A question of balance", has now been published in the NZ Herald and can be read online.

There are two sessions that will be of particular interest to the media:

• "The Media and Religion" will be hosted by Victoria University Religious Studies Programme. Panelists include Professor Paul Morris of the Victoria University Religious Studies Programme, Professor Jim Tully of Canterbury University, Tayyaba Khan, David Zwartz, Lyndsay Freer, and Brian Pauling from the NZ Broadcasting School.
• "Social Media for Social Change" will be hosted by the Human Rights Commission. Earlier this year, digital specialist Mia Northrop organised Vindaloo against Violence, a peaceful protest against racism that involved 17,000 protesters at over 400 restaurants, workplaces, schools and universities across Australia and the world. Mia will introduce participants to social media sites and tools that can be used to engage new audiences about diversity and human rights.

There is no charge for weekend workshops or single forums; however attendance on Monday 23 August is $50 for the day. Register NOW!

To be eligible, journalists need to be working in the NZ news media, have less than five years' experience and are writing stories on any Asia-related topics.

The winner of the top prize will receive a $4000 grant from the Asia:NZ Foundation to support travel to an Asian news outlet to further his or her knowledge and experience.

These awards, now in their third year, are being run by Whitireia Journalism School in Wellington in conjunction with the Asia:NZ Foundation, the Human Rights Commission and the Communications and Media Industry Training Organisation.

The inaugural winner of the awards was Catherine Wellington of the Dunedin Star community newspaper, for the paper's special edition on ethnic minority communities in Otago. Last year's top entry came from Pacific affairs reporter for TV One, Adrian Stevanon.

Entries must be received by Friday 12 November 2010 and judging will take place in early December. For more information contact Journalism Programme Manager, Jim Tucker.

The debate pitted public relations practitioners against journalists, with the journalists arguing the moot - that New Zealand media created more heat than light on human rights in New Zealand.

The journalist team included blogger and broadcaster Martyn 'Bomber' Bradbury, television and radio personality Wallace Chapman and postgraduate journalism student, Josh Gale.

Bradbury argued that the media were driven by the mandate that "if it bleeds it leads", which didn't leave much space for human rights issues, and treated readers more like consumers than citizens.

Both Chapman and Gale criticised the local media for its coverage of war and the New Zealand involvement in military occupations, arguing that events were either ignored or gave too much emphasise to the voices of power. PR, they argued, was implicated in "manufacturing consent". "New Zealand media prefers cosying up to power," argued Gale.

The PR practitioners who argued against the moot included Jane Sweeney, CEO of Sweeney Vesty, Carrick Graham, managing director of Facilitate Communications and PR student, Robert Steven.

They argued that the journalists had an "old-fashioned" view of media and that the proliferation of digital media allows for such a breadth of commentary and reporting that the truth would, eventually, come out.

"We have a rich media and we should celebrate it more," said Sweeney. "We have every chance that human rights will be fairer in the future."

While Sweeney and her team said they "sexed things up" to promote a story, they were in the business of promoting debate, and shedding light rather than heat. "We believe in the three Fs," said Vesty. "F*** up, fess up and front up".

The debate was won by the journalists.

In light of this year's theme, "Te Mahi Kai - The Language of Food", the Minister of Māori Affairs and sporting celebrities will battle it out to be named best chef.

In recent times, media have been at the forefront of Māori Language Week innovations and this year, once again, there will be awards for the best media contribution.

Also, SpongeBob SquarePants will once again become Kiwi for a week, with full episodes in te reo Māori screening on Nickelodeon NZ (SKY channel 041) from Monday 26 July until Sunday 1 August (8.10am and 4.00pm weekdays, and 8.10am and 8.40am on the weekend).

Visit the Māori Language Week facebook page and the Māori Language Week website for more details and updates.

If you or your organisation would like to host an event or be involved in Te Wiki o te Reo Māori 2010, please email the Human Rights Commission.

The development of the course follows a global trend towards specialist journalism courses. "There is an increasing demand for more journalists in the growing Pasifika media industry and also for highly-skilled cross-cultural journalists for the mainstream," says Dr Robie. "This new course is a logical outcome of the demographic changes in New Zealand, and particularly Auckland."

The new course targets Pacific peoples who wish to enter journalism from another career, students from around the Pacific region seeking a New Zealand qualification, and Pacific students working towards a career in Pasifika or mainstream media.

Students will take core papers from the Bachelor of Communication Studies in Journalism as well as Pasifika media papers and other electives that reflect particular interests in the Asia-Pacific region. The core papers provide the necessary skills to prepare students for professional journalism work and include a media industry internship and study of a Pacific language.

"This course will boost regional Pacific reporting and also contribute to a higher Pasifika community profile in the New Zealand media," says Dr Robie. "We hope journalists on this programme will push the boundaries of Pacific reporting in a challenging way."

Director of AUT's Centre for Journalism, Media and Democracy Associate Professor Martin Hirst says the aim is not to sideline Pacific students or to completely "mainstream" them, but to give them a solid foundation in the principles of good journalism, integrated with a successful degree programme.

"And to encourage Pasifika students and journalists to nurture and extend their specific skills and values to better represent and report on Pasifika communities and issues, in both local community media and more broadly throughout New Zealand."

Visit the AUT website for more information on the Graduate Diploma in Pacific Journalism.

"A key function of the foundation is to develop New Zealander's understanding of the Pacific and what better way to do that than by giving New Zealand media the opportunity to report stories directly from the Pacific," said Meg Poutasi, CEO of the Pacific Cooperation Foundation.

"Grants are available from the Media Assistance Programme each year and I'd encourage any interested journalists to talk to us about using the funds," prompted Ms Poutasi.

This year, the foundation has already assisted four journalists and one TV crew. This included Sunday Star Times journalist Adam Dudding, who investigated the human rights implications of a Vanuatu coronial report, published by NZ judge Nevin Dawson, into the death in custody of a recaptured prison escapee.

For more information on the Media Assistance Programme visit the Pacific Cooperation Foundation website.

Head of journalism at the polytech, Jim Tucker, is also working with a member of the Wellington Muslim community to set up a charitable trust supported by the Muslim community. The trust will help to fund a community member through a journalism programme each year.

Mr Tucker points out that while New Zealand demographics have changed dramatically in recent decades, "what hasn't changed much is the news media's capacity to broaden the hegemony." To see greater ethnic diversity in the newsroom, there first needs to be a greater diversity of journalism students in the classroom.

One of Whitireia's stated objectives is to recruit and train more people from ethnic minority communities. "This is largely because despite the apparent inertia within the media industry, I know that its leaders are actually keen to hire a more representative range of newcomers, if they were to become available," says Mr Tucker.

Of the 28 students in the last course, six were Pacific Island/New Zealanders, three were Māori, one was Chinese/New Zealander and another was an international student from Germany.

"In the long term, I want our school to properly reflect New Zealand society," says Mr Tucker. "We do that already in the sense that our students range in age from 17 to 62, about half have degrees, and many have life experience ranging from working as lawyers and nurses to manual labour on the railways.

"But in terms of ethnic diversity... there is still a long way to go."

For more information on the scholarship, visit the Whitireia Community Polytechnic website.

"We are talking to people who can add texture and colour to the mostly black-and-white silent films that we are seeing," says series producer Michele Bristow. "This helps to give us a context of the people depicted in these very special films."

Upcoming episodes feature the 1940 Treaty of Waitangi celebrations, the construction of the Ngāpuhi ceremonial waka, Ngātokimatawhaorua, early sound recordings of Te Reo Māori on film, as well as the oldest footage of tūpuna Māori known to exist anywhere in the world.

Broadcaster and presenter Lawrence Wharerau, kairangahau for the Archive, presents the series. He has an extensive knowledge of early film and filmmakers in New Zealand.

Usually, when the Archive is accessed, it is to use these taonga as short clips, so it was a priority for both Māori Television and the Archive to show the footage in its entirety.

"We are always looking for ways to reach and extend our audiences and give people the opportunity to engage with and enjoy the taonga we care for on behalf of whānau, hapu and the nation," says Lawrence. "We are also excited by the series because it gives our kaitiaki an opportunity to talk about the films and the tūpuna depicted in the images."

Ngā Taonga Whitiāhua screens on the Te Reo Channel on Mondays at 9.00pm and is repeated with subtitles on Māori Television on Wednesdays at 9.30pm.

Announcing the intern search, Fairfax Media Group Executive Editor Paul Thompson said there has never been a more exciting time to become a journalist. "We need the best and brightest to join us to achieve the potential of print and digital media in this new era."

This is the fifth year Fairfax has offered internships, and since its inception Fairfax has been keen to recruit from minority communities.

