Copyright is owned by the Author of the research report. Permission is given for a copy to be downloaded by an individual for the purpose of research and private study only. The research report may not be reproduced elsewhere without the permission of the Author. South Auckland's Pacific Island communities – a snapshot of how Pacific peoples have been represented during New Zealand’s COVID-19 news coverage Essential workers at CourierPost's sorting centre at East Tamaki came to McDonald's when their shift finished at 4am. Photo / Will Trafford. Source: Henry (2020), The New Zealand Herald Valley Vaimauga Wandstraat Master of Communication Research Report (154.855) Massey University June, 2022 Valley Vaimauga Wandstraat Master of Communication Research Report 9 June 2022 Page 1 of 90 Contents Chapter One: Introduction ........................................................................................................... 2 Chapter Two: Theoretical Framework ......................................................................................... 11 Chapter Three: Methodology ..................................................................................................... 18 Chapter Four: Findings of the data analysis ................................................................................. 24 Chapter Five: Discussion ............................................................................................................. 49 Chapter Five: Conclusions ........................................................................................................... 58 References ................................................................................................................................. 61 Appendices: Media case study articles ........................................................................................ 66 Valley Vaimauga Wandstraat Master of Communication Research Report 9 June 2022 Page 2 of 90 Chapter One: Introduction This research report explores the portrayal of New Zealand’s Pacific Island communities in New Zealand’s media during the New Zealand Government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, the research takes a detailed look at seven case studies indicating how these communities have been portrayed in mainstream and non-mainstream media during the government’s response to COVID-19. The selected case studies focus on reporting about the effects of COVID-19 on the Pacific Island community, especially during the second outbreak and Auckland region lockdown in 2020, where media attention on community transmitted cases put South Auckland at the centre of the largest outbreak in the country. Media interest was particularly targeted at Pacific people after the way that the Ministry of Health released updates on infection data clearly identified the new cases as Pacific even while the “Health Minister Chris Hipkins declined to reveal the ethnicity of the family in South Auckland” (Tyson, 2020). To analyse the focus and content of this media attention, textual data from mainstream newspaper articles, both printed and available via their online digital platforms, is compared with other sources of information during this period from smaller, and independent, media outlets that have also reported on COVID-19 related news for New Zealand’s Pacific Island communities. The research uses a qualitative, thematic textual analysis with a focus on identifying themes that can be derived through an interpretive coding conducted with the intention to gain some insight into patterns of reporting about issues that face and highlight Pacific Island communities, especially those living in South Auckland. It is important to note here that I am applying a personal lens to the research, as well as critically reflecting on my personal experiences as a Pacific person born in New Zealand and raised in South Auckland. Providing analysis from my personal perspective is, as outlined in my methodology chapter, a legitimate approach to interpretive research, and adds a unique Pacific lens to the body of knowledge, which is both rare in existing research into the media generally (Enoka, 2019) and, Valley Vaimauga Wandstraat Master of Communication Research Report 9 June 2022 Page 3 of 90 except for one article by Enari and Fa’aea (2020), almost entirely missing from existing research into COVID-19 media coverage of Pacific peoples. To begin to redress this gap, this research looks at what similarities and differences I can decipher, as a Pacific person who lived in South Auckland throughout the peak of the pandemic’s impact there, and from interpreting the media coverage as qualitative data. From my cultural and experiential research standpoint (outlined in more detail below), I interpret whether any choices or assumptions made in how these groups have been portrayed in mainstream media tended to reinforce familiar stereotypes associated with these groups, or whether reporting during this period in fact provided better insight and awareness of issues facing South Auckland communities, or a mixture of both. McLuhan (2004) coined the phrase “the medium is the message” to articulate that the medium utilised to communicate information, whether it be a newspaper, television, or the internet, can influence the way the content is received and interpreted. Newspapers, although waning in influence since the rise of internet information, experienced a resurgence in their traditional role as trusted media during the pandemic (Adgate, 2021). Baresch et al. (2009, p. 639) argue that: News content is not mere combinations of words; it carries embedded social meaning and reflects the prevalent organising principles in society through journalists’ selection of words, news sources, and metaphors. This process sets the boundary of an issue, reduces a complex situation to a simple theme, and shapes people’s interpretations by making some elements salient while ignoring others. It was therefore a key point of interest in this research to look at the selection of words, sources, and themes in pandemic newspaper coverage, to investigate whether stereotypes often associated with New Zealand’s Pacific Island communities were reported as part of COVID-19 messaging, and to illuminate the extent to which that coverage portrayed Pacific peoples in a negative or positive light. The research also considers smaller and independent media outlets including several independent groups that have utilised online and social media platforms to communicate and share COVID-19 related news and reports to New Zealand’s Valley Vaimauga Wandstraat Master of Communication Research Report 9 June 2022 Page 4 of 90 Pacific Island communities. While these media may not have the wide reach and mainstream influence of a newspaper such as The New Zealand Herald, they may have more trust and credibility with their target audiences. Baresch et al. (2009, p. 642) argue that while traditional news media “have lost much of their hegemonic status in producing and transmitting news text, [the] online space provides a means for individuals to voice opinions and interact with one another, and abundant information for them to actively select and engage with”. A Colmar Brunton report on the impact of COVID-19 on Pacific peoples living in South Auckland, while it did not investigate the content of any media, found that online information and social media were the second and third most used sources of information during the pandemic, after television news (Colmar Brunton, 2021, p. 22). My own research therefore takes a closer look at these online media types and the representations they created during the COVID-19 response to provide more information directly to Pacific communities. Three initial research questions shaped my approach to the research. They were: What are some of the ways in which New Zealand’s most-read newspaper portrayed its Pacific communities during its COVID-19 response? How did some independent or minor media outlets in NZ cover the same issues? Furthermore, does media reporting of the COVID-19 pandemic show the presence of any existing stereotypes about Pacific peoples living in New Zealand or does the discourse offer new perspectives? Although Colmar Brunton (2021) interviewed 500 Pacific people for their report and identified their media use preferences, they did not ask any questions about people’s responses to the media coverage they consumed, for example, whether they felt stereotyped or whether they considered the representations of Pacific communities during COVID-19 to be fair. My analysis, while not generalisable, therefore covers new territory by offering my Pacific lens interpretation of these issues in the case study articles. As will be noted throughout the discussion, I was also open—using an emic, or ‘discovery’ approach to the research analysis (Given, 2008)—to identifying other themes and issues that might arise from the content, but the three initial research questions provided a fruitful avenue for primary examination of the case studies. To help narrow the research field for this project, which comprises only a short, single- semester 60-credit research report, not a full thesis, a purposive sample for a comparative Valley Vaimauga Wandstraat Master of Communication Research Report 9 June 2022 Page 5 of 90 case study analysis of mainstream news articles and articles from independent and minor media outlets was used. Mainstream media research focussed specifically on selected case study articles from New Zealand’s largest daily newspaper in terms of sales, readership, and audience. According to a Neilson report (NZ Herald audience breaks records, 2020), The New Zealand Herald topped the readership list in 2020 with an increased readership for both its print and digital audience by 26% over a 12-month period (585,000 additional readers), with an average 2 million New Zealanders accessing The New Zealand Herald every week. Newspaper articles from both The Herald’s printed daily newspaper and online platform were therefore a key area of focus in relation to answering the first research question about mainstream representation. While this small sample of case study articles cannot be generalised to make assumptions about the mainstream media as a whole, it does provide a useful snapshot of various representations that occurred in the content in our most-read newspaper during the first year of the pandemic. Selecting minor and independent groups who also reported on COVID-19, but targeted New Zealand’s Pacific communities, provided a purposive comparison sample to data gathered from mainstream articles published by The New Zealand Herald, to address the second research question. While this is also too small a sample for generalisation, the selection was chosen to reflect the small scale of this research project as a single-semester report. In the time available, a pilot study such as this one can identify, from a small sample, themes and absences in content that may be worth following up in future, larger, research. As a result, detailed contextual analysis of four mainstream news articles and three from smaller, but targeted Pacific media news articles was conducted to generate seven case studies (See Table 1, below). As above, case studies such as these are not generalisable, but they do give an indication of the presence or absence of themes and provide for close attention to how those themes are delivered in particular articles. They provide for a deep and contextualised examination of how use of language and representation occurs in similar or different ways across selected published articles. Valley Vaimauga Wandstraat Master of Communication Research Report 9 June 2022 Page 6 of 90 Table 1 - Selection of mainstream and Pacific-specific media daily articles published between April and September 2020 No. Article headlines News Source Date published 