Simon Young

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As I expected, Maori TV’s exceptional Anzac Day coverage did very well for the channel. And rightly so: it was an opportunity for us to spend the whole day discovering what it was about – particularly important for the younger viewers or those who, like my wife, just hadn’t paid that much attention to history before.

This Herald article says the channel hopes the Anzac Day programme will bring back viewers for more. I don’t know if that will work out, but I did notice one thing: it showed that Maori TV is not exclusively about Maori views; instead, it’s about a Maori point of view – he whakaaro Maori.

I guess my former employer Rhema Broadcasting Group faces the same issues – demonstrating that its radio and TV channels are not exclusively for Christians and about Christianity, but instead presenting a Christian world view.

One thing’s for sure: the welcome return to the screen of Judy Bailey and the interviewing of veterans both Maori and Pakeha made it a real celebration of nationhood. Like Maori TV’s slogan says, it’s ma tatou – for everyone.