July 26, 2016
Iwi stations to up Maori content
The chief executive of Te Mangai Paho believes iwi stations are ready for a more than 25 percent increase in te reo Maori content.
The Maori broadcast funding agency has instructed the 21 stations they are now expected to broadcast 10 and a half hours of Maori language content a day rather than eight to retain their funding
John Bishara says it could mean dipping into the archives.
"A lot of our archival material seems to just sit in those archives. Reproduced, we can get more Maori language onto the airwaves via the technology so this gives us the opportunity to increase. It's a goal and a challenge that's been accepted by the iwi stations and I believe after the first year it will just become normal, that 10 and a half hours is something that is going to normalise the operations of stations," he says.
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