1. South Auckland cry: ‘NZ wants to rebuild, but it’s on our backs’ The New Zealand Herald 20 May 2020 2. Covid-19 Coronavirus: Queues at McDonald’s drive-thru as Kiwis wake to Level 3 The New Zealand Herald 28 April 2020 3. Covid-19 Coronavirus: Pacific Leaders concerned with Police involvement in Mt Roskill cluster The New Zealand Herald 11 September 2020 4. Covid-19 Coronavirus: ‘We need all hands on deck’: Pasifika communities warned to prepare for Covid outbreak The New Zealand Herald 13 August 2020 5. ‘We’ve done it before and we can do it again’ South Auckland GP says Pasifika can overcome lockdown Pacific Media Network 12 August 2020 6. South Auckland Pacific community used as a ‘scapegoat in Covid-19 resurgence’ Pacific Media Network 19 August 2020 7. Pacific health leader responds to Covid conspiracy theorists - ‘I have no time for these loonies’ Pacific Media Network/ - (repost of Tagata Pasifika Talanoa online story) 13 August 2020 Valley Vaimauga Wandstraat Master of Communication Research Report 9 June 2022 Page 7 of 90 As discussed above, one of the contributions this research makes is to add a Pacific lens to the body of knowledge. To provide transparency and validity to this lens, I will now outline the nature of some pertinent aspects of my interpretive standpoint. In the late 1960s, my parents migrated from their village of Fogapoa in Savaii, Samoa, and like many Pacific Islanders, came to New Zealand by boat filled with hopes and dreams of prosperity but, above all, desires for the opportunity to provide a better future for us. I am the youngest of four children, born in Grey Lynn during the 1970s and, before I could walk, we moved to South Auckland on the promise of bigger backyards and spacious new state houses. Our house was one of many new lots in the suburb of Manurewa. It backed onto a sprawling paddock with plenty of trees for climbing, horses to feed, and juicy boysenberries to gorge on every Summer. Every day, my father would remind us of the opportunities that awaited us if we prayed, worked, and studied hard. It was a typical Samoan upbringing devoted to education, church, and family and while it was difficult at times navigating two cultures—being Kiwi and Samoan —I learned over time how to differentiate between the two. In fact, in my household growing up, speaking English was limited to school. In the home, we spoke, read, and wrote in Samoan and those long Sunday drives to Grey Lynn from Manurewa in our 1982 Hillman Hunter epitomised what it meant to be a Samoan living in New Zealand, and for us, the label of being a New Zealand-born Samoan. I have always been acutely aware that the permanence of stereotypes associated with being a Pacific Islander, especially if you are from South Auckland, cannot be easily ignored. Tolerated—yes—but not avoided. It was not until I married my husband of Dutch-German heritage, who was born in Birmingham, Alabama, USA, and with the arrival of our son, born in New Zealand, that I really began to comprehend and pay more attention to the dichotomy of raising a child in South Auckland to one Samoan/Kiwi parent and one parent from my husband’s identity and culture. With his father being from a strict European upbringing, my son was navigating his own sense of being a Kiwi as well as being an ‘afakasi’ (Samoan with some European ancestry) in today’s environment. With an increase in social media platforms and the relentless body of Valley Vaimauga Wandstraat Master of Communication Research Report 9 June 2022 Page 8 of 90 information (both mainstream and citizen journalism) becoming readily available, making informed decisions based on credible information is challenging. Now a teenager in his final year of high school, my son’s pertinent questions about identity, both as an ‘afakasi’ and being raised in South Auckland while attending a predominantly Asian and European high school in West Auckland, have brought to light again these questions of identity that I too battled with at his age. I recall a childhood memory that still stings today: one day, in my fifth form (more commonly referred to as Year 11 today) art class, I asked another student to pass me a paintbrush as she was sitting in front of them. She stoically responded with “Get it yourself you bunga”. I was stunned: “What did you call me?”. She repeated “Bunga! Go back where you came from”. I returned to my stool - no brush, just a feeling of panic and embarrassment. Did she really think I wasn’t from here? Was it the way I asked her? Did she detect an accent that made her think I wasn’t born here? And, why ‘bunga?’ We did not have any other classes together and we never really spoke to each other until that encounter. It still embarrasses me today that I lacked the courage and self-belief back then to address the ignorance of her comments and how they made me feel. Now, as a parent, and watching and listening to my son navigate similar questions about his identity and place in society, the timing of this analysis felt appropriate. What are some of the messages about cultural identity, insiders, and outsiders, that our young people see circulating in our community? What kind of world do these messages depict? And, importantly, what tools and information do they have to help decipher these messages? Add to this the year 2020 and the impact the COVID-19 pandemic had on the world. Daily reassurances from health officials during televised press conferences often echoed the sentiment that the virus did not discriminate and that everyone needed to take the same precautions. Gathering around the television for the one-o’clock televised updates became a regular family occurrence. Even as an essential worker, we turned on the television at work, standing metres apart from each other and hoping that the total number of community cases was on the decline. We also consumed newspapers (online and off) looking for more detail of Valley Vaimauga Wandstraat Master of Communication Research Report 9 June 2022 Page 9 of 90 every announcement in the days after it was televised. After six weeks of a nationwide lockdown, and being part of something momentous as a nation, media reports on Alert Level 3 guidelines brought renewed hope for normalcy. However, on the first day of Alert Level 3, my social media notifications began to fill up with multiple reposts and retweets of a story about fast-food outlets in South Auckland experiencing long queues for drive-through service. In comparison, pictures in the same article from both the North Shore and Hamilton branches of the same fast-food outlet were reportedly quiet (Henry, 2020). Whether or not it was the writer’s intention to draw a comparison between South Auckland’s seemingly greater hunger for fast-food than its North Shore and Hamilton counterparts, the article struck a nerve. Was I being overly sensitive because of my own personal experiences growing up as a Pacific Islander in South Auckland? Another question quickly followed: if this article is making me feel this way, how will my son interpret the same information? I re-read the article several times to test my own objectivity, but it was difficult to overlook the writer’s account of South Aucklanders: the majority of those interviewed and depicted as waiting in packed drive-throughs were Pacific Islanders queuing for McDonald’s. Some were reported as waiting since 3am, spending up to $100 on burgers and shakes; some were said to be taking the risk to extend their bubbles a little early to be first in line, with accompanying photographs of empty food cartons strewn across their cars, Pacific Islanders wearing hi-vis jackets, and quotes from several interviewed that a further fast-food meal of KFC for lunch had already been planned. While this may not have been the intention of the writer and others who produced similar stories for publication around the same time, this article was distressing to me. While my own experience, as an essential worker, was that Pacific peoples had been a major, diligent, and professional part of the workforce keeping essential services afloat during a pandemic, the article painted us in a very different light. My reaction to the article became the catalyst for selecting this research topic and taking a closer look at how my reaction to the portrayal of these communities has been affected, and in some cases challenged and reinforced, by the selected articles. The interpretations offered in this research are not ‘neutral’ or ‘objective’ – Valley Vaimauga Wandstraat Master of Communication Research Report 9 June 2022 Page 10 of 90 in constructivist research, as noted by Charmaz (2000) and further detailed in my methods chapter, below, it is acknowledged that no such neutrality exists – but come from my Pacific perspective, one which offers an often-overlooked interpretation of the themes in cases of mainstream media coverage and adds new understanding of how different themes may be received within Pacific communities. Valley Vaimauga Wandstraat Master of Communication Research Report 9 June 2022 Page 11 of 90 Chapter Two: Theoretical Framework Race Relations Commissioner Meng Foon (2020) expressed his disdain at racist stereotypes about South Auckland and the Pacific community during the second major Covid-19 lockdown in Auckland. When news broke that the latest community cluster of Covid-19 had been confirmed in South Auckland and that the affected family were ‘Pasifika’, a spate of rumours began to circulate on social media about the family and the community of South Auckland. Foon labelled these as racist and xenophobic behaviour akin to those that Chinese and Asian communities had also experienced when Covid-19 first became a household name. “I would have hoped the team of five million would do their best to avoid conflating Covid-19 with racist stereotypes about South Auckland and the Pacific community” (Foon, 2020). This, however, is not the first time the Pacific community in Aotearoa has been subject to such stereotypes, in fact, stereotypes of Pacific Peoples living in Aotearoa are well documented. Enoka (2019) writes that typically, Pacific peoples only appear in Palagi media “when they represent a problem” (p. 54). She summarised common historical stereotypes of Pacific peoples in Palagi media as follows: ‘Leeches’. ‘Criminals’. ‘Overstayers’. ‘Dole Bludgers’. ‘Unhealthy’. These are just a few of the negative stereotypes that have been applied to Pacific people in the New Zealand media. The labels ascribed to Pacific people are not only false, unkind, and demeaning; they are also negatively influencing a range of New Zealanders, leading people to believe what they read. (Enoka, 2019, p. 1). Loto, Hodgetts, Nikora, Chamberlain, Karapu, and Barnett (2006) had earlier identified that “Pacific people remain under-represented in media accounts and, when they do appear, tend to be depicted in all the wrong places: hospitals, courts, ghettos, welfare offices and prisons” (p. 103). Loto et al. (2006) also found that the negative portrayal of Pacific peoples adversely affected their health: “Such portrayals are associated with higher rates of mental and physical ailments among these communities. Therefore, deconstructing and challenging Valley Vaimauga Wandstraat Master of Communication Research Report 9 June 2022 Page 12 of 90 discriminatory representational practices becomes a public health promotion strategy” (p. 106). While there were occasional positive stories found by Loto et al.’s study, particularly about Pacific sports stars, stories about “ill health and other social problems facing Pacific communities” (p. 105) were far more prevalent. They argued that the predominance of negative themes created a negative cycle of expectation, so was shaping, not just reflecting, reality. This reflects the findings of wider framing research which has argued that the way a person, group, or issue represented through communicative