Applications for this year's intern scheme close midday on Friday 6 August. Applicants will undergo an online written test and other written tests prior to interviews by representatives of their chosen publications or website and journalism schools.

More than 50 interns have been selected since the scheme began. At the recent Qantas Media Awards, nine of them collected 20 awards.

To find out more information and to apply for an internship visit the Fairfax website.

The reporting of religion by the media continues to be a topic that occupies the minds of both religious communities and journalists, internationally and in New Zealand. As members of NZ's increasingly diverse media we want to know what you think are the major concerns? What can be done to improve the relationship between Religion and the Media?

At the Religious Diversity Forum, based on the feedback received, representatives of faith communities and the media will further develop the discussion with participants.

The Religious Diversity Forum will be run as part of the 2010 NZ Diversity Forum, to be held from Sunday 22 - Monday 23 August at the Christchurch Convention Centre. Check out the growing number of sessions in the programme and register online NOW!

The series, called "A Thousand Strangers", is being broadcast from 21-25 June, and will be available by podcast from the network's website.

The stories were written by Thary Trann, Farah Omar, Maureen Zaya, Pa Uk and Margaret Pompeo, young refugees from Cambodia, Iraq, Somalia, Sudan and Burma. They have been read by New Zealand actors and dramatised by the writers and members of their communities.

The programme was produced by Radio New Zealand in partnership with Voice Arts Trust and funded by the Department of Labour and the Lotteries Commission.

The World Refugee Day Radio project was initiated in 2007, after Refugee Services approached the trust to help the refugee community create their own radio programme. The project involved a weekend-long workshop that culminated in the creation of a 20-minute radio programme that aired on Wellington's Access Radio.

In 2008 the project grew, workshops extended over a six-week period and the final programme was 55 minutes long. Once again it aired on Wellington's Access Radio.

In 2009, Voice Arts Trust approached Radio New Zealand as it wanted to take the programme to a national audience and also enhance the professional standard of the work produced. Radio New Zealand welcomed the approach and it was agreed that work would begin in 2009 for a broadcast date of World Refugee Day 2010.

Listen to their stories on the Radio New Zealand National webpage.

Tapaleao (23) graduated from AUT University in 2008 and joined the New Zealand Herald team soon after as a South Auckland reporter.

During her last year at university she was an intern at Spasifik magazine, and later won the Māori Television prize as well as the Storyboard award for excellence in diversity journalism.

Her Qantas portfolio included an extensive series of news stories of the tsunami in Samoa, and reports about the individuals whose lives were lost in the sinking of the ferry MV Princess Ashika in Tonga. "Her on-the-spot reporting in her native Samoa where family were tsunami victims showed true professionalism," said the judges. "Tapaleao was also able to put a human face to the Princess Ashika ferry sinking in Tonga with an extended tribute."

The Human Rights Commission highlighted Vaiamoana's journalism last year, with Race Relations Commissioner Joris de Bres singling out the four-page feature on the Ashika as one that "highlighted the strong familial ties between New Zealand and the Pacific Islands, and the way the pain of this Pacific tragedy directly impacted on New Zealand".

Asked whether being a Pacific Islander made her more empathetic in her reporting of those stories Vaimoana says journalists often feel empathy or connect with the people that they are writing about. "But I think when the Tongan ferry sinking happened and particularly the tsunami, which hit Samoa severely, it was very hard for me.

"Walking on the roads of Lalomanu, Saleapaga, Poutasi was for me, like so many other Samoan reporters, walking on family graves. The ground was arguably more sacred to us because it was our people who lay there. It was very difficult reporting about Pacific people and being Pasifika yourself, in that sense.

"At the same time, being Pasifika has its advantages when I am given a Pacific-based story. Simply because I have that understanding of cultural protocol, as well as being able to speak Samoan. It helps people to feel more comfortable - a lot of people, in this case Pacific people, warm to you when they hear a familiar language or have a connection to me in that way."

Vaimoana's story on the Tongan ferry disaster can be read online.

"New Zealand has growing and vibrant ethnic communities whose principal languages and cultures derive from neither English nor Māori-speaking traditions," he says.

The Bill would require the Government to investigate the need for commercial, non-commercial and semi-commercial options for funding ethnic television. It would create a Commission of Inquiry to consider the logistics of setting up such a service.

New Zealand has a number of private ethnic radio stations that broadcast in about 45 languages, and key ethnic groups include Korean, Indian, Middle Eastern, Filipino, African, Europeans and Pacific Island audiences.

While there is a growing audience for such stations, the networks are currently run on a shoestring budget and have a limited scope. "Many want more content, longer interviews, practical information about living in New Zealand and education resources in their own languages," says Ashraf Choudhary. "Such tools provide good support, especially for new arrivals and refugees."

"Keeping people in touch helps overcome the isolation many new immigrants feel, and also helps overcome health, employment or education problems before they occur. I would imagine ethnic television broadcasts would have an even greater audience, because having someone of your own community keeping you up to speed in your own language would soon become an essential part of your life."

That year the station won the Supreme Award at the Māori Language Awards, and received many letters of support and congratulation. It also received dozens of letters from appalled detractors, who complained that they couldn't understand what the broadcasters were saying anymore.

John Barr, RNZ's communication manager says that complainants usually received a standard response: "As far as the general use of Te Reo Māori on air is concerned, New Zealand has two official spoken languages, English is one and the other is Māori. One of the core requirements of the Radio New Zealand Charter is that our networks reflect New Zealand's cultural diversity, including, specifically, its Māori language and culture.

He also noted that Māori has been included in RNZ programming for at least 50 years and will continue to be included.

Radio New Zealand provoked similar level of controversy last year as one of the first media outlets to change its pronunciation of Wanganui to Whanganui, after the Minister of Lands ruled that both were acceptable spellings for the city.

Again, the station received dozens of complaints. Again John replied: "In keeping with our policy of a national consistency of pronunciation of Te Reo Māori, Radio New Zealand will at this stage use the Māori pronunciation of fhah-nga-NOO-ee, the same pronunciation as we currently apply to the river and the district health board."

Three years later John says that RNZ listeners seem to have got used to Sean, Geoff, Katrina et al introducing the day in Māori and the network is receiving very few complaints. A few objections continue to dribble in on the Whanganui issue, most of which are made on the grounds that Whanganui iwi 'dialect' drops the 'h' sound.

But as John points out, residents of Gore have a rolling 'r' in their local dialect, but few would demand it be adopted by RNZ presenters. "Local dialect is important, but we can't take account of everything."

Those who want to brush up their pronunciation and understanding of RNZ greetings in Māori can listen again (and again) to the RNZ greetings which are now posted (with translations) on the Radio New Zealand website.

āori Language Week runs from 26 July-1 August with the theme 'Te Mahi Kai, The Language of Food'. You can find out more on the Kōrero Māori and the Human Rights Commission websites and the Maori Language Week Facebook page.

Rebecca Todd, a reporter, and Kirk Hargreaves a news photographer, are both with the Christchurch newspaper, The Press. With the help of Asia NZ they were able to visit the camps in February in 2010, where they met refugees scheduled for resettlement in Christchurch New Zealand under this country's commitment to a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UHHCR) programme.

As part of the project, The Press plans to follow three families over the next months to explore how they settle in and how well they integrate into New Zealand society.

Since Nepal, Rebecca and Kirk have been able to meet the families in New Zealand. "Seeing the refugees again in Auckland was a fantastic opportunity ... and gave great insight into how New Zealand teaches its newest residents to be Kiwis. Three weeks later we were there to meet the families at Christchurch Airport. Seeing them reunited with relatives and then their delight at entering their new homes was a real privilege."

Rebecca's description of the Nepalese leg of the project, accompanied by Kirk's photographs, can be found at on Asia:New Zealand's website.

"They seem to have disappeared into thin air," says Dev Nadkarni, editor-in-chief of the one-year-old Indian Weekender, who voiced his objections on the TV news items. "It's still alive and will come back as there seems to be a latent demand for the supernatural in society. But we've taken a principled stand. We're determined not to accept advertising that makes unreasonable promises."

Dev agrees that there are clairvoyants, palm readers and soothsayers in the mainstream New Zealand media, but said they are far more pronounced in South Asian culture and at times the promises made by these people were "plainly ludicrous".

"They say they are soothsayers or fortune tellers, and of course they forecast great forebodings, but promise that if you spend money and follow this ritual all your problems will be solved. Particularly if you spend some more money and follow a second ritual."

He has considered invoking India's Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisement) Act. While it would not have legal standing in New Zealand, it could provide a self-regulatory framework against such advertising.

The Media and Religion, Monday 23 August, 11am - 12.30pm, Christchurch Convention Centre. Hosted by Victoria University of Wellington Religious Studies Programme.

