Editorial: Bro TV needs to appeal to all of us

Most people prefer to be entertained rather than enlightened when they watch television. Only rarely do programmes achieve both sufficiently well to garner high audience ratings. Thus, there is a ready-made problem for those wanting to use television for purposes other than titillation.

Take the Television New Zealand charter, which by requiring the broadcasting of non-commercial programmes for cultural or educational purposes will surely yield reduced income. Such programmes engage fewer viewers and so lose most of their allure for advertisers. This, also, is the challenge that faces the Maori Television Service, a channel with the highbrow ambition of preserving and promoting Maori language and culture.

The channel could set about that mission by concentrating on earnest and well-meaning - but often dreary - documentaries. That would find favour with esotericists, but few others. Without an audience, the life of the Maori Television Service would be short, and millions of taxpayers' dollars would be wasted.

Quite sensibly, therefore, the channel has commissioned programmes that have a strong chance of attracting viewers, especially in the age group with which it must strike a chord. A third of Maori speakers are over 60, so the accent has to be on luring young viewers, especially those imbued with enthusiasm by the kohanga reo early-childhood movement and kura kaupapa Maori immersion schools.

Viewers of the channel will see shows on skate culture, DIY for marae, and a national karaoke competition. The programmes glory under titles such as Aotearoa Sk8, Maori-Oke and Bro TV - Just Feel It. And that, according to National MP Tony Ryall, is "bizarre". New Zealanders, he says, would be surprised at what finally emerges from "the lofty dictates of the Court of Appeal's ruling on the preservation of the Maori language".

It is, of course, open season on Maori broadcasting for Opposition politicians. The lax accountability and sloppy procedures at Te Mangai Paho, and the Minister of Maori Affairs' bumbling and fumbling response, are but the latest in a series of misjudgments and misadventures.

Yet on this occasion Mr Ryall's complaint is groundless. He could just as logically point the finger at some programmes funded by New Zealand On Air. Always there will be tensions and debate over what constitutes "good" television.

What is indisputable, however, is the medium's ability to play a major role in promoting a language and culture. Quite properly, some of those involved in the Maori Television Service have beaten a path to SC4, the Cardiff-based Welsh language channel. It is, arguably, the world leader in minority language programming.

SC4 has lured a growing number of non-Welsh speakers through sub-titling, and proclaims itself a bridge to linguistic harmony and understanding. It is now watched by more than 10 per cent of Welsh viewers, including many who first tuned in without understanding the language. Needless to say, the original attraction when the channel was introduced to a sceptical world in 1982 was not turgid documentaries on Welsh history and heritage - it was strong lacings of music and sport.

The Maori Television Service must aim to match the Welsh success. If it does, it will enrich the lives of all New Zealanders by providing a window into Maori life. But to achieve that there can be no shutting out of the English language. If the use of English is to dwindle, subtitling must remain part of the recipe. Opposition politicians can help to ensure that happens. Better that than railing against the commercial realities of television.