Last weekend’s Deepawali celebrations in Rotorua was a fine instance of multiculturalism and inclusiveness – catchwords politicians of all hues love to spout – actually at work.
It was a treat to see “Middle New Zealand” come together and celebrate the festival of lights so heartwarmingly, melding diverse cultures – Maori, Hindu, Chinese, besides several others – in a spirit of great bonhomie and gaiety (a report appears elsewhere in this issue).
It was a slice of life of today’s New Zealand, which people of some 200 ethnicities call their home, their own country. This indeed is the face of New Zealand today – not the hopelessly outdated idea of what a New Zealander looks like that some people still have.
The pleasant memory of that sea of amazing diversity that came together to celebrate Deepawali over the weekend was quickly soured Monday morning no thanks to Paul Henry’s incredibly insensitive remarks to the Prime Minister about Governor General Sir Anand Satyanand.
Much has been discussed about the episode and what followed elsewhere in this issue. But what is it that has spurred on the perpetually controversy courting shock jock to turn into a cheap schlock jock?
Quite simply, it is the relentless pursuit of viewership ratings. TVNZ has been plagued with falling revenues and has been finding it ever harder to justify its existence as a public broadcaster propped up on taxpayer funds. The pressure to earn advertising dollars has been rising. And quite clearly, the brief to the likes of Paul Henry is to deliver the eyeballs at any cost.
Insults, put downs, rude comments delivered with sniggers, aggressive body language and scandalous remarks have been the only shameful stock in trade that the Breakfast host has used to deliver those eyeballs.
And all that, under the state broadcaster’s smug belief that the audiences love to hear it from Henry because they can’t say it. What sort of audience are they talking about? It certainly can’t be of the kind I saw in Rotorua last weekend – and that’s the kind of audience that is the future of not just this country but the world: an increasingly ethnically diverse audience. TVNZ’s top management operates from an ivory tower.
Dwelling on stereotypes, quipping on foreign names and running down the people of a nation or a culture collectively is old hat and the worst form of pandering to a fast diminishing demographic that is being reduced to all but a fringe. Some of the stuff we have been subjected to on Breakfast is shameful, to say the least.
The continuing tirade against India and Indians (not just the disastrous manner in which the Commonwealth Games was organised) is unjustifiable. It is incredible that Henry did not find a single pleasant thing to say about the country and its people, its ground realities or the hows and whys of what was happening – something that would have contributed to some informed analysis, at least for a section of viewers of which there ought to be considerable numbers. Especially since this is the only programme available to Kiwis.
This is not to suggest soft-pedaling on richly deserved criticism such as that meted out to the organising committee of the Commonwealth Games. Rather, journalists, commentators and opinion leaders must show the maturity to steer clear of the delectable temptation to mix the incompetence of organising an event with the culture, heritage, history, diversity and much else of a proud people. As if the only goal of the exercise is to perpetuate the long formed stereotypical notion of people, cultures and nations and not its perpetually changing aspects – much like ignoring the changing face of Middle New Zealand.