The reporting of religion by the media continues to be a topic that occupies the minds of both religious communities and journalists internationally and in New Zealand. Do the mainstream New Zealand media represent religions in a fair and balanced manner? Do they reinforce stereotypes? Do they promote understanding of religious diversity? Do religious media promote tolerance of other religions and respect for human rights? What are the negatives and positives of the internet in relation to religious tolerance? This forum will address these questions and lay the basis for the development of a Statement on the Media and Religion that will seek to reflect the concerns and rights of religious communities, the media and the general public.

Social Media for Social Change, Monday 23 August 2010, 3.30pm - 5pm, Christchurch Convention Centre. Hosted by Vindaloo Against Violence.

Mia Northrop has over ten years experience marketing websites and designing digital user experiences. This year she applied her digital skills to something closer to her heart: giving the Melbourne community a voice to speak out against racism and violence in their city. Vindaloo Against Violence, a peaceful protest, was the result. On 24 February 2010, over 17,000 protesters and 400 restaurants, schools, universities and workplaces reached out to seek fairness and an end to violence against Indian people in Australia.

This book (subtitled "What every New Zealander should know about their civil rights") includes information on: individual rights with the police and the courts; victims' rights; rights of prisoners; rights of children; rights of health consumers; discrimination, freedom of assembly; freedom of association and much more.

As an advocate, barrister, commentator and academic, Tim has had a central role in human rights lawyering in this country. He also wrote the first edition of the New Zealand Handbook of Civil Liberties in 1973, and has been responsible for a number of updated editions of that publication.

The book is published by Craig Potton.

The idea came from The Guardian newspaper, and its collaborative experiment with the Chinese-based community translation website, Yeeyan.

Yeeyan was a largely volunteer community of translators that published a selection of Guardian stories in Chinese on its website, along with other material. However the Chinese authorities closed the organisation down last December without explanation.

"So our problem was working out how we do it," says James Murray, chief editor of 3news.co.nz. "We obviously couldn't use Yeeyan."

Through an Auckland education provider (Regent International Education Group) the network contacted a group of IT students from China who were willing to work as voluntary translators.

James says he usually leaves the students to decide which stories they want to translate. "If there's something that I think they should translate I'll say so, but if not I'll allow them to decide. They have a better idea than I do of what is interesting."

Favoured topics tend to be crime, technology, entertainment and news from China. There may be a youthful slant to the story selection because the translators happen to be students, "but as we broaden out that might well change."

Asked how many hits the website is receiving James says: "It's still relatively small, but I'm confident that it will grow."

Watch the 3 News in Chinese.

A range of activities are planned for the week, detailed on the Commission's website. A major launch will take place on 30 May (6pm), at Malaeola Hall in Mangere, Auckland and will include a service to bless the launch of the week. There will also be a launch on 31 May in Wellington at Hutt Valley High School (Woburn Road, Lower Hutt), where secondary schools teaching Samoan language will celebrate the opening of the week (9am-1.30pm).

Many Pacific media are participating in the week, including National Pacific Radio Network (Niu FM and Radio 531 PI), Samoa Capital Radio, Radio Samoa, Samoa Times and TVNZ's Tagata Pasifika. 'Shout outs' from celebrities, including Pippa Wetzell, will be posted on the Commission's Youtube video channel. One of the features of Samoan Language Week is a highly successful Facebook page, with nearly 2,400 fans.

Mainstream media are encouraged to both report on activities over the week and to use Samoan greetings or phrases.

In April the series won the Platinum Award, (top prize) at the 2010 WorldFest in Houston in the Children's and Family Television Series category.

It has also been selected as a finalist in the Prix Jeunesse awards, in the fiction category for 7 - 11 year-olds. The awards will be announced in Munich, 3 June.

According to director and co-executive producer Yvonne Mackay, of Wellington-based Production Shed TV, the Prix Jeunesse is one of the most significant prizes in family television. "If it was film, it would be like being accepted to be in competition in Cannes."

The series is set in Governor's Bay on the Banks Peninsula and focuses on a young girl, Meredith Gallagher, an ordinary 12-year-old about to discover her psychic powers. Meredith lives in a community that neighbours Kaitangata Island, a piece of land with a sinister reputation. It is said that when the island last twitched (an earthquake) 50 years ago, it swallowed up a young girl. Now it seems that the island is getting ready to claim its next victim.

There's plenty of adventure, myth, magic and CGI, but the series also deals with conflicting values, commercial interests, environmental issues, family breakdown and young people finding a place in the world and within their own mixed race family.

The series has been sold to networks in Canada, Sweden and will screen across the ABC TV Network in Australia this year. The name of Margaret Mahy has helped attract overseas audiences, and the Māori themes have also appealed.

While Māori Television has a mandate to support the reo and tikanga elements of the story, says Yvonne, "there are also themes that come through from the Māori worldview, like conservation, and importance of knowing who you are by being Māori. In emphasising those I think we have created something incredibly unique to show the world."

Kaitangata Twitch screens on Māori Television at 7pm, Sunday.

Dance Baby Dance, or naach gaana hum aur tum, is a 28-minute documentary that uses the Diwali festival in Auckland as a framework to explore wider aspects of Indian culture.

To cite the trailer again: "this is a protest film ... short and sweet ... a film about Diwali...a film about dance...and the Indian disapora in New Zealand." The documentary revolves around a group of young people in the lead-up to the Diwali festival who are preparing to compete in the Bollywood competition.

"What I'm trying to show is that these are young bright New Zealanders of Indian origins that need to be given a platform beyond the performance at a competition that occurs only once a year," says Sapna. "I was really amazed at how bright and opinionated these kids are. They are trying to break out, but they do not know what else to do. Beyond Bollywood, they don't have a platform to express themselves creatively."

Sana, a GP who moved to New Zealand from Bombay in 2001, has since completed a master's degree in Film, TV and Media Studies. She is also a founding trustee of the Asia New Zealand Film Foundation Trust that organises the Asia Film Festival Aotearoa. She is now shopping her own documentary around various film festivals. The competition has so far proved to be fierce, but she is optimistic: "I've done something that I needed to do, but I don't know the fate of it. It has a life of its own now.

"It should go somewhere. But it is great that that I made it myself and it is a sweet film. If people come out with smiles on their faces, than that's what I want." To see the trailer go to Holy Cow's website.

Figures from AGB Nielsen Media Research show that during the month of April Māori Television had a cumulative audience of 2,013,600 unique viewers. Half of all New Zealanders aged 5+ and almost two thirds of all Māori aged 5+ tuned in to the channel.

Māori Television chief executive Jim Mather attributes some of the growth to major television events that have attracted new audiences, such as the David Tua fight in March and the annual all-day ANZAC broadcast. The ANZAC broadcast prompted many emails of thanks and congratulations from viewers across the country.

One Cambridge couple wrote: "More and more we find ourselves turning over to your station and even though we often don't understand much of the te reo, we find ourselves engrossed in your quality programmes. Today is ANZAC Day and we thank you for a full day's coverage ... we look forward to spending many more evenings in your company".

Other popular programmes attracting wider audiences include the family drama Kaitangata Twitch, the Māori rugby documentary series, Beneath the Moon, the Māori karaoke show, Homai te Pakipaki and Willie Jackson's Newsbites.

Elma was born in Rarotonga, the youngest of six children. Her family migrated to Wellington in 1952. In a profile on Tagata Pasifika last month, she joked about looking forwarding to travelling on cruise ship, and being confronted with a "banana boat".

She went to Hutt Valley Primary School and Mana College. She raised five children in Porirua's Cannons Creek, as a solo mother, while working for Inland Revenue and then NZ Rail as a data entry typist.

In 1984 she got a job as a news teleprinter operator in the Radio New Zealand newsroom, which involved typing up other people's stories. "And then in about 1988 she said, 'I'm sick of this. I want to write my own stories', recalls Linden Clark, Radio New Zealand International Manager. "This was a very Elma thing to say. But she recognised that lack of Pacific angle and Pacific tellers."

RNZ sponsored Elma through a journalism course, which she completed just as Radio New Zealand International was being launched in 1990. She began developing sport bulletins for the network, and eventually a weekly sports programme.

"She also provided a very important mentoring, training and mothering role to a great deal of people who have come through here, either young people from the Pacific or Pacific Island people within New Zealand," says Linden.

Elma was devoted to her job, and only retired her position as sports editor from her hospital bed, six weeks before she died.

Linden and other colleagues had spent much of the previous afternoon at her bedside, reading tributes from around 200 people that had been written on a large card. People acknowledged Elma's huge contribution to Pacific Island journalism, her friendliness and her sense of humour. "She could be forthright," says Linden. "She could be quite bossy, but in a good sense, which is why she got so much out of her trainees. A lot of people talked about how quiet it would be without her."

