For former 1 NEWS reporter Tini Molyneux her earliest memory of Māori on television was one of negativity and stereotyping.
“Going back and watching the news, the only thing you saw on the news about Māori was all bad – there was nothing good about being Māori.”
From the early days of network news in New Zealand, Māori were often reported about in a pessimisitc light, she says.
It would be an effort to revive te reo which saw a change in how Māori were represented in media.
Tribunal hearings and Treaty settlements began to be covered by media, Ms Molyneux recounts.
Māori voices such as those of the Māori Women’s Welfare League on issues about land rights began to be heard on television.
Over the last five decades moments in recent Māori history has been broadcast from Bastion Point to foreshore and seabed protests.
Ms Molyneux says Māori communities initally mistrusted telling their stories to journalists but over the last 50 years this has changed.
“There’s a lot more people that are non-Māori that are happy to go out and chase those stories now,” she says.
“The role of telling Māori stories has changed.
“Māori have become a lot smarter now and they know how to deal with the media.”
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