means (media, public documents, etc.) can contribute to the social construction of reality (Entman, 1993; Scheufele & Tewksbury, 2007). In the case of the predominance of negative representations about Pacific peoples, Loto et al. concluded that “if we are serious about fostering social justice then we must address the power of the media to name and define communities” (Loto et al., 2006, p. 101). Their recommendations included the promotion of positive identities among marginalised communities in an effort to increase positive social participation and spotlight health gains, not just health problems. Enoka (2019) noted that generalised positive stereotypes could be equally problematic as negative representations, particularly when they painted entirely different Pacific groups as largely the same as each other and constituting ‘one happy family’ (p. 60). This research will therefore scrutinise the case study media for both negative (e.g., ‘unhealthy’, ‘poorly educated’, ‘lazy’, violent’ and ‘economically dependent’ – Enoka, 2019, p. 223) images, but also for homogenisation stereotypes, where all Pacific peoples are assumed to have had similar responses to the Covid-19 pandemic. Anae (1997, p. 129) similarly noted the problems with “total lack of regard for the distinctiveness and diversity of each Pacific Island nation” resulting in ‘Pacific Islanders’ as a reductive, distorted, and stereotypic label which “arose out of the colonial context” but continues to circulate today. Nakhid (2012), discusses the particular representations that have been applied specifically to the South Auckland community, noting that “Over the past few years, the profile of young Valley Vaimauga Wandstraat Master of Communication Research Report 9 June 2022 Page 13 of 90 Pasifika people and the incidents involving youth gangs, particularly in South Auckland, have been the subject of widespread media publicity” (p. 15). This focus on gang violence has tended to emphasise many of the stereotypes that Loto et al. (2006) and Enoka (2019) identified, such as criminality and poverty, but Nakhid (2012, p. 23) argues that “The feelings of alienation, pride, uniqueness and togetherness that Pasifika youth commonly feel appear to strengthen their defence of their community. They feel at home, welcomed, protective of and protected by South Auckland.” As noted in an article published in The Spinoff, South Auckland faces: the highest rates of rheumatic fever in the country, with 25% of people living in overcrowded homes, and the highest concentration of gaming machines. Add these stats to having the highest unemployment rates, lowest average salaries and lowest qualification rates in Auckland, and you have an environment which makes it significantly harder for its young people to reach their potential. (Latif, 2020) However, in contrast to Loto et al. who identified “media focus on such conditions as creating a self-fulfilling prophecy of minority groups as inherently problematic and inferior” (p. 107), Nakhid argued that negative media profiling emphasising these deficit discourses about South Auckland simply “strengthens [young people’s] support for and commitment to the values and idiosyncrasies of their suburb” (p. 23), including some of the negative values such as affiliations to gangs where in Nakhid’s study, young people felt a sense of belonging and acceptance despite their negative portrayal and stereotypes associated with gangs. Anae (1997) explores the complex situation of stereotypes imposed on New Zealand-born Samoans both from Palagi culture and by some people within their own culture. She writes that “these stereotypes are transmitted through overtly negative images and attitudes as well as in covert omissions of the positive aspects of NZ-borns by papalagi as well as elders, and island-born Samoans. And can become internalised if not countered by evidence to the contrary” (Anae, 1997, p. 128). Valley Vaimauga Wandstraat Master of Communication Research Report 9 June 2022 Page 14 of 90 While the present study is not specifically a framing analysis, I have included mention of this prior research into media framing because it helps indicate how and why media representations can cause harm. In their chapter on the power of framing, Baresch, Hsu and Reese (2009) point out that news angles “tend to highlight some aspect of the events behind a story and downplay others, often with the effect of supporting a certain way of looking at the world” (p. 637). The mechanisms through which this occurs can include word choice (e.g., using language of problems rather than opportunities), and source selection (e.g., quoting mostly Palagi sources or government or other official sources rather than those directly living in a community). Loto et al. (2006) found in their study that Palagi sources were quoted 81% of the time in articles about Pacific peoples and issues, leading them to conclude that: It appears that journalists consider majority group sources to be more reliable and knowledgeable than Pacific people themselves. This reliance on external experts may contribute to the assumption that Pacific issues are issues for the majority to regulate and deal with on behalf of Pacific Islanders, who are considered to lack the education and leadership to manage their own affairs. (2006, p. 107) Baresch et al. (2009) argue that it is not so much that journalists or news organisations deliberately set out to exclude particular voices, but rather that their work routines, source availability, and personal cultural networks may influence their choices, along with direct or indirect influence from the particular elite groups who typically own media outlets. Nonetheless, whether journalists intend harm or not, news framing that privileges particular worldviews can be harmful, because the viewpoints represented influence what views readers will think are important, and thereby “lay the foundation on which we citizens build our collective understanding of our world” (Baresch et al., 2009, p. 638). While arguing that there is no single paradigm or approach to news framing research, D’Angelo (2002) identifies the constructionist perspective as one of several theories which see frames as ‘interpretive packages’, that is, patterns of rhetorical devices that journalists use to understand and represent the social world. D’Angelo argues that by processing Valley Vaimauga Wandstraat Master of Communication Research Report 9 June 2022 Page 15 of 90 information into these ‘interpretive packages,’ journalists “both reflect and add to the ‘issue culture’ of the topic” (p. 977). In the process, he argues: certain civic opportunities are believed to be thwarted. For example, news frames (a) constrain economically distressed communities from seeing their assets … (b) constrict political awareness of individuals … (c) thwart the aims of social movement groups … and (d) set parameters for policy debates not necessarily in agreement with democratic norms. (D’Angelo, 2002, p. 877) Entman (1993, p. 52) defined it this way: “To frame is to select some aspects of a perceived reality and make them more salient in a communicating text, in such a way as to promote a particular problem definition, casual interpretation, moral evaluation and/or treatment recommendation”. This was a definition picked up by Tilley and Cokley (2005) and turned into procedural steps for analysing the framing of a news story - a method that forms one part of the methodological approach used in this research. Tilley and Cokley (2005, p. 73) offer “practical ways to apply contemporary academic research” to news media analysis. They suggest that analysts ask five questions of any given media article, to help determine its organising principles. The questions are: ● What is the problem here? (As in, what does the article suggest is or represent as the ‘problem’, even if not all readers, particularly an audience of oppositional readers, may agree). ● Who, or what, caused or is blamed for this problem (at whom does the article ‘point the finger?’) ● What solution is proposed (regulations, funding, or some other explicit or implied response?) ● What type of frame is this (factual, values, interest, or relational?) ● Who is missing (What voices are not consulted, and what other ways of seeing or framing the issue are possible?) (Tilley & Cokley, 2005, p. 77) Valley Vaimauga Wandstraat Master of Communication Research Report 9 June 2022 Page 16 of 90 In this research, these five questions are used, alongside other interpretive approaches, to help me explore the data and organise my interpretation of the case study articles’ themes. Framing researchers agree that news text is not a neutral sphere that only contains objective reporting of competing issue stances, but a series of voices that bring their own lenses, sometimes without recognition of their own standpoints. Constructionist framing research involves moving beyond taking texts at face value, and instead using one’s own standpoint to add new interpretations alongside the (often naturalised and therefore invisible) media standpoint, to see what different meanings can be made when the topics, angles, sources, interviewees, word choices, even the order of material within a news story, are scrutinised. Baresch et al. (2009) point out that news framing research has become more complex and has moved on from Goffman’s (1974) linear approach, in particular because of the increase in online and multimedia content: Framing researchers must attend to new story forms and new conditions of creation. Thus, analysing texts also has become more problematic now that there are exponentially more texts, and more kinds of texts, and they are more scattered. A frame researcher must decide whether to account for institutional blogs, Twitter feeds, etc., as part of the news product. (Baresch et al., 2009, p. 643) Audience news consumption habits have also changed. Often, news is now received through a ‘social filter’ (Willson, 2014) such as when my own social media notifications lit up with the South Auckland fast food story. Networks of human interaction may have more influence on who receives what news, when, where, and how it is framed, than previously, while visual content may also influence what is shared. To account for this, in this research, videos, photographs and ‘related article’ hyperlinks (where available) that accompanied online versions of the selected media articles were also considered, so as to provide a more complete snapshot of the visual data associated with each case study. Valley Vaimauga Wandstraat Master of Communication Research Report 9 June 2022 Page 17 of 90 In conclusion, while the specific methods of analysis used in this study are primarily interpretive/analytic (as outlined in the next chapter) with some influence from framing research methods, as opposed to being a traditional linear framing study, the body of knowledge about framing provides a useful theoretical framework for why scrutiny of media choices and depictions is important. Although new forms of news and information dissemination have emerged, both traditional and new media can be examined for the nature of the ‘interpretive packages’ they offer about the world. Framing research has shown us that these packages can influence individuals’ and communities’ sense of identity, their participation in democracy, and their opportunities to be heard, as well as framing how others see them, including in deficit or homogenised ways. Valley Vaimauga Wandstraat Master of Communication Research Report 9 June 2022 Page 18 of 90 Chapter Three: Methodology This research uses a case study methodology. Case study approaches have strengths and limitations, including depth of insight and lack of generalisability. Pelz, in Research Methods for the Social Sciences (n.d.) suggests that interpretive case study research is most useful for theory building – that is, it can help discover ‘constructs of interest’ that are not known in advance but emerge as the research progresses. These constructs can then subsequently be tested and verified in other forms of research. A limitation is that these constructs are heavily context-dependent and may not be valid in other circumstances. However, for a snapshot of a particular time, place, and event, such as was the focus in this research, case studies can help to provide “rich detail” that illustrates the nuances of a situation. Interpretive case studies are a particular type of case study approach in which “Because interpretive researchers view social reality as being embedded within and impossible to abstract from their social settings, they ‘interpret’ the reality though a ‘sense-making’ process rather than a hypothesis testing process” (Pelz, n.d., n.p.). To analyse the case study articles, I generally used a content analysis approach, which Krippendorff describes (2004, p.51) as an analysis of “unstructured data in view of meanings, symbolic qualities, and expressive contents they have and of the communicative roles they play in the lives of the data’s source”. That is, I looked at what was contained in the articles themselves (content) rather than how readers responded (audiences/reception) or the conditions or actions of journalists (production). Specifically, I looked at the content and its meanings using a qualitative interpretive thematic analysis as “a method for identifying, analysing and reporting patterns (themes) within data” (Braun & Clarke, 2006, p. 77). Thematic analysis (TA) is useful generally for organising and describing data in detail, while interpretive thematic analysis “goes further than this and interprets various aspects of the research topic” (p. 79). Clarke and Braun (2013) suggest TA can be used simply to identify themes but, ideally, good quality TA research will involve deeper thinking and interpretation to suggest the significance and underlying meaning of the patterns that have been identified. In interpretive research, deeper thinking about meaning can be conducted from the Valley Vaimauga Wandstraat Master of Communication Research Report 9 June 2022 Page 19 of 90 researcher’s clearly identified standpoint, such that results are reported as ‘an’ interpretation (to add to a rich, plural array of possible interpretations) not ‘the’ interpretation (Braun & Clarke, 2021). TA is flexible and can incorporate either an inductive analysis, which takes an open approach to the data and allows any and all patterns to emerge and be noted, and/or a deductive approach, in which particular questions are asked about or theories tested on the data, and therefore particular characteristics are looked for in terms of their presence or absence. For this research, both inductive and deductive methods were applied: first, an open-minded or inductive immersion in the data which used multiple readings of the case study articles to see ‘what is there’ or ‘what jumps out’. Second, two deductive tools were applied: a list of common stereotypes previously identified in media coverage about Pacific peoples was checked against each case study article to look for matches with known stereotypes, and then Tilley and Cokley’s five questions were asked of each article to help organise findings into categories that identify how each issue is being framed. This included identifying what types of frames the article included. The applied typology of frames drew on Tilley (2005, p. 151) who had built on the work of Knight (1999) to define four different kinds of frames as follows: fact-based frames [are] those providing objective information or documented evidence, including up-to-date background or context to issues. Sometimes a fact- based frame will use highly educated or scientifically trained advocates or experts to present a range of facts. By contrast, interest-based frames tend to focus on needs, desires and visions of ‘how it ought to be’, rather than concrete data. Value-based frames centre on disagreements about right or wrong, cast opposing protagonists in the roles of ‘moral’ or ‘immoral’, or allocate blame for ‘doing wrong’. Relational frames concern emotional bonds among disputants, often using emotional, accusatory language to highlight issues (especially breaches) of trust, control or intimacy. Valley Vaimauga Wandstraat Master of Communication Research Report 9 June 2022 Page 20 of 90 Thus, my TA approach was multi-faceted, reading openly for interpretive content then applying sensitising concepts to scrutinise in more detail for stereotypes and frames. Together, the aim was that these multi-phase analytical methods would help give me detailed insights into “how a certain reality is being constructed in the data'' (Braun & Clarke, 2006, p. 77). TA is considered flexible enough to work for both small and large samples (Braun & Clarke (2021), but also needs to be applied reflexively: “reflexivity is crucial to the successful implementation of TA. The researcher makes active choices; reflect on what we’re doing, why we’re doing it, and the assumptions that underpin the reading of your data. Your values impact how you view your data” (Clarke, Braun, Terry & Hayfield, 2019). Clarke et al. (2019) caution that while terminology of ‘emerging’ is used for inductive coding, “themes do not passively emerge from the data, they are actively generated by the researcher”. In this research, TA enabled me to offer interpretations generated from a perspective that is often overlooked: how media coverage by both non-Pacific and Pacific media may be interpreted or received by a Pacific media consumer. Clarke et al. (2019) consider personal involvement and partiality (subjectivity) as a valuable resource for making sense of data, as opposed to quantitative or positivist research approaches in which attempts are made to reduce or deny subjectivity. The research followed typical phases of thematic analysis as discussed by researchers such as Braun and Clarke (2006), Miles, Huberman and Saldana (2019), and others. This research used both an emic (open minded) coding to initially look generally at the content, then two further etic coding phases using known stereotypes and known framing questions to help further explore and organise the data into groups. Therefore, I completed three phases of coding, first an inductive phase then two deductive phases. This comprised a 14-step coding method in total, as follows. Valley Vaimauga Wandstraat Master of Communication Research Report 9 June 2022 Page 21 of 90 Inductive coding phase: 1. Data familiarisation - Immersion into the data and identifying patterns of potential interest: I read all the case study articles multiple times, noting anything of interest and using coloured pens and coloured sticky notes to mark words, phrases, and imagery that resonated with me. 2. Generating inductive codes - Labelling what is of interest in the data: I began trying to come up with systematic codes or phrases that described the items that had snagged my interest and that I had therefore tagged with colour. Clarke et al. (2019) consider a code to be “a pithy label that captures what is interesting about the data”. My initial codes were mainly semantic – capturing simple surface or ‘literal’ meaning – but on second and third readings I added latent codes which started to note subtextual assumptions or deeper meanings that I perceived beneath the surface of the article, such as content that was presented as simply factual on the surface but which in my interpretation was connecting to known stereotypes. 3. Generating initial themes – organising groups of codes into potential themes. I could quickly see how the wide range of codes could cluster together under broad positive and negative themes, around issues of health, class, community, culture and more. Using the colour coding I was able to group examples of text content for each emerging theme together from each article. 4. Reviewing initial themes – checking whether something has enough unique examples, and enough consistency, to constitute a theme. I read through all the articles and themes again and merged some small themes and broke some large themes into two or three more discrete themes as I tried to identify sets of major organising ideas within each article and across all the articles. 5. Defining and naming themes: What specifically is the theme/description/definition - the name of the theme. I determined and named ten (10) key themes for the mainstream media articles and six (6) themes for the non-mainstream sources. Valley Vaimauga Wandstraat Master of Communication Research Report 9 June 2022 Page 22 of 90 6. Producing a theme report: Analysis consists of analytic commentary, data extracts and themes. I wrote an initial theme report from the inductive analysis in which I named each theme, explained what it meant and why I considered it a theme, and grouped any textual quotations/examples that illustrated it together underneath its name/description. Deductive coding phase one: 7. Creating a coding instrument - deciding what to look for in the data. I created a list of known stereotypes adapted from media analysis by Enoka (2019), who summarised common historical stereotypes of Pacific peoples (both positive and negative) in Palagi media as follows: ‘Leeches’. ‘Criminals’. ‘Overstayers’. ‘Dole Bludgers’. ‘Unhealthy’. ‘Poorly educated’, ‘lazy’, ‘violent’ ‘economically dependent’, and ‘one happy family’ (homogenised into an undifferentiated group where all Pacific peoples are assumed to have similar responses to the Covid-19 pandemic). I created a coding sheet with these categories to note how often they appeared or were implied in each article. 8. Coding - applying the instrument. I conducted a count of matching content in each article against the list of stereotypes to see how many instances occurred. 9. Reviewing deductive coding - checking for relevance of codes. I reviewed the code list against the count and deleted any codes that had not been found in any article, and double checked my interpretations of those that were present, to ensure coding was consistent. 10. Producing a coding report: I wrote an initial report on the presence of stereotypes from the deductive analysis in which I named each stereotype that was found, explained what it meant, and grouped any textual quotations/examples that illustrated it together underneath its name/description. Valley Vaimauga Wandstraat Master of Communication Research Report 9 June 2022 Page 23 of 90 Deductive coding phase two: 11. Creating a coding instrument - deciding what to look for in the data. I created a checklist for each of the six articles, using the questions developed by Tilley and Cokley (2005). 12. Coding - applying the instrument. I completed the checklist for each article, filling in the answers to the questions. 13. Reviewing deductive coding - checking across the dataset. I compared the answers across the different articles to ensure I was applying the questions consistently. 