Journalist Michael Field wrote in an obituary published in the Dominion Post: "In the small and intensely personal world of Pacific journalism, Elma Maua was the real tusitala, the story-teller, who had heart, enthusiasm and connections."

At her funeral, her former radio colleagues sang "Isa Lei", a well-known Fijian farewell song. "Elma had often led us in singing many times over the years, so it was our turn to sing to her," Linden. "It was very moving."

Wong hopes to showcase Chinese programmes produced here and overseas on the channel, along with a range of movies and serial dramas. Ultimately he would like to include locally made news, current affairs programmes with an emphasis on Chinese topics and perspectives.

One of his more immediate plans is to broadcast locally made television productions, but with Chinese subtitles.

"There is a lack of good entertainment in New Zealand television for Chinese people living here and we hope to improve on that," he says. "New Zealand programmes, with subtitles will bring a better understanding between mainstream New Zealanders and Chinese, and also give Chinese people a better understanding of New Zealand."

The Ethnic Media Workshop is one of a series run by the Office of Internal Affairs and features a five-person panel including:

• Jim Tucker, head of journalism at Whitireia Journalism School and publisher of NewsWire will talk about the ethics in journalism.
• Bernadette Courtney, editor of the The Dominion Post will present her vision for the paper, and how it aims to appeal to readers from diverse ethnic communities
• Yu Qiu Wang, journalist for Home Voice, a Wellington Chinese newspaper, will offer an ethnic journalist's perspective.
• Trevor Henry senior communications adviser Department of Internal Affairs, will provide an overview on New Zealand media conventions
• Charles Mabbett, media advisor Asia NZ will outline some of the internships at Asian media organisations and scholarships available for NZ journalists in Asian countries.

The workshop will be held on Tuesday 25 May, 4pm-6.30 pm, at the Training Rooms 1 and 2: The Dominion Post Building (40 Boulcott Street, Wellington).

To reserve a seat or find out more contact Pitsch Leiser (04 494 57 68)

The conference theme was "Journalism at the intersection of politics, culture and religion", and was the second run by the New Zealand Government with co-sponsorship from the European Union, and support from the Indonesian Government and Indonesian Press Council.

The focus was particularly on the challenges of reporting on security issues surrounding religion; ethnic and cultural identity; and politics, especially in situations involving terrorism or insurgency. New Zealand journalists Graeme Acton (Radio New Zealand), Edward Gay (New Zealand Herald Online) and Julie Middleton (Freelancer) attended the conference.

"Former Vice President of Indonesia Jusuf Kalla started the conference on a high note with an opening address about his role in resolving inter-religious and intercultural conflicts in Indonesia," said Alex Lennox-Marwick, from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade's International Security and Disarmament Division.

Prominent academics, journalists and commentators led the group through a variety of issues including reporting on war, journalism in post-conflict societies, media and democracy, and real time coverage of terrorism.

Two New Zealand senior journalism educators, Dr David Robie from AUT University and Alan Samson from Massey University, were among the presenters from across Asia and Australasia.

More information on the meeting and images are available online.

Launched in 2005, the programme aims to give people belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, particularly young minority men and women, the opportunity to gain knowledge on the United Nations system and mechanisms dealing with international human rights and minority rights.

"The programme is interactive and consists of briefings on several topics as well as individual and group assignments," the OHCHR said in a statement.

"The Fellowship Programme is intended to assist organisations and communities in protecting and promoting the rights of minorities the fellows belong to."

The Fellows will be based at the OHCHR in Geneva, Switzerland. Successful applicants will be provided with a return economy class ticket to Geneva, basic health insurance for the duration of the programme and a grant to cover modest accommodation and other living expenses.

Held annually, the programme has an English version, which runs for about three months, and an Arabic version, which was started in 2007, and runs for four weeks.

Applications for the English Programme close on May 3. For more information, visit the website of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Advertising Standards Authority (March)

The Advertising Standards Authority ruled that complaint 10/090 'Tui Beer Billboard Advertisement' had no grounds to proceed. The billboard read 'That call centre person was really easy to understand. Yeah right.' The complainant believed the message contained a racist slur against people for whom English is not their first language.

Broadcasting Standards Authority (March)

In Foreman and TRN 2009-158 the Broadcasting Standards Authority did not uphold a complaint against the Radio Network Ltd (broadcasting as Radio Sport). The complaint was made on the grounds of discrimination and denigration, as the host referred to a man as 'a pommy git' on the Radio Sport Farming Show.

In de Villiers and TVNZ 2009-163 the Authority did not uphold a complaint against TVNZ (a promotion for the Sunday programme). The complaint was made on the grounds of discrimination and denigration; fairness; and controversial issues, as the presenter stated "Sunday travels to Israel to bring you Jew against Arab from a truly unique perspective."

Interest in the week is running high in the Samoan community, with over 1200 people in ten days joining a Facebook page in support of the week.

Race Relations Commissioner Joris de Bres says the Samoan community is the fourth largest ethnic group in New Zealand and Samoan is the third most commonly spoken language.
"It would be great if all mainstream media took part in the week through the use of greetings, common phrases, programmes, features and news stories."

Pacific media including TVNZ's Tagata Pasifika, the Pacific Radio Network, Radio Samoa, Samoan Capital Radio, Spasifik and the Samoan Times are all actively involved in the week, which coincides with Samoa's national day on June 1.

For more information visit the Samoan Language Week website

Readers have been invited to send congratulatory messages to the paper, which will appear in the anniversary issue. Indian Weekender is distributed free at outlets frequented by the Indian community, including Indian supermarkets, restaurants and retail outlets. It is also available online.

Editor Yuanyong Yang says the English edition will feature news, current affairs, business, travel and entertainment, with a focus mainly on China-New Zealand relations and the country's multicultural society.

Although a date has yet to be set for the launch, the paper is actively looking for a chief editor to helm the English edition.

Lianhe Bao is published on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday and competes in the same advertising market as The Chinese Herald and Mandarin Pages, two of the more established Chinese-language papers in Auckland.

as arisen for the position of Strategic Policy Manager within the Human Rights Commission's senior management team. A job description is available on the Commission's website (applications close April 2).

The topic is 'Listen Very Carefully', and it is designed for Curriculum Level 2. The topic will focus on the following:

• What is sound?
• How do we hear?
• Caring for our ears
• People who can't hear
• Hearing dogs
• Inventions for hearing

For more information contact Fairfax Newspapers in Education on 0800 849 971 or email them.

The People's Daily has struck a deal with New Zealand's longest running Chinese newspaper, the Mandarin Pages, to publish its stories in New Zealand.

"It is seen as a win-win situation, because they get an avenue to reach New Zealand readers, and we get good strong China stories for our readers," says Mandarin Pages publisher David Soh.

The first issue with stories from The People's Daily ran on March 1. Mandarin Pages is published every day except Sunday, and is distributed free through Chinese grocery shops, eateries and ethnic food halls.

The World Indigenous Television Broadcasters Network (WITBN) represents nine indigenous television broadcasters: National Indigenous Television (NITV), Australia; Aboriginal People Television Network (APTN), Canada; TG4, Ireland; Māori Television, New Zealand; NRK Sami Radio, Norway; BBC ALBA, Scotland; South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), South Africa; Taiwan Indigenous Television (TITV)/ Public Television Service (PTS), Taiwan; and S4C, Wales.

Māori TV's Jim Mather, who was the inaugural chairman of WITBN, last week handed over his title to the chairman of TITV. "The past two years have been important in terms of laying solid foundations for the establishment of the network," Mr Mather says. "It is my hope that it will continue to flourish as the platform for indigenous broadcasters and our collective commitment to our languages and cultures."

The theme of the three-day conference was "Facing the Challenges in the Digital Age for Indigenous Media" and topics discussed include new media challenges, the changing role of indigenous broadcasters in revitalising native languages and cultures, and the maintenance of core cultural values whilst operating successful television organisations.

Since WITBC '08 in New Zealand, senior executives of the member organisations have been meeting on a six-monthly basis to plan, develop and implement a range of key initiatives.

This has resulted in the development of the first WITBN-produced series, Indigenous Insight, a weekly 30-minute summary of the key news and current affairs stories provided by member organisations.

Māori Television and the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network of Canada will also be embarking on a staff exchange programme later this year.

Broadcasting Standards Authority Decision

The Broughton and RadioWorks case involved a complaint about the 'Talkback with Michael Laws' show. The complaint was upheld on the grounds of 'fairness', but not upheld on the grounds of 'privacy'. The grounds of 'accuracy' was subsumed.

