Cameron Bennett: Māori journalism takes a 'less adversarial approach'

After decades as an award-winning journalist and documentary producer, Cameron Bennett was first invited to be part of “the richness of te ao Māori” back in 2016, when he joined the TVNZ show Marae.

As a producer there and in the last three years at Whakaata Māori (Māori Television), Bennett says he's observed journalists taking a “less adversarial approach” towards structuring a news story.

“Māori protocols mean that the aggression that perhaps is in Pākehā journalism is not the same. That's not to say that issues aren't confronted - they're just treated differently,” he tells Saturday Morning.

Related stories:

Bennett says he started off his journalistic career as a “pretty average” newspaper reporter for The Northland Advocate, and it was in television that the storytelling power of journalism "really came together" for him.

“Writing to pictures is a quite different craft, and it's one that I've really enjoyed.”

As a journalist, he says his interest has always been in the human condition and the human story.

“I wasn't one for economic analysis or that sort of sleuthing.”

In “an amazing period” from 1991 to 1995, Bennett won many awards as a TVNZ Europe correspondent. Based in London, he reported from South Africa, the Middle East and North America.

"The philosophy behind it was to have a New Zealand voice telling New Zealanders about what was happening in the world outside."

Bennett accepted visiting war zones as part of his job as a foreign correspondent.

His first was the Bosnian War, where he and his cameraman didn't have protective clothing, so wore fishing jackets.

"We literally arrived in Sarajevo on an aid flight from Croatia, and that was it. We were on our own - a cameraman and me. Just 'Okay, let's get into it.'"

In later years, Bennett interviewed a pre-political Donald Trump about 9/11, but the interview never went to air because they found “better talent”.

You can watch that interview below:

One of the most profoundly moving experiences of Bennett's life so far was interviewing Nelson Mandela - a leader of “real stature, real dignity, strength, honour and humility”.

“Boy, could we do with a voice like Nelson Mandela's right now.”

In the last couple of decades, Bennett has worked on and produced historical documentaries, including the award-wining RNZ series The NZ Wars.

History reveals a lot about a culture’s identity and the values and attitudes, he says, and it has been a lifelong passion.

Growing up, Scottish traditions like the New Year's Eve celebration Hogmanay were a big part of Bennett's family life.

With the centrality of whakapapa and protocols like singing, formal introductions and affirmations, the Scottish culture has similarities with Māori culture, he says - “some of the stuff I feel in Pākehā society we've lost the ability to do”.

While the Treaty Principles Bill has kicked off “an astonishingly divisive debate” and it's been “pretty testing times” in New Zealand lately, Bennett remains hopeful that real and positive steps are also being taken towards establishing a truly bicultural national identity.

“Generationally, [attitudes] are changing so much, and I think that the Māori side of the New Zealand identity has been embraced much more by non-Māori society.”

‘Strangers in a Car’ by Marc Cohn

'Blue Smoke' by Pixie Williams (feat Jim Carter)

'Maiea' by Moana and the Tribe, feat Megan Henderson

'Praeludium and Allegro' by Fritz Kreisler

'Suite for Judy Blue Eyes' by Crosby, Stills and Nash

‘Homeless' by Paul Simon