14. Producing a coding report: I wrote an initial report on the range of answers to the framing questions from the deductive analysis in which I named each question, listed the range of answers to it that were found, and grouped any textual quotations/examples that illustrated answers to that question together underneath its name/description. The sample and coding results across these three phases of exploring the data are presented in the next chapter. Then, in the following chapter, I discuss what the data looks like when brought together and interpreted as a whole. Valley Vaimauga Wandstraat Master of Communication Research Report 9 June 2022 Page 24 of 90 Chapter Four: Findings of the data analysis In this chapter, I present the details and a brief description of each of the sample case study articles analysed in this research. The full articles can be found in an appendix to this report. For each article I also explain why I selected it for inclusion in the study. The sampling was purposive, that is, it was neither random nor representative, but instead used articles that, as a New Zealand-born Samoan reader, created a particular reaction in me that I wanted to explore further in the research. For each article I then present the results of the three coding approaches that were described in the previous chapter: inductive or emic (general openness to finding any notable or repeated themes), deductive (looking specifically for known stereotypes) and deductive again (looking for problem/solution/blame framing, and for different kinds of frames such as those outlined by framing researchers under categories of fact-based, interest-based, values-based, or relational). In this chapter only the presence or absence of themes, known stereotypes and frames is documented, with interpretation of their role in the story discussed in the next chapter. Mainstream Media Article 1: New Zealand Herald, 20 May 2020, Headline: South Auckland cry; ‘NZ wants to rebuild, but it’s on our backs’ (by Education Reporter Simon Collins) I chose this article because it reported on a viral Instagram post made by a South Auckland teenager whose experiences during COVID lockdown included several of her classmates choosing to work to support their families rather than return to school. The article indicated that Samoan student Aigagalefili Fepuleai Tapuai is the head girl of Aorere College. She is also no stranger to public speaking and has been outspoken in the past on issues such as climate change and has represented her school in speech competitions. Tapuai’s personal account makes up most of the content of the article and spoke to the sacrifices made by her peers to support their families in contrast to other and more financially secure communities in Valley Vaimauga Wandstraat Master of Communication Research Report 9 June 2022 Page 25 of 90 Auckland, and in particular, the dichotomy faced by students and families in her South Auckland community. Qualitative interpretive thematic analysis of Article 1 produced several codes that could be grouped into two key themes: Figure 1. Key themes as a result of grouping latent and semiotic codes and keywords from Article 1 Different realities Representation Education in South Auckland vs education in Epsom Decile 2 school - predominantly schools in South Auckland are lower decile Rich vs Poor Availability of resources ‘School smarts’ and ‘street smarts’ Knowledge comes at a price Dichotomy and sacrifice faced by South Auckland students Sacrifices made for the sake of family South Auckland families working in essential Stereotypes of Pacific Island people living in South Auckland “Poorer brown kids living the Life of the hard knocks while white girls from Epsom are making racist tiktoks” Pasifika have one of the lowest infection rates but are put at most risk “NZ wants to rebuild, but it’s on our backs” Note. Figure 1 represents two key themes that can be identified from Article 1. “Different realities’ and ‘Representation’. Latent and semiotic codes and keywords are linked to each theme. Generating and reviewing themes: The article uses the phrase ‘addressing readers in richer parts of town’ to introduce Tapuai’s view of differing priorities and living standards between those living in the South Auckland community and more affluent parts of Auckland like Epsom. The article also reflects on the viral and popular nature of Tapuai’s comments by referencing Green MP Chloe Swarbrick’s resharing of Tapuai’s post to her followers. In my interpretation, the overriding theme of those of Tapuai’s comments repeated in the article is the difference between young Pacific students growing up in South Auckland versus those in more affluent communities such as Valley Vaimauga Wandstraat Master of Communication Research Report 9 June 2022 Page 26 of 90 Epsom. Ironically, as Tapuai points out, it is predominantly Pacific communities like Tapuai’s that are providing much needed services as essential workers and will also be required to help “rebuild” New Zealand after COVID, however the article points repeatedly to socioeconomic gaps between Pacific and Palagi communities and gives little detail of the actual commitment from or work done by essential workers. Content from Tapuai’s social media post is reprinted in the ‘text language’ or contracted shorthand that is normally used on social media. Reprinting this in the context of the mainstream media highlights it as incorrect English usage and, in my interpretation, subtly invokes the stereotype of ‘poorly educated’ about Pacific peoples, despite also pointing out that Tapuai is head girl. This could have been remedied by interviewing Tapuai directly and requesting she provide new quotations in a form of language intended for the mainstream media context rather than intended for the particular norms of social media, but this was not done. With reference to known stereotypes in Pacific peoples as identified by Enoka (2019, p.223) “unhealthy, poorly educated, lazy, violent or economically dependent”, Article 1 made specific references to stereotypes that could be linked to Enoka’s list. In addition to ‘poorly educated’, there are references to ‘sacrifices’ that can be linked with ‘economically dependent’, Tapuai’s reference to a “hard knock” life and “crime rates” - references that can be linked to “lazy and violent”. Note however that because this article is based specifically on Tapuai’s comments, I attribute this to Tapuai’s knowledge of the stereotypes’ existence as part of her own personal experience, and interpret that for Tapuai, the divide between her and her peers in contrast to non-Pacific students living outside of South Auckland, is her everyday reality. The question remains how this is interpreted by the audiences of the mainstream media where it was reprinted (outside the networked social media context for which it was written). Future research using media reception study methodologies could shed further light on how this may differ from my interpretation as a Pacific reader. During the deductive coding phase, I applied Tilley and Cokley’s (2005) five questions about Valley Vaimauga Wandstraat Master of Communication Research Report 9 June 2022 Page 27 of 90 framing to Article 1: Q1: What is the problem here? South Auckland students like Tapuai are having to face not returning to school after the COVID-19 lockdown because they have to find jobs to support their struggling families. Computers promised by the government for home study have not been delivered, and NZQA is only delaying exams by 10 days and has not yet decided whether to offer a special credit. Q2: Who, or what, caused or is blamed for this problem? The impact of COVID lockdown has affected everyone, but more so in South Auckland which the article outlines as a community where “we have the most essential workers ... packing your shopping, driving the buses, cleaning ur classrooms”. Tapuai refers to turning on the TV “to hear our domestic violence rates rose, then 5 mins later heard NZQA won’t lower credits ...”. Tapuai refers to mainstream media reporting on topics that can be linked to stereotypes often associated with Pacific peoples living in South Auckland. This includes Tapuai’s reference to “poorer brown kids living the life of the hard knocks” and “how NZ wants to rebuild, but it’s on our backs”. Q3: What solution is proposed? No explicit solution is offered in this article based on Tapuai’s personal account of the impact of COVID-19, but the mention of exam extensions, computer supplies, and special credits implies that these may offer some remedy. Q4: What type of frame is this? (Factual, values, interest, or relational?) Article 1 presents several frames. If we consider Tapuai to be the expert on her own community, then the frames include a factual account, but Tapuai’s wish for the situation to be otherwise also signals the frame can be interpreted as interest based. The framing also has relational elements given the focus on COVID-19 and the impact of lockdowns on communities. The article does not include any statistics or wider data to corroborate the quotations from Tapuai’s social media. Valley Vaimauga Wandstraat Master of Communication Research Report 9 June 2022 Page 28 of 90 Q5: Who is missing? (What other frames are possible?) There is the possibility of a contrasting view from areas outside of South Auckland and whether similar sacrifices have been made and if they contradict Tapuai’s view, as well as follow-up news angles such as seeking comment from the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) on credits and pressure on students studying during lockdown. What is also missing is any discussion from an expert viewpoint on the systemic issues that create wealth disparity, whether essential workers are paid a living wage, and other wider systemic issues that may underpin the narrower framing of the article on solving the issues by keeping students in school. The reasons students’ families need them to work are not discussed. The Palagi principal of the school is interviewed but no Pacific academics or Pacific community members other than verbatim quotes from Tapuai’s social media. I chose these as key themes because of Tapuai’s personal account about sacrifices made by her peers during the Covid-19 lockdown. Reasons why these stood out for me are Tapuai’s reference to Pacific peoples’ stereotypes that continue to be evident in today’s society (Enoka, 2019) and her claim that despite these common historical stereotypes being known as negative, these have continued to impact her community even more during Covid-19. I also found it interesting that the article included several links to other Covid-19 stories that the newspaper had previously published. While I did not include these as part of my initial analysis, from a Pacific lens, I found the headlines to these articles to be related to several key themes that Tapuai referred to. The following headlines (and links to each article) was included at the end of Article 1: a. Covid 19 coronavirus: Lockdown tough on overcrowded households b. Covid 19 coronavirus: Cabinet to decide today whether lockdown will be extended c. Covid 19 coronavirus: Family violence increasing during lockdown, police say d. Wealthiest students get half of uni scholarships e. Learning in lockdown: 1m Kiwi kids start screen lessons today - are parents ready? f. Address muddle slows $88m computers for kids g. Mind the gap: The growing social divide at schools Valley Vaimauga Wandstraat Master of Communication Research Report 9 June 2022 Page 29 of 90 These headlines, while not mentioning that they relate to Pacific peoples, can also be viewed as reinforcing the stereotypes Tapuai referenced, and I believe were included as part of Article 1 so readers can access other similar stories. This can have both a positive and negative effect which I will refer to in more detail in the next chapter. Mainstream Media Article 2: New Zealand Herald, 28 April 2020, Headline: Covid 19 Coronavirus: Queues at McDonald’s drive-thru as Kiwis wake to level 3 (by reporter Dubby Henry) Article 2 reported on the long queues of customers at McDonald’s restaurants throughout the country, but in particular, queues at South Auckland McDonald’s and in similar communities such as Porirua Town Centre (Wellington) in comparison to fewer queues in areas such as Auckland’s North Shore and further south of Auckland, Hamilton. While this article focuses on people who waited in long queues to enjoy a taste of fast-food after weeks of lockdown, I found this article particularly worth scrutinising, because the majority of subjects interviewed and photographed for this article are predominantly Pacific peoples. During the qualitative stage of identifying codes, a