Counties Manukau District Health Board employee Boyd Broughton complained about comments Michael Laws made after Boyd Broughton emailed him about Māori smoking. During the 24 September broadcast Michael Laws said that it was clear from Boyd Broughton's emails that, "he regarded the cause of Māori smoking to essentially be white genocidal cigarette companies out to basically kill Māori".

The Authority did not uphold the complaint on the grounds of 'privacy'. However, it upheld the complaint that Michael Laws unfairly represented Boyd Broughton's views.

"Based only on Mr Broughton's statement that "Pakeha continue to allow [smoking] in the country and make profits from it", Michael Laws told his listeners that Boyd Broughton believes, and tells his clients, that smoking is a "Pakeha plot to kill Māori", an assertion he made several times during the course of his programme. The Authority is firm in its view that such blatant misrepresentation cannot be regarded as "fair comment", as argued by the broadcaster," the decision said.

Source: Broadcasting Standards Authority Bulletin, March 2010.

Advertising Standards Authority Decision

The ASA Chairperson ruled that a George Weston Foods (NZ) Ltd television advertisement for tortilla from Bazaar Breads of the World did not breach of the 'Code for People in Advertising.' Complaint 10/040 made under Basic Principles 3, 4 and 5 of the Code for People in Advertising by S. Fraser was deemed to have no grounds to proceed. The complainant was concerned about the portrayal of Mexican people in the advertisement: ""I found the use of Kiwis pretending to be Mexican offensive and ridiculing."

The ASA Chairperson's Ruling in late February 2010 (Complaint 10/040) noted the concerns but viewed the advertisement to be light hearted in tone. She found it did not reach the threshold likely to cause serious or widespread offence in the light of generally prevailing community standards.

Source: Advertising Standards Authority.

Festivals and Events are being held all around the country to mark and celebrate the day. The Commission's Facebook page dedicated to Race Relations Day has over 2, 800 fans. The Annual Review of Race Relations in 2009 has been released and is available in PDF form online, or you can email us if you would like a hard copy.

Those who have something to contribute or say about race relations in New Zealand can visit the Facebook page. Over 1600 people have signed up to the page since it was opened three weeks ago.

"We're finding that social media, including Facebook, are a way for the Commission to create a place where people from all walks of life can discuss what makes good race relations," said commission spokesman Gilbert Wong.

The Facebook page is proving a place of debate and fun. The Commission has set up a contest for fans of the page to contribute their photographs that best illustrate cultural diversity in New Zealand. The winning photograph will be turned into a Race Relations Day postcard.

The scholarship is designed to attract more young Kiwi Asians into journalism study and to encourage increased representation of Asian communities in mainstream journalism.

Currently employed as a nurse at Auckland Hospital's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Ms Miller says she wants to use the communication and cultural skills she has acquired as a health professional to start her new direction as a journalist.

"Despite our growing Asian population, New Zealand has a shortage of Asian journalists. Many of the Asian population fail to identify with the mainstream media," she said.

"As Asian New Zealanders, it is the right to have access to the media. As a Kiwi-Asian journalist, I hope I will be able to facilitate that within their community and within the media industry."

Ms Miller is of Filipina and New Zealand European descent and is well versed in both Tagalog and English.

She has enrolled in a postgraduate diploma in communications studies with a journalism major at AUT University and is planning to do the Asia-Pacific Journalism course.

Ms Miller will get $5000 of her course paid upon completion of her journalism study.

A 2007 survey by the NZ Journalists Training Organisation showed that only 2 per cent of all journalists working in mainstream English language news media were Asian.

Meanwhile, the country's largest newspaper, The New Zealand Herald, has announced that it will be adding a reporter of Asian descent, Derek Cheng, to its press gallery in Wellington.

A former Herald reporter, Mr Cheng returns to the paper to replace Patrick Gower, who has resigned to go to TV3.

The magazine-style show about an Asian perspective to all things New Zealand, is described as the first of its kind, and a show full of attitude, humour and irreverence to play on commercial airwaves.

"In the spirit of audience participation, interactivity and capacity building, the show would like all New Zealanders to send in stories worthy of broadcast on radio," the producers said in a statement.

"You could be of Asian origin and if not then you could want to tell something Asian related. It could be quirky, experimental or serious. It could be a love story, an anecdote or a comment on politics. Travel stories are welcome too. As is drama."

Recordings should be in .wav format, and sound can be delivered through a web based drop box. Final date for delivery is April 16. Five of the best stories will be broadcast on the show between May and June.

Email the Asian Radio Show to run ideas and queries. Funded by New Zealand On Air, and started in 2008, the show broadcasts every Friday evening at 7.40pm, and is also available online.

Between 7 and 14 February, a series of hour-long documentaries giving viewers a chance to look at life in the Chinese province of Jilin were screened on Triangle and Stratos Television.

"We do not have the ratings, but based on the people I speak with, I think it has been popular and a success, and so we are planning for more such screenings in the near future," said Jim He, spokesman for the centre.

Mr He said the series portrayed some of Jilin's best tourist spots, personalities, arts and business, and was well received by local New Zealanders. "These television festivals open a cultural window for kiwis who will otherwise never get a chance to experience these cultures," he said.

Mr He said his group has confirmed with Triangle Television that it will screen a week-long Nanning culture television week in September, at the same time when a Chinese arts and photo festival will be running.

Triangle Auckland is on UHF channels 41, 42 and 52 and Stratos Television broadcasts nationwide through Sky Digital channel 89, Freeview channel 21 and TelstraClear cable.

The United Chinese Press, or Lianhe Bao, published three times a week, will offer readers local and Asia-focused news in Chinese script, says editor Yuanyong Yang.

"We want to offer the Chinese more choice of reading material, and will be focusing on the entire Chinese community and not just a particular sector," Mr Yang says.

Besides news, the paper will also be publishing regular opinion pieces from local community leaders, members of Parliament and the police. The paper comes out on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday and will compete for the same advertising market as The Chinese Herald and Mandarin Pages, two of the more established Chinese-language papers in Auckland. Lianhe Bao is distributed free, and is available at outlets frequented by the Chinese, such as Asian grocery stores and restaurants.

Visit the United Chinese Press online or email Mr Yang.

"Why can't the Indian community get together at least on Republic Day and demonstrate the spirit of oneness and purpose?" Indian Newslink editor Venkat Raman wrote in an editorial. "Why should two functions be held on the same day? Who wants this trial of strength? And who won in the end?"

Mr Raman said these were some of the questions his readers had posed, and hoped the local Indian community would present a united front in the next milestone event in 2022 when India marks its Platinum Jubilee of Independence. "We hope there would be no arm wrestling and trial of strength in celebrating the 75^th anniversary of the country's freedom."

Disagreement between leaders of the United Indianz and Bhartiya Samaj Charitable Trust led to the two groups organising separate events, one in Aotea Square and the other at the TelstraClear Events Centre in Manukau last month.

Prime Minister John Key, who spoke at the central city event, says New Zealand's trade and relationship with India is at an all-time high. "The two-way trade between New Zealand peaked to $1 billion for the first time last year," Mr Key said. "But we should not be complacent with the new high reached. New Zealand's trade with China crossed $10 billion in 2009, a year after the Free Trade Agreement was signed with that country."

Mr Key says he has met with India's Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh last year and they are keen to move forward with formal negotiation talks for an FTA between New Zealand and India.

Mr Morarji's newsletter covers events and activities of the association and the local Indian community. "He was a very popular man, and devoted to serving the community," said Indian international student Inderjit Singh, who studies hospitality in Rotorua. "Being away from India, I used to look forward to his newsletter which keeps us informed of the activities of the association. Many of us still cannot believe he is gone."

Mr Morarji was returning from a New Zealand Indian Central Association meeting in Morrinsville in Waikato when he met with the accident.

Originally from Navsari, Gujarent, he was raised in Mumbai and migrated to New Zealand later where he ran an electronics business. Mr Morarji, who took office as association president last year, leaves behind his wife and two sons. He was 52.

The centre's television student team Sophie and John Pulu has made a short video about the centre, which can be viewed on YouTube.

• Early March: An evening with Samoan author and storyteller Sia Fiegel (TBA). Email them for more information.
• 8 March: Launch of the book Being the First: Storis Blong Oloketa Mere Lo Solomon Aelan, edited by Alice Aruhe'eta Pollard and Professor Marilyn Waring on International Women's Day. The book is published by the PMC for AUT's Institute of Public Policy and RAMSI. Honiara, Solomon Islands. Read the book online.
• May 2-3: UNESCO World Press Freedom Day conference, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia (A focus on the Pacific and the PMC is very involved). Find out more online.
• May 24: Conflict reporting seminar with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and launch of the special edition of Pacific Journalism Review in partnership with the Australian Centre of Independent Journalism (ACIJ) and Massey University journalism school, at the AUT Conference Centre.
• December 1-3: International Creative Industries Conference, including a stream on investigative journalism and Pacific journalism at AUT. Find out more online.

