Maori TV lets public have say

By RICHARD PAMATATAU

Maori Television is poised to let people on the street air their views on the new station through a user-pays booth that has a digital camera and sound gear.

Barry Russ, Maori Television's kaiwhakahaere matua rauemi, or operations general manager, said the finishing touches were being put on the "speaker's booth", which would be located at the station's Newmarket head office.

For a "gold coin", people would be able to enter the booth, look at a camera, and have their say. Russ said if what they said had merit in the station's view, then it might go to air as part of a package containing "speakers' messages of the week".

The station was looking to be as interactive as possible, he said, and if the booth in Auckland was successful, then the station would consider creating a network of them around the country.

On the air for two weeks now, Maori Television was looking at how it can harness technology systems not only to support its broadcast operations, but also to build audience involvement.

Maori were not high users of PCs but their interest in technology was growing, said Russ, pointing to their high use of mobile phones. "We have to use that technology in the community too."

In the analogue world, TV production systems represented 20 per cent of how a TV station got to air. But now he estimated the process was 90 per cent or more systems based, meaning more attention could be paid to content.

The booth was designed to garner views on topical issues and was seen as an alternative to phone polls.

Software enhancements were allowing Maori TV to generate content in Maori automatically.

Microsoft had supplied a "Maori keyboard" which allowed the station to use macrons - diacritics or marks that added to vowels in Maori, indicating a special phonetic value, like accents on French words.

"We are calling it the automatic macroniser but unfortunately it does not translate," said Russ.

The station's website (www.maoritelevision.com) also needed to be created in both Maori and English but for the moment resources did not allow a full Maori version.

The station was also looking at how simultaneous translation might be implemented on live-to-air programmes like the news.

The weather system has been given a Maori flavour with graphics of geographic regions based on tribal boundaries.

Also on the slate were laptops for reporters working in the field. Russ said that would let them shoot and edit their footage in the field, sending finished stories over the internet directly into the station's broadcasting computer systems.

Toshiba Tecra notebooks were being tested at the moment and remote filing of stories was seen as a good way of increasing coverage in the regions.

Also being considered was how the internet and text and picture messaging could be used to involve the audience more.

Discussions were under way with companies specialising in txt and pxt services that looked at how a programme that is live to air might interact with the audience and use the resulting content.

Operationally, the station has built an internet protocol network that carries voice, work data, and content around the building.

A voice-over-internet-protocol network using Cisco gear covered the 100 or so personal computers used by staff .

News and other broadcast staff can take content and do a "low-resolution edit" on their desk-top PC.

Once a staff member had finished a low-resolution edit it could be sent either to a suite or to another computer device which also compiled it automatically for broadcasting.

Russ said the technology was great but the key issue was having good Maori stories to tell.

"It is nothing without the stories and content that is generated by our people and in the end it only exists to serve our purpose of putting more about Maori on the airwaves."

Herald Feature: Maori broadcasting

Maori TV website