pattern emerged in terms of the location of queues, reasons why people queued long hours, and how these facts could be interpreted differently from a Pacific lens. On analysis, the following key codes and themes were identified: Valley Vaimauga Wandstraat Master of Communication Research Report 9 June 2022 Page 30 of 90 Types of essential workers Figure 2. Key themes as a result of grouping latent and semiotic codes and keywords from Article 2 Location of long queues Pacific peoples South Aucklanders Night shift workers South Auckland areas (Mangere, Manukau McDonald’s) Porirua, Wellington Celebration Location of no queues Fast food queueing Breaking ‘bubbles’ Spending $$ North Shore, Wairau Park Wairau Park Hamilton Note. Figure 2 represents four key themes that can be identified from Article 2. ‘’Types of essential workers’, ‘Location of long queues’, ‘Celebration’ and ‘Location of no queues’. Latent and semiotic codes and keywords are linked to each theme. Generating and Reviewing themes Article 2 provided several codes which I grouped into four key themes: types of essential workers, location of long queues, location of no queues (as mentioned in the article), and codes that could be interpreted as being a celebratory theme. Of interest, the word ‘fast food’ and fast-food identifiers were mentioned 36 times by the writer. This outnumbered the word ‘queues’ (20 mentions) and raised a point of discussion about the repetitive nature of such words and whether this reinforces specific frames, or if this is dependent on the reader. From a Pacific lens, the recurrence of these words and their links to Pacific subjects stood out for me. Of those interviewed for this article, six of the seven interviewees were Pacific peoples and the images that accompanied this article were of Pacific peoples too. While this research project is not a quantitative study, it is important to note the repetitive nature of these words and images and what role they may play in the interpretation of this article. I will address such considerations further in the next chapter. Valley Vaimauga Wandstraat Master of Communication Research Report 9 June 2022 Page 31 of 90 In my interpretation, the repeated focus of the article on fast food and using almost all Pacific subjects in quotes and illustrations, reinforced known stereotypes from the list identified by Enoka (2019, p. 223). Stereotypes such as “unhealthy, lazy, economically dependent” come to mind when I read this story. During the deductive coding phase, I applied Tilley and Cokley’s (2005) five questions about framing to Article 2: Q1: What is the problem here? The focus of the article is centred on long queues at McDonald’s outlets, more specifically, locations in South Auckland and Porirua - both areas that are predominantly made up of Pacific communities. Another problem suggested in passing by the article is that those in the queues may not be following Covid protocols. Q2: Who, or what, caused or is blamed for this problem? Based on those interviewed, this is largely Pacific peoples (six of the seven interviewees are of Pacific descent) with several stating they had finished work in the early hours of the morning and decided to queue before opening rather than go straight home. An implication is that the cause of the long queues is a Pacific penchant for junk food. An interviewee blames “groups in the car park and not much social distancing” for his concerns about Covid safety. Q3: What solution is proposed? There is no specific solution for long queues as the nature of the article is predominantly about long queues to signify a change in COVID-19 alert levels and Kiwis looking forward to fast food after level 4 lockdown restrictions. There is however a comment about fast food chains following health and safety measures during Level 3 to which McDonald’s provides an update on its new contactless payment process and social distancing practices to keep both customers and staff safe. Q4: What type of frame is this? (Factual, values, interest, or relational?) Article 2 is framed as a factual account of the events that took place, for example, “20 cars in Valley Vaimauga Wandstraat Master of Communication Research Report 9 June 2022 Page 32 of 90 the queue” which indicates long queues in both South Auckland locations, compared to little to no queues in areas outside of South Auckland. Long queues in Porirua are also mentioned, which is often compared to South Auckland, and it is also an article of ‘interest’ as it represents a change in alert levels and the availability of fast food which according to those interviewed, has been sorely missed during lockdown. However, from a values perspective, I felt that this article perpetuated the relationship between Pacific peoples and fast food and while it did not reference health implications for Pacific peoples, given the long history of ‘poor health’ media frames for Pacific peoples this is present by implication. The article thus does pose a ‘values’ related issue and begs the question as to whether articles of this nature help to reinforce poor-health stereotypes such as obesity and diabetes which are often associated with Pacific peoples. Whilst this is not specifically mentioned in the article, the repetitive nature of codes could be interpreted as such, and this will be further discussed in the next chapter. This article also reports on the celebratory nature of ‘Kiwis’ enjoying fast food after lockdown, and this raises another point of discussion to be further explored in the next chapter involving Pacific peoples and the celebratory nature of food in terms of Pacific culture. Q5: Who is missing? (What other frames are possible?) Whilst this article focussed on fast food being one of the highlights of Alert Level 3, what other health-friendly fast-food alternatives were available, especially to essential workers finishing a graveyard shift? This particular frame could open up the discussion to include components such as the cost of fast food versus eating healthy options, the availability after hours of healthy options to essential shift workers, tax incentives on health food, and many more systemic issues which could have broadened the focus out from potentially demonising individuals for unhealthy and expensive choices, to a broader structural understanding of the wider interlinked social, cultural, and socioeconomic factors associated with diet. On review, Article 2 does not make any specific references to stereotypes of Pacific peoples, but the selection of photographs and interviewees being mainly Pacific peoples, and the location of long queues being predominantly where Pacific peoples live in contrast to other Valley Vaimauga Wandstraat Master of Communication Research Report 9 June 2022 Page 33 of 90 areas where Pacific people’s demographics are lower. From a personal perspective, I felt the article provided several cues for the reader in which readers could derive different viewpoints, for example, if the reader was not familiar with stereotypes associated with Pacific peoples and South Auckland, this could be interpreted as a celebratory article and a reason to celebrate moving into Alert Level 3. However, if like me, a Pacific person living in South Auckland was all too familiar with existing stereotypes that link Pacific peoples to health issues such as poor health, poverty and overcrowded living conditions, this article does the opposite. Mainstream Media Article 3: New Zealand Herald, 11 September 2020: Covid-19 Coronavirus Pacific Leaders concerned with Police involvement in Mt Roskill cluster (by reporter Rowan Quinn) Article 3 was selected for inclusion in this research project because I felt it approached the issue of ‘trust’ and the perception of Police involvement during a major Covid-19 outbreak involving a predominantly Pacific church community in the Auckland region. It was also one of the first articles I had read where Pacific leaders in the health sector voiced their concerns about the appropriateness of Police involvement, the impact on Pacific communities, and the negative connotation of having Police provide advice when there were other available options to consider. It should also be noted that I am an ‘insider’ to issues discussed in this article in that I work for the police, which gives me further specialised perspectives on top of my Pacific identity. The following codes and themes were derived and grouped in two main themes as a result of case study analysis of Article 3: Valley Vaimauga Wandstraat Master of Communication Research Report 9 June 2022 Page 34 of 90 Figure 3. Key themes as a result of grouping latent and semiotic codes and keywords from Article 3 Negative perception Building trust and confidence Police involvement misinformation Consultation with Pacific health Targeted information vs Provide appropriate support for Pacific community affected Religious beliefs vs health advice Cluster outbreak in Pacific community Pacific peoples in the spotlight again leaders misinformation Note. Figure 3 represents two key themes that can be identified from Article 3. ‘Negative perception’ and ‘Building trust and confidence’. Latent and semiotic codes and keywords are linked to each theme. Generating and reviewing themes Three key Pacific health and government officials were interviewed and stated that Police involvement in a health issue such as contact tracing would encourage the view that those affected or linked to the Mt Roskill cluster were in trouble. This feeling of ‘being in trouble with Police’ has far-reaching connotations for Pacific communities, in particular those involved in the Mt Roskill cluster. Several comments made by those interviewed alluded to characteristics often associated with negative stereotypes as previously identified, and that Police involvement would “drive people underground”. I found this particular quote powerful and will address the reasons why in the next chapter. In contrast to the theme of ‘negative perception’, those interviewed provided solutions to Police involvement in an effort to ‘build trust and confidence’. This included specifically targeted information provided to Pacific communities by Pacific health professionals. This included the suggestion that Police assistance or advice could be communicated by Pacific Police staff. To me, this article reflected Enoka’s suggestion (2019) that typically, Pacific peoples only appear in Palagi media “when they represent a problem” (p. 54). Enoka’s list of known Valley Vaimauga Wandstraat Master of Communication Research Report 9 June 2022 Page 35 of 90 stereotypes were evident in Article 3, in particular, “criminals, violent, unhealthy, lazy, overstayers and poorly educated”. However, similar to Article 1, these stereotypes were highlighted by Pacific subjects that were interviewed in response to Police involvement. In this article, Pacific subjects interpreted Police involvement as having a negative impact on Pacific people because these known stereotypes already exist in the community. During the deductive coding phase, I applied Tilley and Cokley’s (2005) five questions about framing to Article 3: Q1: What is the problem here? Police involvement in a health issue raises questions as to the reasons why Police assistance is required when there are numerous health professionals better equipped to provide relevant health advice and information. Q2: Who, or what, caused or is blamed for this problem? The article refers to Police providing advice to the Auckland Regional Public Health Service, but the article also refers to the Ministry of Health providing further clarification that only one senior Police officer was providing advice ‘behind the scenes’. Regardless, Pacific health professionals interviewed commented that Police involvement in any capacity was inappropriate. Q3: What solution is proposed? Auckland City Councillor and former Police officer Alf