ABSTRACT

While populism is commonly considered antagonistic to democratic liberalism, recent research demonstrates how populist rhetoric may highjack traditional liberal discourses and opportunistically refashion them against the plight of minorities. Drawing on the concept of media populism, this research investigates how notions of ‘democracy’ and ‘equality’ were contested in debates on racism in New Zealand regional newspaper, The Taranaki Daily News, and further deployed to promote a populist agenda, against the representation of the Indigenous minority, Māori, in the local government. The analysis of letters to the Editor shows the prevalence of anti-Māori sentiment, articulated through such populist rhetoric as ‘majority’, ‘whole community’ and ‘togetherness’; while the appeal for Māori representation was framed as ‘special treatment’, ‘positive discrimination’, ‘separatism’ and ‘reverse racism’. Hence, by endorsing the populist discourse, media provide their audiences with the moral affinity to support racist and anti-minority policies; ultimately producing the political phenomenon of media populism.

摘要

虽然民粹主义通常被认为是民主自由主义的对立面，但最近的研究表明，民粹主义言论可能如何劫持传统的自由主义话语，并机会主义地改造它们以对抗少数群体的困境。本研究利用媒体民粹主义的概念，调查新西兰地方报纸《塔拉纳基每日新闻》在种族主义辩论中如何对“民主”和“平等”的概念提出质疑，并进一步部署以促进民粹主义议程，反对当地政府中土著少数民族毛利人的代表。对致编辑的信件的分析显示了反毛利人情绪的盛行，通过诸如“多数”、“整个社区”和“团结”等民粹主义言论来表达；而毛利代表的呼吁则被描述为“特殊待遇”、“积极歧视”、“分离主义”和“反种族主义”。因此，通过支持民粹主义话语，媒体为其观众提供了支持种族主义和反少数族裔政策的道德亲和力；最终产生了媒体民粹主义的政治现象。