Updates of events can be viewed on the centre's website.

The report, to be released in March, monitored race-related complaints made to the New Zealand Press Council (NZPC), Broadcasting Standards Authority (BSA) and the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for the past five years. The Press Council received the least number of race-related cases (seven) in the period 2005-09. The BSA received 19 complaints, seven of which were received in 2009. The ASA received the most complaints (45), but the ratio of race-related complaints to the total number of complaints was very low. For example, in 2009, the ASA released decisions on 647 complaints and only 10 of these were race related. Overall, the level of race-related complaints about the media to standards bodies remains very low.

The report recommends that a further survey of diversity in newsrooms and journalism schools be undertaken by the JTO in 2010, and that the opportunities and challenges of the internet and social media for race relations be explored.

Race Relations Report 2009: Media

The following is a draft section of the 2009 Race Relations Report to be published by the Human Rights Commission in March 2010. This section reviews developments in relation to diversity and the media and is drawn primarily from the Commission's media diversity newsletter, Nga Reo Tangata. Other sections of the report deal with international engagement, action on diversity, the Treaty of Waitangi, racial discrimination, migration and settlement, civil and political equality, economic and social equality, religious diversity, language and diversity research. The full report will be published in advance of Race Relations Day on 21 March. Comments on this draft are invited and can be sent to nzdiversity@hrc.co.nz .

What happened in 2009?

• Discussion of diversity in the media continued through a range of forums
• The Pacific.Scoop diversity news website was launched by the AUT Pacific Media Centre
• Māori Television turned five, and the Māori Television Service Act was reviewed.
• Operating funding for iwi radio was boosted by $1.2 million over 2009/10 and 2010/11.
• The Māori Television Service, together with TVNZ and TV3, was identified as the preferred free-to-air broadcaster for the 2011 Rugby World Cup
• The level of race-related complaints to media standards bodies has been very low over the past five years.
• The New Zealand Press Council considered two race-related complaints in 2009. One was partially upheld.
• The Broadcasting Standards Authority considered seven race-related complaints. None were upheld.
• The Advertising Standards Authority received 10 race related complaints and two of these were settled.
• Adrian Stevanon won first place in the 2009 New Zealand Excellence in Reporting Diversity Awards for young journalists.
• Radio Tarana, aimed at the Auckland Indian community, was ranked among the top 10 radio stations in the greater Auckland region.

Forums on diversity in the media

Discussion of diversity in the media continued in a number of forums organised by the Office of Ethnic Affairs, New Zealand on Air and the Human Rights Commission.

The Office of Ethnic Affairs organised 'ethnic media bus tours' in Christchurch and Auckland. The Christchurch tour brought together ethnic media and journalism students to experience first hand how mainstream media operate in Christchurch. Over 20 people from a range of ethnic and community media backgrounds boarded the bus, including student representatives from the Chinese, Indian, Korean, Japanese, Indonesian, Swiss and South African communities who are currently studying a variety of media courses. They visited the Press, the Christchurch Star, and radio station Newstalk ZB. As part of the programme, a presentation provided a definition of media, the impact and influence generated by media and ways of dealing with media in the New Zealand context. The Auckland tour, attended by over 30 representatives of ethnic media included visits to Māori Television and Newstalk ZB. The tour was preceded by a forum that included members of the Press Council, the Broadcasting Standards Authority and a former editor of the New Zealand Herald.

The Office of Ethnic Affairs hosted a workshop in Wellington for people with a specific interest in the role of ethnic media. About 30 members of Wellington's ethnic media attended the workshop, which aimed to develop stronger, positive connections across diverse communities, improve access to information by utilising ethnic media to convey vital information to their communities, and promote networking.

The Office of Ethnic Affairs held a dialogue forum in Auckland on the role and perception of Muslims in the New Zealand media. Participants included representatives from various organisations, including Muslim media, the Broadcasting Standards Authority, Māori Television, Radio New Zealand and Radio Live. The discussion focused on capacity building, learning to work with the media, countering misrepresentation, the role of youth, the plurality within the Muslim community and the concept of freedom of speech. A similar dialogue forum was held in Hamilton, where the invited guests included the editor of the Waikato Times, the Head of the Screen and Media Department at Waikato University and an academic/practitioner from Wintec.

The Office of Ethnic Affairs held a South Asian Forum in Auckland. The theme was 'Connecting South Asians to the Media'. The event brought together South Asian communities and media, and provided a platform for training and information exchange to empower South Asian communities to engage more effectively with media to promote their identity, issues, events and culture.

NZ on Air held an Ethnic Diversity Broadcasting Forum with the Office of Ethnic Affairs in Auckland. The forum focused on broadcasting in the context of New Zealand's ethnic diversity now, and into the future. Topics of discussion included media and cultural identity, finding the ethnic voice on mainstream channels, reaching ethnic audiences, drama in black, white and colour, and 'Screen and Heard' - the NZ broadcast media scene in 2020, with speakers and panelists from the BBC, Australia's SBS, New Zealand's major broadcasters and writers and producers. Around 100 ethnic and mainstream broadcasters, decision makers and media practitioners attended the forum. Key issues highlighted included the importance of catering to an increasingly diverse audience both in terms of ethnicity and age groups, the funding required to make high quality programmes to reach diverse population groups, the commercial viability of ethnic-specific programming and the importance of drama in educating and reflecting population diversity.

The Human Rights Commission hosted the annual Media Diversity Forum at the New Zealand Diversity Forum in August. This year's topic, New Media, New Audiences, provided insights into the Asian media channels serving an audience of a quarter million people in New Zealand. It featured key players in the new media landscape. The panelists included representatives of Skykiwi.com, World TV, Indian Weekender and a researcher on Asian media in New Zealand, Phoebe Li from the School of Asian Studies, University of Auckland. Ms Li spoke about her thesis "A Virtual Chinatown: the Diasporic Mediasphere and Chinese Migrants in New Zealand" that compared the growth of Chinese language media in New Zealand to an "imagined Chinatown". Her research found that locally based Chinese language media focused on news from mainland China, but were keenly interested in the 2008 general election. Her research found recent migrants from mainland China maintain strong ties to their homeland.

The representatives of the Asian media channels spoke of the need to persist in a competitive media environment. While each was a business, editorially each saw part of their responsibility as preserving the culture and language of their respective homelands.

Short profiles about the media channels show strong community support and growing market share:

World TV Ltd. Launched in June 2000 in association with the SKY satellite digital service World TV Ltd (WTV) broadcasts 24 hours daily in 7 TV channels and 2 radio channels throughout New Zealand. It has arrangements for programming from mainstream media in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea and self production. WTV also publishes a monthly magazine. In March 2006, WTV added 3 new TV channels to serve the growing population of Korean and Chinese and the first 24-hour free-to-air Chinese TV channel joined the service in August 2007. There are over 10,000 households subscribing to WTV with the total number of viewers reaching 50,000, which is approximately 26 percent of the market.

Skykiwi.com is the largest Chinese website in New Zealand, and serves as a platform for introducing New Zealand culture and lifestyle to the Chinese community. During 2007 and 2008, Skykiwi.com ranked #1 based on market share of visits among all New Zealand websites in the Hitwise "News and Media - Community Directories and Guides" category.

The year saw the launch of the Indian Weekender, a weekly newspaper aimed at the estimated 110,000 people in the Auckland region of ethnic Indian extraction. These include people from the Indian subcontinent (India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan) South East Asia, Fiji, South Africa and Mauritius. The publishers Kiwi Media Group print 15,000 copies of each issue, and claim a readership of 60,000 a week to an audience interested in news, features and entertainment geared towards ethnic Indian residents of the Auckland region. The new newspaper has a digital presence and under the editorship of experienced journalist Dev Nadkarni has enjoyed strong community support.

Radio Tarana, aimed at the Auckland Indian community, was ranked among the top 10 radio stations in the greater Auckland region in 2009. A Research International survey found Radio Tarana to have increased its audience by more than 50 per cent to 4.6 per cent, making it the region's ninth most listened to radio station, beating long-established mainstream stations, Radio Hauraki, More FM, Radio Live, Radio Sport and Solid Gold FM. It is the only ethnic radio station in New Zealand to be ranked among the top 10. Established 13 years ago, Radio Tarana 1386 AM is a 24-hour, free-to-air radio station broadcasting news on the hour, current affairs, sports, talkback and music. The station is the exclusive provider of BBC Hindi and Urdu Fiji News in New Zealand.

Opportunities

Auckland University of Technology (AUT) School of Communication Studies established a Graduate Diploma in Pacific Journalism, with the inaugural intake due in 2010.