Filipaina referred to contact tracing as an act of “building trust”. Interestingly, the NZ Police’s core value is to “build trust and confidence” yet their involvement in this instance is being described as achieving the opposite. Solutions to combat this, and as proposed by Pacific health professionals interviewed, included seeking advice from various Pacific health organisations as well as utilising key Pacific and community leaders to assist with providing appropriate health advice to those involved in the Mt Roskill cluster. Q4: What type of frame is this? (Factual, values, interest, or relational?) Valley Vaimauga Wandstraat Master of Communication Research Report 9 June 2022 Page 36 of 90 Several frames can be associated with Article 3 such as factual, values and relational. It had been widely reported during this time that the Mt Roskill outbreak was linked to a wedding reception that was held at the Mt Roskill Evangelical church, and attendees were predominantly Pacific. However, from a values perspective, Police involvement on a health issue such as contact tracing could be interpreted negatively. Reasons for those negative connotations from Pacific communities is a topic for further discussion in the next chapter. In the article, the stereotyped values frame that may have been communicated was that Pacific communities are either not law abiding or are anti-authoritarian. Q5: Who is missing? (What other frames are possible?) The article focussed largely on Pacific opinions as to why Police involvement would be received negatively by Pacific people, but the writer did not provide a sufficient explanation as to why Police would be involved in the Mt Roskill cluster, and what kind of advice they could provide that would differ from health professionals’ advice. There is a reference to Police working ‘behind the scenes’ and with no further details to consider, the reader is left to assume what this could mean. From a Pacific perspective, being interviewed or questioned by Police is a negative experience - this too is linked to negative perceptions and stereotypes often associated with Pacific peoples. Mainstream Media Article 4: New Zealand Herald, 13 August 2020: Covid-19 Coronavirus: ‘We need all hands on deck’: Pasifika communities warned to prepare for Covid outbreak This article was selected for inclusion because it focussed largely on the comments made by the chairman of the Pacific Health Plus and the Pacific Leaders Group, John Fiso. Comments such as “job losses, low incomes” and “multiple families in condensed housing” can be interpreted as negative stereotypes associated with South Auckland communities. From a Pacific perspective, the reader of this article who may not have had a perception of knowledge of South Auckland is likely to make the assertion that Fiso’s comments depict a community with the worst health statistics in the country; a community that has struggled in the past Valley Vaimauga Wandstraat Master of Communication Research Report 9 June 2022 Page 37 of 90 with other major health issues; a community that is slow to respond, but one that requires Government support and for Pacific communities to actively engage in preparation for a Covid outbreak as links to the most recent outbreak have been linked to a Pacific family living in South Auckland. Figure 4. Key themes as a result of grouping latent and semiotic codes and keywords from Article 4 Representation Negative stereotypes Job losses, low incomes Pacific communities slow to respond Country's worst health statistics Pacific families in high-density areas Pacific communities over- represented in other contagious diseases such as Resilience and fortitude of Pacific communities during Covid- 19 Multiple families in condensed housing Outbreak linked to South Auckland family Links between South Auckland Cannons Creek, Porirua measles and rheumatic fever Note. Figure 4 represents two key themes that can be identified from Article 4. ‘Negative stereotypes’ and ‘Representation’. Latent and semiotic codes and keywords are linked to each theme. Generating and reviewing themes Two themes were derived from latent and semiotic keywords from Article 4: “negative stereotypes and representation of Pacific peoples, in particular comparisons between South Auckland and Porirua. Interestingly, Fiso’s comments about Pacific peoples could be interpreted differently by the reader, for example, does Fiso’s comments reinforce these stereotypes, or does it neutralise known stereotypes? From a Pacific lens, and while there are clear links to semiotic codes, there are also latent codes that can be linked to historical issues such as Pacific communities’ responses to contagious diseases in the past such as the measles outbreak and the prevalence of such diseases like rheumatic fever in Pacific communities living in “condensed housing” arrangements. Valley Vaimauga Wandstraat Master of Communication Research Report 9 June 2022 Page 38 of 90 With reference to Enoka’s (2019) list of known stereotypes (leeches, Criminals, overstayers, dole bludgers, unhealthy, poorly educated, lazy, violent, economically dependent, and one happy family), these were not specifically mentioned in the article, but comments such as “job losses, low incomes and multiple families living in condensed housing” can be linked to several of these. Namely, “dole bludgers, economically dependent, unhealthy, lazy and poorly educated”. During the deductive coding phase, I applied Tilley and Cokley’s (2005) five questions about framing to Article 4: Q1: What is the problem here? A Pacific health leader believes South Auckland communities need to “urgently prepare” for a Covid-19 outbreak and for healthcare providers and the government to be ready to assist in these communities if more families are affected by the recent outbreak. Fiso refers to problems associated with crowded living situations, low-income families, some of which have lost jobs during lockdowns, and refers to previous contagious disease outbreaks that affected Pacific communities and draws comparisons on previous response and support timeframes that required further urgency. Q2: Who, or what, caused or is blamed for this problem? Fiso believes the “country’s response and support has not been good enough” in the past and believes prior planning in anticipation of an outbreak in South Auckland and amongst Pacific families is urgently needed. Fiso’s call for “all hands on deck” suggests that not everyone (including Pacific communities) has not been ‘hands on’ in the past. Q3: What solution is proposed? The availability of “medical and other resources” so these can be accessed and mobilised quickly for affected communities, as Fiso refers to an outbreak in these communities being possibly the “worst-case scenario for our Pacific families in high-density areas”. Valley Vaimauga Wandstraat Master of Communication Research Report 9 June 2022 Page 39 of 90 Q4: What type of frame is this? (Factual, values, interest, or relational?) All of the above as the article can be interpreted as factual as the writer attributes all quotes to those interviewed; it also meets the ‘values, interest and relational’ frames given the spread of COVID-19 and media’s daily coverage of where infection outbreaks have been occurring and to whom. Q5: Who is missing? (What other frames are possible?) The article refers to the government’s ‘resurgence plan’ and this plan being activated as the result of the latest outbreak and links to the South Auckland cluster. What is not covered is what does this plan involve and what specifically does this mean, or has it been designed to meet the needs of South Auckland communities? Fiso also refers to “providers within those communities” but there is no information about what or who these providers are. Could they too have been identified and asked to comment on the preparedness of South Auckland communities in the event of the latest outbreak in its community? Importantly, what is Pacific Health Plus and the Pacific Leaders Group? Why are Fiso’s comments the main focus of this article? Would prior knowledge of Fiso’s background frame this article differently based on more information about Fiso’s credentials and knowledge of the issues being faced by Pacific peoples living in South Auckland? What is also missing is any broader structural identification of the issues that have led up to the problems Fiso names. Structural racism, for example, is not mentioned. Pacific Media Network Articles The National Radio Pacific Trust (NPRT) has been in operation since 2003. It was set up as part of a government initiative to grow and promote Pacific news and language programmes in New Zealand. The trust has three major operations that consists of Pacific Media Network (PMN) and two radio programmes, NiuFM and 531pi (Sakalia, 2017). Today, PMN operates from its South Auckland base in Manukau, with 531pi hosting 10 Pacific language radio programmes, and PMN producing Pacific and local news bulletins for radio, and publishing news stories on their website. The following news articles were selected because PMN Valley Vaimauga Wandstraat Master of Communication Research Report 9 June 2022 Page 40 of 90 reported and produced stories about the Covid-19 outbreaks in the South Auckland community; and their target audience is predominantly Pacific peoples. I also wanted to analyse what news angles and approach they took in terms of presenting (and framing) news to a Pacific, rather than a mainstream, audience. Pacific Media Article 5: Pacific Media Network, 12 August 2020, Headline: ‘We’ve done it before and we can do it again’ South Auckland GP says Pasifika can overcome lockdown I selected this article because key themes are evident immediately from its headline. They are words of comfort and resilience in an effort to appeal to a Pacific audience, and in particular, the person interviewed is a prominent health professional working in South Auckland. The following key words and themes from Article 1 were identified: Figure 5. Key themes as a result of grouping latent and semiotic codes and keywords from Article 5 Note. Figure 5 represents two key themes that can be identified from Article 5. ‘Pacific peoples united’ and ‘Targeted Information’. Latent and semiotic codes and keywords are linked to each theme. Generating and reviewing themes: The article reported on comments made by a “leading Pacific clinician” and his belief that his South Auckland Pacific community could overcome lockdown. Immediately, there are themes of ‘unity’, of being ‘part of a team’ and a call to Pacific peoples to unite despite the latest outbreak being linked to a South Auckland family. This is coupled with ‘targeted information’ Valley Vaimauga Wandstraat Master of Communication Research Report 9 June 2022 Page 41 of 90 as another key theme for positive reinforcement of the types of support available to South Auckland’s Pacific community and providing information on the location of testing stations. With reference to Enoka’s (2019) list of known stereotypes (leeches, criminals, overstayers, dole bludgers, unhealthy, poorly educated, lazy, violent, economically dependent, and one happy family), it was apparent that an underlying theme of resilience and unity could be linked to Enoka’s “one happy family” stereotype. From a Pacific lens, I found this to be a positive reflection and the nature of Pacific people to come together despite the obstacles. I also derived from the reference to “we’ve done it before” as an acknowledgement to several of Enoka’s known stereotypes that called on Pacific people to rally together, for example, the label of ‘overstayer’ and living through past hurts such as the mid-1970s Dawn Raids in New Zealand. While it is positive to point to the resilience of Pacific peoples, the reference to a long history of having to struggle repeatedly against persecution is double-edged. During the