Racial story ‘a shocker’
Warning: This man kills. He is in his early 20s, Ma¯ori, has no job, and likely to be driving an early model car on a Waikato highway.
Those were the details reported in a story on the front page of the Waikato Times on April 13, 1999, translating police statistics to describe the ‘‘classic Waikato fatal crash driver’’.
‘‘The statistics reveal a disturbing trend involving young male Ma¯ori who, according to police, have little regard for others on the road,’’ the story said.
But a closer analysis of the figures showed the opposite of what the story reported to readers 20 years ago. Ma¯ori were a minority when it came to those involved in crashes, while those employed featured more highly than those out of work. Readers were also more likely to be hit by a sleepy driver.
University of Waikato Senior Lecturer Dr Armon Tamatea said the story’s content and its imagery walked a fine line between ‘‘profiling, stereotyping and propaganda’’.
‘‘For me, it straddles all three.’’ Tamatea was a clinical psychologist who worked in the justice system for a decade before moving over to academia about eight years ago. He was asked to critique the story as part of Our Truth, Ta¯ Ma¯tou Pono, a
Stuff project investigating its history of racism.
‘‘Clearly the headline is alarmist, the warning is in capital letters saying: This man kills,’’ Tamatea said.
‘‘These are very heavy, emotive words, even though the story is a strip down the side, the fact that it is on the front page, shows it was given serious weight.
‘‘The image itself is a visualisation of an ethnic stereotype. It has a generic composite of a young Ma¯ori man who is paired with a damaged vehicle, reinforcing that association between Ma¯ori and dangerousness, Ma¯ori and recklessness, Ma¯ori and damage, Ma¯ori and harm.’’
Figures shared in the story said Ma¯ori made up 27.4 per cent of the population of Waikato, and young male Ma¯ori were the drivers in 28.5 per cent of fatal crashes. The story did not say who made up the larger 71.5 per cent of people who were drivers in fatal crashes.
Tamatea said the stats gave readers an ‘‘incomplete picture’’.
‘‘I’m thinking what is missing here, for example, it also says drivers were likely to be unemployed, 24 per cent, so that means 76 per cent are employed, so they would be the more risky group.
‘‘So that would suggest this is a minority, in the risky group category, that the story is highlighting.’’
Tamatea said at the bottom of the story was the ‘‘critical message’’ from police, pointing to driver fatigue as a major factor in fatal car crashes.
‘‘If that was the message police wanted to get out there, it is actually something you can advocate for without touching on race, gender or social status.
‘‘It’s about human fatigue and awareness, that seems to be what the police are arguing at the end of the story, a change in driver behaviour is needed.
In a correction published on April 15, 1999, the paper said the profile of a young Ma¯ ori man as the prime offender was incorrect, but still maintained young, unemployed Ma¯ ori were overrepresented in fatal car crash stats.
Venetia Sherson was editor of the Waikato Times from 1997 to 2003 and upon reflection of the story, described it as ‘‘a shocker’’.
‘‘Each of the stats used was of interest but drawing them together to paint a stereotypical portrait of a Ma¯ ori man would have been a thing that offended me and a lot of other people.
‘‘I don’t remember the story on the day but I think we can say it was a police report that was reduced into something people would understand.
‘‘And what was produced was the worst possible representation of that story.’’
Sherson had co-written two books in the past three years. One was about domestic violence and the other about homelessness, both had high representations of Ma¯ ori.
She said each had illuminated the influence media coverage had on public perceptions and the role media could play in changing those perceptions.
She used an anecdote about Sam Hogg, a Ma¯ ori man who lived homeless in Hamilton, as an example.
When he died in 2018, Sherson asked the Waikato Times to write an obituary for him.
‘‘I set up the obituary section when I was editor, it was for people who had given back to the community.
‘‘Homeless people are considered not significant apart from they offend people’s sensitivity on the street.
‘‘So a story on Sam was really a significant move to adjust the lens of looking at people, as people, not just as us and them.
‘‘Often in the media we talk about Ma¯ ori MPs, Ma¯ ori business people, Ma¯ ori rebels but tend not to talk about Pa¯ keha¯ as something separate.
‘‘That is still happening and it needs to change.’’
Sherson said the challenge for journalists and curators of news is to ‘‘be disruptive’’ and do not always follow the ‘‘old ways’’ of writing a story.
‘‘Think about who is missing from a story, ask the right questions. If you don’t fully understand, ask for it to be explained and take the time to understand.
‘‘Take this opportunity to do things differently, bring stories to the front page that might not have been a traditional front page story in the past.’’
Sherson applauded the changes Stuff was making through Our Truth, Ta¯ Ma¯ tou Pono.
‘‘This is really reflective, about looking at yourself, what you’ve done, where you are now and where you are going, that is a strategy everyone can understand.’’