AUT also continued its post-graduate Asia-Pacific journalism course, aimed to develop international reporting expertise. Associated with this course is an exchange agreement between AUT and the China Daily enabling students to work on internship in Beijing, while AUT sponsors a China Daily employee for New Zealand media studies. Asia New Zealand provides funding support for airfares for internship students in China and Indonesia.

The AUT Pacific Media Centre established an Asian Journalism Fellowship for the first time in 2009 with sponsorship from the Asia New Zealand Foundation. The inaugural recipient was a Burmese exiled journalist, Violet Cho, who is also an in indigenous ethnic Karen. She was sponsored by both the foundation and AUT's School of Communication Studies to do a postgraduate BCS (Hons) programme and work as a contributing reporter for Pacific Scoop. She filed many reports on the ethnic Burmese community in New Zealand and spoke at public seminars about diversity media for the PMC in Auckland and at Victoria University of Wellington.

A new scholarship is being launched to attract Asian New Zealanders into journalism. The Asia New Zealand Foundation is offering to pay up to $5000 on completion of a successful candidate's course of journalism study for the 2010 calendar year."The scholarship is designed to encourage greater representation of Asian communities in mainstream New Zealand journalism."

AUT and community newspaper Indian Newslink have launched a journalism scholarship. Indian Newslink will pay the tuition fee, student services fee and Student Association fee for one student admitted every year into one of the university's one-year postgraduate programmes, including the postgraduate diploma in Communication Studies (journalism) and the Bachelor of Communication Studies (Hons). The programme, open to all New Zealand citizens and permanent residents, is aimed at creating a new generation of quality journalists and fostering professional standards of journalism in New Zealand.

Awards and Achievements

TVNZ Tangata Pasifika journalist Adrian Stevanon won first place in the 2009 New Zealand Excellence in Reporting Diversity Awards for young journalists. The NZ Excellence in Reporting Diversity Awards were launched by Whitireia Journalism School in 2008 to recognise top work being done by journalists with less than five years' experience. They reward outstanding reporting of diversity in NZ society, whether it's focused on ethnic communities or minority groups, who traditionally have not been portrayed well by the media. Other winners were Rebecca Todd, The Press (second), Michelle McCullough, Dunedin Star, Ruth Grundy Southern Rural Life and Courier Country (third equal) Tasha Black, Newswire, and Carolyn Thomas, Western Leader (highly commended). Prizes were funded by contributions from editors of all the major media and the awards were held under the auspices of Whitireia Journalism School, the Journalists Training Organisation and the Human Rights Commission.

Fiji-born reporter Dominika White won the Māori Television Prize and AUT University Pacific Media Centre Storyboard Award for diversity journalism for her articles in Spasifik magazine.

Canterbury's community access station Plains FM 96.9 scooped a NZ Radio Award for the fourth year running at this year's New Zealand Radio Awards. Naoko Kudo won the award for Best Spoken/Informational Programme in Any Language for Japanese Downunder which she has produced and presented since 2002.

Sunday Star Times reporter Karen Arnold was the runner up in the Statistics New Zealand's 2009 Journalism Award with her story "Culture Clash as Migrants isolated and ignored". The story focused on new migrants in Southland and the local government's struggles to educate the wider community about the importance of welcoming them to the province.

Pacific Media Centre

Pacific.Scoop, a partnership between AUT University's Pacific Media Centre and Scoop Media, was launched in Auckland in August. This is a new portal for Asia-Pacific and diversity stories covering the region from East Timor to Tahiti, including New Zealand. While most of the stories come from senior AUT student journalists, many have also been filed by students from Divine Word University, Madang, PNG, National University of Samoa, and the University of the South Pacific in Fiji and the University of Technology, Sydney. Many leading Pacific Islands journalists and commentators are contributing reports and analyses. It also draws on the Pacific Media Watch monitoring service. The website attracts 30,000 unique visitors a month.

The Centre published a special edition of the Pacific Journalism Review in May on diversity, identity and the media. The review is a peer-reviewed journalism and media research journal.

The Pacific Development and Conservation Trust awarded a grant to the Centre's Pacific Media Watch monitoring project, which is dedicated to regional media freedom, plurality and diversity issues. A Tongan journalist currently edits this service.

Korean drama series

The 54-episode Korean drama series "Jewel in the Palace" (Dae Jang Geum) aired on Triangle Television is the first multi-cultural, long form non-English series to be shown on New Zealand television. Set in the Chosun Dynasty of 500 years ago, the series also feature Korean cuisine and costumes of the period.

Māori Television

Māori Television celebrated its fifth birthday and the first anniversary of the Māori language channel "Te Reo" in March. Since its launch in 2004, Māori Television's audience reach has tripled to more than 1.5 million New Zealanders each month. As part of the fifth birthday celebrations, new research into Māori Television's social and economic impact was released, and its revamped website was unveiled.

An independent review panel, Te Kāhui o Māhutonga, considered the operation and effectiveness of the Māori Television Service (Te Aratuku Whakaata Irirangi Māori) Act 2003. Their key recommendations were aimed at ensuring that the legislation governing Māori Television is updated and relevant and that Māori Television is well positioned to achieve its goals, fully participate in technological advancements, and continue its success as an indigenous language broadcaster. Areas identified for improvement were language quality and the current funding model.

Māori Television attracted a lot of attention when it made a bid for the free-to-air broadcasting rights for the Rugby World Cup in 2011. Government Ministers intervened to broker a combined bid with Television New Zealand and TV3, which was successful.

Funding boost for Iwi radio

Operating funding for iwi radio was increased by $1.2 million over 2009/10 and 2010/11 in order to maintain high-quality te reo programmes and extend their community involvement. The provisions announced in the Budget amounted to an additional $50,000 for each of the 21 iwi stations. The increased funding will come from Te Māngai Pāho and Te Puni Kōkiri. Iwi stations deliver 61,000 hours of te reo content each year.

Māori world views and broadcasting standards

The BSA published a paper on Māori Worldviews and Broadcasting Standards: What Should be the Relationship? to provide a platform for discussion of the relationship between broadcasting standards and Māori worldviews and interests. This paper follows up questions raised by the BSA's 2005 publication The Portrayal of Māori and Te Ao Māori in Broadcasting: the foreshore and seabed issue, including whether the standards as currently framed adequately reflect Māori realities, concerns and interests.

Access to the BSA

The Broadcasting Standards Authority also translated its 'How to Complain' information into three further languages - Niuean, Somali and Vietnamese (making it available in a total of thirteen) and ran a multi-lingual bus-based poster campaign in Auckland and Wellington. The posters - in Chinese, Samoan and English - reminded caregivers that AO (Adults Only) time begins at 8:30pm on free-to-air television.

Complaints about the Media

The Race Relations Report has monitored all race related complaints made to the New Zealand Press Council (NZPC), Broadcasting Standards Authority (BSA) and the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for the past five years. Of the three bodies, the Press Council received the least number of race related cases in the period 2005-2009 (seven in total, of which four occurred in 2007). The BSA received 17 complaints, of which the highest number (seven) were received in 2009. The ASA received the most complaints (45) but the ratio of race related complaints to the total number of complaints was very low. For example, in 2009 the ASA released decisions on 647 complaints and only 10 of these were race related. Overall, the level of race-related complaints about the media to standards bodies remains very low.

Print

There were two race related complaints to the New Zealand Press Council in 2009. One of them was partially upheld.

• A complaint was received about the accuracy of the words in a Bromhead cartoon published in the Sunday Star Times in January. The complainant added that errors he pointed out went uncorrected. The cartoon depicted an Israeli soldier firing a machine gun. A speech bubble contained the words: "Ten innocents, one Hamas... Twenty innocents, Two Hamas... Thirty innocents..." The complaint was not upheld.
• A complaint was received about a Taranaki Daily News article in which a Māori warden was reported as saying the Parihaka peace festival was the scene of drug abuse. The complainant said that the article "Parihaka drug shock for warden", presented as the opinion of one woman, comprised "unsubstantiated conjecture", and breached Press Council principles of Accuracy (including Fairness and Balance), Comment and Fact, Discrimination, and Headlines and Captions. He added that the article was "the latest in a string of incidents" with "a gratuitous focus on the negative for Māori". Its intent was to "grab a sensational headline at Māori expense" and its effect was to "defame" Parihaka and the festival activities. The Council partially upheld the complaint on the ground of lack of balance.

Broadcasting

The Broadcasting Standards Authority considered seven race-related complaints. None were upheld.

