Empty Heartland: The Absent Regions on New Zealand Television

Abstract

Each night, two-thirds of New Zealanders tune into prime-time national news on free-to-air channels TV One and TV3. This paper argues, however, that viewers get a very limited view of their nation on the box. While the archetypal Kiwi identity reflects ties to ‘the land’ and accompanying values of self-sufficiency and resourcefulness, television news is preoccupied with urban happenings, and tells heartland stories from a city perspective. Content analysis shows overseas stories are a third of network news, and well over half of the rest comes from Auckland and Wellington. Regional coverage is largely restricted to crime or human interest, and there is an absence of rural news. Since 1990, New Zealanders have had no regional news programs to fill these gaps. The government has, until recently, reneged on funding promises for local television, relying instead on TVNZ's charter objective to ‘reflect the regions to the nation’. The paper considers the success of this policy, and its implications for the heartland and national identity.