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Things has introduced a new company statute with Te Tiriti or Waitangi at its core, after a major internal investigation uncovered evidence of racism and marginalization against Maori.
The media organization issued a landmark public apology on Monday after the Our Truth, Tā Mātou Pono investigation, which saw some 20 journalists from Stuff scrutinizing the company’s representation and representation of Maori from its earliest editions until now.
The findings revealed numerous examples of journalistic practices that deny Maori an equal voice in Aotearoa.
Things Chief Executive Officer Sinead Boucher said it was imperative that the company consider its past, but denied that the investigation was an exercise in political correctness or that it “woke up.”
“I don’t believe in that at all. If you think the job of the media, in our company and elsewhere, is to hold the powerful accountable, well, we are the powerful.
“We have really had a huge impact on shaping New Zealand public thought and social norms, not just reflecting them, and I think it makes sense that a progressive company can pause and observe itself,” said Boucher.
He recognized the presence of racism and unconscious prejudice in digital and print products during the 163-year history of the company, and too often a mono-cultural approach had been adopted that prioritized Pākehā’s worldviews.
Boucher was adamant Things He could not hold others to account without facing his own past as the first step in repairing the damage that the company’s history has caused in its relationship with the Maori.
“When the project started, we didn’t know what we were going to find. They didn’t start with a particular agenda … we just thought it was really fundamental that if we were going to integrate the principles of the Treaty into our Charter, that we have to do that examination and prepared for any difficult finds that may arise from it.
“After doing a thorough examination… the finding was that over time, there had been many instances where it could be said that the work our articles produced could have perpetuated negative stereotypes or misconceptions against Maori.
Ross Giblin / Stuff
Stuff owner and CEO Sinead Boucher.
Boucher said he “struggled to think of more important work that our newsroom has produced.”
The new letter states Things commitment to “correct mistakes and do better in the future, which will help build confidence in our work, deeper relationships with Maori and a better representation of contemporary Aotearoa.”
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Boucher also recognized that Maori were underrepresented in Things newsrooms, something that the company “definitely [had] address and repair ”.
In May, Boucher took control of Things From its previous Australian owners Nine, the move to New Zealand ownership provides the company with the opportunity to reestablish and reposition the business and its value system, he said.
“Our people advocated that the Treaty principles of partnership, participation and protection be integrated into our new strategy.
“The Things Charter establishes a pou tiaki (guard post) to ensure that we protect ourselves against this type of inequity in our reporting and business practices in the future.
“Our wish is to be a trusted partner for tangata whenua for generations to come,” said Boucher.
