Waatea News has ended any “informal or formal” agreement with the New Zealand Herald, its general manager Matthew Tukaki said today.
The action is in response to a front-page wrap-around ad from campaign group Hobson’s Pledge the Herald ran in its newspaper edition last week. It showed a map of New Zealand outlined in red with the headline ‘Restore the foreshore and seabed to public ownership’.
“Having reviewed the material printed last week, I cannot, and will not, in all good conscience accept that the Herald decided to accept an advertorial filled with misinformation – accepting a payment for what was essentially an advertisement sowing division between Māori and non-Māori,” Tukaki said in a statement.
Waatea News is a national Māori news provider and radio station. Tukaki said he felt they had to take a stand.
“Here at Waatea we deal in facts. We deal in evidence – it is a shame that the Herald, only weeks before, published an impressive piece dealing with the whenua only to have that undone by this latest descent into misinformation.
“I have today written to our contact at the Herald informing them of my decision and to cease and desist publication of our content.”
Tukaki said he would be happy to debate the issue of foreshore and seabed with Hobson’s Pledge leader and former National Party leader Don Brash.
‘Review advertising standards’
Last week, Kawea Te Rongo, the Māori Journalists’ Association, released their own statement condemning the ad and calling on NZME to review its advertisement standards.
They said the ad “drives division and perpetuates racist rhetoric but also promotes the false narrative that the foreshore and seabed is owned by Māori”.
“This area of land has never been publicly owned, so the statement is also factually incorrect,” said the group.
Te Pāti Māori also released a statement saying they have added the Herald to their “whitelist”.
“We will not tolerate the spread of anti-Māori propaganda in Aotearoa. The frontpage advertisement was full of deceitful misinformation designed to sow resentment of our people,” said co-leader Rawiri Waititi.
They have called for a published apology, an apology to their staff and advertisers, a review into their advertisement standards, and for an information checking process to be adopted.
In a statement to RNZ, an NZME spokesperson last week defended the decision to run the advertisement.
“There are several thousand advertisements placed across NZME’s platforms every week and publishing an advertisement is in no way NZME’s endorsement of the advertised message, products, services or other.”
They said the advertising responsibility lies with the company’s commercial team and is separate to the Herald’s editorial team.
Hobson’s Pledge, in a post on its website to coincide with the advert’s publication, said: “We are expecting some blowback and the poor folks at the Herald will no doubt be receiving complaints, but this is because our opponents don’t want New Zealanders to be informed on this issue.”