deductive coding phase, I applied Tilley and Cokley’s (2005) five questions about framing to Article 5: Q1: What is the problem here? At first, there does not appear to be an obvious ‘problem’, but comments such as “we had the highest testing rate for any ethnic community in New Zealand and we have the lowest number of people testing positive for the virus” could raise another question as to whether this fact has been misreported in mainstream media, or if this was considered common knowledge for inclusion in other Covid-19 related stories. Q2: Who, or what, caused or is blamed for this problem? There is no purport of blame in this story, but in terms of ‘cause’ for this article, it can be interpreted by the reader that interviewing a prominent Pacific GP in the South Auckland area helps to reinforce ‘trust and confidence’ between the subject matter and its audience. Q3: What solution is proposed? The article refers to several key avenues for information and support, such as the availability Valley Vaimauga Wandstraat Master of Communication Research Report 9 June 2022 Page 42 of 90 of testing stations throughout Auckland, specifically in areas where there are large populations of Pacific peoples (for example, Henderson and Otara), as well as reassurances to Pacific peoples that if they go directly to these testing centres, testing is guaranteed. Q4: What type of frame is this? (Factual, values, interest, or relational?) The article responds to each of these frames in that it reports on comments made by a Pacific health professional, and it also relates to ‘values’ from a Pacific perspective - codes such as ‘resilience’ and banding together as a community to ‘overcome’ the effects of lockdown, but it can also be attributed to overcoming negativity faced by the Pacific family that had been identified as the source of the South Auckland cluster during the second lockdown. Although not specifically addressed, this is an area to be further discussed in the next chapter. Q5: Who is missing? (What other frames are possible?) Again, I don’t think one is missing as the article is written specifically for a Pacific audience and the key elements of this article are derived from the comments of solidarity and resilience made by a Pacific health professional for a Pacific audience. Pacific Media Article 6: Pacific Media Network, August 19, 2020, Headline: South Auckland Pacific community used as a ‘scapegoat in Covid-19 resurgence’ (by reporter Paige Faigaa) Article 6 focuses on comments about the impact of misinformation on Pacific peoples through the eyes of a Pacific youth advocate working in South Auckland. Emotive language and words such as ‘scapegoat’, ‘crime’ and ‘bad news’ can be connected to negative stereotypes of Pacific peoples, but at the same time, the article also quotes a Pacific representative from the Ministry of Health and another Pacific health professional to get their views on whether Pacific peoples are being treated as ‘scapegoats’ and their opinion about the impact of misinformation. From a Pacific perspective, it was interesting to note the variation in Pacific opinions and provided another point of discussion about whether Pacific people contributed to the ‘misinformation’ debate or if this was more directed to mainstream media. As a result, two key themes emerged from this example: Valley Vaimauga Wandstraat Master of Communication Research Report 9 June 2022 Page 43 of 90 Figure 6. Key themes as a result of grouping latent and semiotic codes and keywords from Article 6 Note. Figure 6 represents two key themes that can be identified from Article 6. ‘Misinformation reinforces negative Pacific stereotypes’ and ‘Who is to blame for misinformation?’ Latent and semiotic codes and keywords are linked to each theme. Generating and reviewing themes: It is difficult to look past the word ‘scapegoat’ and not think of ‘blame’ and other negative connotations associated with this. In particular, the main subject of this interview goes further in purporting blame on mainstream media and then appeals to Pacific communities to “hold the media accountable”. This included words such as ‘negative backlash’ and that this had been “encouraged by mainstream media”. While several other themes can be identified from this article, for example, the historical impact of negative stereotypes on Pacific communities, I wanted to focus on the impact of misinformation during the second lockdown and whether other factors could be identified as ‘misinformation’. These included comments made by another Pacific health professional who encouraged “Pacific people to call out relatives and friends that are participating in sharing inaccurate information”. With reference to Enoka’s (2019) list of known stereotypes (leeches, criminals, overstayers, dole bludgers, unhealthy, poorly educated, lazy, violent, economically dependent) it can be argued that they are all linked to ‘negative backlash’. From a Pacific perspective, I could relate to both Pacific views on this topic of misinformation - yes, it does exist, but it does not exist only in mainstream media as referenced in Article 6. There is also the reference to Valley Vaimauga Wandstraat Master of Communication Research Report 9 June 2022 Page 44 of 90 ‘mainstream media’ and what readers interpret this to mean, for example, is this misinformation (that reinforces negative stereotypes) more prevalent in Palagi media; in a range of media formats such as radio or print? This is a topic for further discussion in the next chapter. During the deductive coding phase, I applied Tilley and Cokley’s (2005) five questions about framing to Article 6: Q1: What is the problem here? The article centres on the anger felt by the Pacific community during the second lockdown and what the main interviewee states is a shifting of blame during the latest Covid-19 outbreak from being a ‘New Zealand’ problem, to a ‘Pacific’ one. Q2: Who, or what, caused or is blamed for this problem? In this article, mainstream media is blamed for the ‘negative backlash’ and negative connotations associated with Pacific people is blamed on the media. This includes the spread of misinformation on social media, as well as Pacific people repeating misinformation in the community. Q3: What solution is proposed? There are several - the first interviewee believes that Pacific communities need to hold the media accountable, whereas other Pacific health professionals want to reiterate that ‘Pacific people are not to be blamed for the virus’, and that Pacific people need to hold friends and relatives accountable when they spread misinformation. Q4: What type of frame is this? (Factual, values, interest, or relational?) All of the above as the article can be interpreted as factual as the writer attributes all quotes to those interviewed; it also meets the ‘values, interest and relational’ frames given the spread of COVID-19 and media’s daily coverage of where infection outbreaks have been occurring and to whom. Valley Vaimauga Wandstraat Master of Communication Research Report 9 June 2022 Page 45 of 90 Q5: Who is missing? (What other frames are possible?) Could there have been an opportunity to take a closer look at what mainstream media examples are being referred to as ‘misinformation’ and why? Mainstream media is mentioned several times in the article as being responsible for the spread of misinformation and the reinforcement of negative stereotypes of Pacific peoples, but without supplying specific examples to help readers recognise and resist such stereotyping. There is also the role social media plays in the dissemination of information and whether social media and mainstream media are being viewed as one single entity (and do they share the same values and ethics when constructing information?). Pacific Media Article 7: Pacific Media Network (repost of Tagata Pasifika Talanoa online story), 13 August 2020, Headline: Pacific health leader responds to Covid conspiracy theorists - ‘I have no time for these loonies’ I selected this article for inclusion because the Pacific health leader at the centre of this article had been referenced by several mainstream and Pacific news outlets on his views about the latest outbreak in Pacific communities, as well as his opinion on stories and conspiracy theories that had been circulating in social media about Covid-19 and vaccination fears. Dr Colin Tukuitonga has an extensive health background working with Pacific communities. He has had several prominent roles in the health sector, including being the Coordinator of Surveillance and Prevention of Chronic Diseases for the World Health Organisation (WHO), a former chief executive for the Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs, and the Director of Public Health. In this article, Tukuitonga commented on the impact of misinformation during the latest outbreak and the detrimental effect on the Pacific peoples living in South Auckland. Valley Vaimauga Wandstraat Master of Communication Research Report 9 June 2022 Page 46 of 90 Figure 7. Key themes as a result of grouping latent and semiotic codes and keywords from Article 7 Outbreak fears for Pacific peoples in South Auckland Impact of conspiracy theories Crowded housing conditions Families facing poverty High rates of chronic disease Large gatherings - church unhelpful inaccurate Misleading community Negative impact on South Auckland Note. Figure 7 represents two key themes that were identified from Article 7. ‘’Outbreak fears for Pacific peoples in South Auckland’ and ‘Impact of conspiracy themes’ are linked to both latent and semiotic codes and themes. Generating and reviewing themes Tukuitonga labelled conspiracy theories during the second lockdown as unhelpful, but in particular, to Pacific communities who were likely to be impacted the most as the second lockdown had been linked to a Pacific family living in South Auckland. Tukuitonga stated that the “South Auckland region is not prepared for the lurking threat of community transmission” as a result of poverty which contributed to high rates of chronic disease. As a result, latent and semiotic codes derived largely from Tukuitonga’s comments have been grouped into two recurring themes: The impact of conspiracy theories on Pacific peoples and keywords or labels that have been linked to South Auckland such as ‘crowded housing conditions’, and the likelihood of large gathering at church which could result in larger groups being infected. With reference to Enoka’s (2019) list of known stereotypes (leeches, Criminals, overstayers, dole bludgers, unhealthy, poorly educated, lazy, violent, economically dependent, and one happy family), Article 7 refers to issues such as ‘crowded housing conditions, high rates of chronic disease and families facing poverty’ - all of which can be linked to these stereotypes. There is also the notion that Dr Tukuitonga’s comment could also be reinforcing the Valley Vaimauga Wandstraat Master of Communication Research Report 9 June 2022 Page 47 of 90 stereotype of ‘poorly educated’. Even though this was a Pacific Media article, I interpret that it did, perhaps not overtly but in latent content. Dr Tukuitonga was present as the sole positive role model for Pacific readers of the article, and he was quoted in the role of implicitly criticising his own people’s gullibility. There were no positive role models shown of people using critical media literacies or demonstrating how to assess the credibility of online information. During the deductive coding phase, I applied Tilley and Cokley’s (2005) five questions about framing to Article 7: Q1: What is the problem here? Pacific communities in South Auckland are facing widespread issues relating to socio- economic, health and poverty, as well as having to navigate conspiracy theories with the latest being that the recent outbreak was part of a ‘government agenda’. This was a reference to the former Natio