• In March, a complaint was considered about an interview aired on Radio New Zealand's Morning Report. The host was interviewing the South African Rugby Union President about the possibility of a rugby game between the New Zealand Māori team and the South African team. During the interview the guest commented about New Zealand having a deep problem of racism with reference to Māori and the host responded by pointing out that South Africa had a bigger problem with apartheid. The complainant focused on the way the host had handled the interview and saw it as a breach of fairness. He complained that the host had failed to "engage in a meaningful interview, to draw out the issues at hand, to engage the interviewee effectively, and... to gauge the mood and cultural differences of his interviewee". The broadcaster claimed that the interviewee had ample opportunity to express his opinions and was not unfairly treated and that the host's response about New Zealand not having apartheid was merely a statement of fact and not provocative in any manner. This Authority agreed and did not uphold the complaint.
• In April, the BSA issued a decision on a complaint about the 'Paul Holmes Breakfast' show, aired on The Radio Network (TRN). The host discussed the terrorist attacks in Mumbai and made comments about Muslims and terrorism. The complainant said he was concerned about the way the host presented the programme, which he believed was totally biased and targeted Islam as a religion and Muslims as followers. He contended the broadcast contained offensive comments, biased discussion, incorrect information and discriminatory statements which would have "offended all Muslim listeners". He alleged the broadcast breached controversial issues, accuracy, fairness, and discrimination and denigration standards. The Authority did not uphold the complaint, though it accepted that the host's comments concerning Muslims and terrorism were provocative, particularly at the beginning of the piece. However, the statements lacked the necessary invective to cross the threshold for denigration. Since the overall tenor of the piece had been modified by the end of the programme, the Authority found that the host's comments were not unfair to Muslim people.
• In the July-September quarter, a complaint was received about a Radio Tarana programme, 'Zindagi Forever' claiming that the programme breached standards relating to discrimination and denigration, and responsible programming. The complainant alleged that the radio host had ridiculed and denigrated Hindu concepts and the Hindu religion, while promoting Christianity. Radio Tarana stated that it had had the programme translated, and was satisfied that in no part of the programme did the host refer to the Hindu culture, and "neither did he ridicule the Hindu culture". The Authority concluded that the broadcast did not encourage discrimination against or denigration of Hindus or the Hindu religion and declined to uphold the complaint in relation to any of the standards.
• In the July-September quarter another complaint was considered by BSA regarding Radio New Zealand's 'Nine to Noon' programme in which the host spoke to a number of women about their experiences with dowry abuse in New Zealand. The complainant alleged this to be in breach of controversial issues, accuracy and discrimination and denigration standards. He argued that the broadcast was unbalanced, because it discussed a matter of Indian culture in New Zealand, without presenting a countering response. He also felt that the discussion was offensive to men, particularly fathers. The Authority considered that the programme did not discuss a controversial issue of importance, breach accuracy or discriminate against anyone and therefore did not uphold the complaint.
• In the October-December quarter the Authority considered a number of complaints concerning an item on TV3's Nightline programme concerning Māori TV's bid for the free-to-air broadcasting rights to the Rugby World Cup. The item included a satirical sketch about what Māori TV's coverage would look like. The complainants considered that it breached the standards on good taste and decency, controversial issues, accuracy, fairness, discrimination and denigration and responsible programming. The Authority found that it was legitimate satire and lacked the necessary invective to cross the threshold for denigration of Māori as a section of the community. It did not uphold the complaints on any of the grounds cited.
• In the October-December quarter the Authority considered a complaint about an interview on TVNZ's Breakfast programme in which the host interviewed a Professor of Māori history about 21 hui selecting a 'Māori' flag to be flown on Auckland Harbour Bridge on Waitangi Day and in which both the host and the interviewee commented that the process was a waste of time and money. The complainant considered that the comments were in breach of the standards of good taste and decency, law and order, controversial issues, accuracy, fairness, discrimination and denigration, and responsible programming standards. The Authority did not uphold the complaint, finding that alternative viewpoints had been presented on One News the previous evening, and that although the comments reinforced stereotypes they did not reach the threshold necessary for encouraging denigration.

Advertising

Complaints were made about nine advertisements to the Advertising Standards Authority relating to race. Two of these complaints were declared settled and none was upheld.

• In January, a complaint was made about an advertisement for Mitre10 showing two young boys in a sandpit discussing, in the manner of two adults, a weekend construction programme for putting up a retaining wall. One of them addresses a third boy, and asks if he can "Give us a hand on Saturday", to which he responds using an Australian accent, "Mate, you're dreamin'." The other two boy comment to each other, "Aussies. No surprise there." and a message says, "DIY It's in our DNA". The complainant viewed this as racist towards Australians. (Complaint 09/006; no grounds for ruling)
• In May, a complaint was received about a newspaper advertisement headed 'Israel: The Missing truth' published in New Zealand Herald. The advertisement went on to say that "In 1948, the UN proposed two states for two peoples from the British Mandate of Palestine. The division was along demographic lines, with the Jewish portion (most of which was the Negev desert) containing a Jewish majority and the Arab portion an Arab majority. The Jews accepted the partition, the Arabs did not". This advertisement was paid for by Kiwis for Balanced Reporting on the Mideast..." A post office box number was supplied. The complainant, was of the view that the advertisement was racially biased and designed to promote racial prejudice and violence, and should not have been published in the New Zealand Herald. (Complaint 09/272; no grounds to proceed)
• In June, a complaint was received about a newspaper advertisement for South Auckland Motors. Part of the text of the advertisement said "Our Demo Sale...saves you from a Korean car". The complainant felt that the advertisement "denigrates a country and its people, as well as a competitor's product. It is a racist advertisement." In response to this the advertiser clarified that they had no intention of denigrating Korea and its people and discontinued the advertisement. (Complaint 09/330; Settled)
• A complaint was received in July about a billboard advertisement for Tui Beer containing the message: "We shouldn't tease ginga's. Yeah Right". The complainant found the statement to be "a race and physical attribute attack on a section of the community", and challenged why it was acceptable to single out red heads. (Complaint 09/402; no grounds to proceed)
• In July, a complaint was received about a poster advertisement of Public Service Investment Society. The poster advertisement contained the heading: "Our nation was built on pitching in and helping each other. We built a place to bank the same way." Wording below said: "Imagine a different way of banking. A co-operative way. Where the aim is to help everyone of our customers to get ahead, no matter who they are, or where they are starting from. ..." The complainant was of the view that the advertisement was offensive to Māori and also that was untrue as "NZ history demonstrates that NZ was built on the dispossession of the Māori people." (Complaint 09/429; no grounds to proceed)
• In August, a complaint was made about an editorial styled advertisement printed in a community newspaper 'Hamilton This Week'. The advertisement criticised the provision of Māori seats for Auckland super city by making statements such as, "Māori candidates promoting racist policies make themselves unattractive to the wider electorate and make their electoral failure a self-fulfilling prophecy, "and "Those promoting policies that discriminate on race, no matter how fancy their clothes, their qualifications or their language are, by definition, scuzzy little racists". The complainant objected to the "overarching denigrating tone of the advertisement, reflected inter alia in the advertisement's name-calling, which in our view amounts to hate speech. We are also opposed to the unbalanced presentation of the Treaty of Waitangi." (Complaint 09/371; not upheld)
• In August, a complaint was received about a radio advertisement for Hell Pizza, which advertised their 30min delivery special, featured a pizza delivery boy with an exaggerated accent delivering pizzas to a private home. There was a reference to spray painting his windscreen and putting bricks on the driveway. The customer who answered the door to accept delivery of the pizza says: "Good work team" and cheering is heard. The complainant saw this advertisement as racist. In response to this complaint The Radio Network agreed that "this advertisement is entirely inappropriate. It should never have gone to air and has been withdrawn." (Complaint 09/462; Settled)
• A complaint was received in August about a television advertisement for marmite by Sanitarium Health Food Company NZ. It showed a couple sitting on the couch watching television. The woman makes comments about a television programme in an exaggerated Australian accent. Her partner gives her a slice of bread with Marmite on it and the woman changes the channels to watch a rugby test. The commentary for the rugby game includes: "... and the home side have stolen it! Here's trouble for the Wallabies!" A visual contains the line "What makes Kiwis Kiwis?" and a jar of Marmite is shown. The complainant said, "As an Australian I find this ad demeaning and offensive." (Complaint 09/491; no grounds to proceed
• Two complaints were received in September about a billboard advertisement for Hell Pizza featuring a cartoon of two angels, one in red with white wings and the other in white with red wings and horns. A speech bubble from the red angel said: "Lighten Up" and another speech bubble from the white angel said: "Hell Pizzas are 90% Fat Free". Also pictured next to the red angel was a dog which also had a speech bubble that said: "(Like Dog)".The complainant was of the view that the billboard, which was a sequel to a previous one, was offensive and racist as it referred to the recently reported news story of a man who had cooked and eaten a dog. (Complaint 09/551; no grounds to proceed).