3News lynch mob

Written By: - Date published: 4:41 pm, October 19th, 2011 - 42 comments
Categories: disaster, hone harawira, tv - Tags: , ,

Someone at 3News needs to switch to decaf.  This headline is very misleading:

Harawira: Hang Rena captain – or Steven Joyce

Controversial MP Hone Harawira’s calling for the captain of the stricken vessel the Rena to be hanged over the environmental disaster the ship has caused in the Bay of Plenty.

Loony stuff yes? Well no, further down the piece we get to what was actually said…

Mana Party leader Mr Harawira wants a strong punishment for the Rena’s captain.

“Hanging the poor bugger might sound a bit harsh, but somebody should pay,” he said.

“Maybe we can send the Rena captain home with a stern warning and put [Transport Minister] Steven Joyce up on the gallows in his place.”

Clearly is Harawira is joking.  He’s angry (we all are) – but he’s taking the piss.  A lynch mob headline from 3News doesn’t help matters though.  Not the first time they’ve messed up either.

Update: 3News – who are very responsive with this sort of problem – have tidied up their reporting of this issue.  Bravo.

42 comments on “3News lynch mob ”

  1. Tigger 1

    Uh, so this they go to town on but Key’s throat slitting is effectively painted over (did I even hear Mediawatch describe it as ‘alleged’)?

  2. John Dalley 2

    And in breaking news, John Key predicting another credit downgrade.

  3. freedom 3

    Tv3 distorting the truth with another bloody stupid headline! If TV3 wants a headline for a sensational statement, what about ‘Key slits throat in the House’

  4. Good post rob

    this seems close to inciting race hatred to me. I expect more of these dirty tricks before the ballot boxes are counted.

    • Bill 4.1

      I agree that there will be heaps of this type of b/s. But I think it has the potential to back fire and deliver more votes to Mana than they would have otherwise got. Here’s hoping anyway.

    • Chris 4.2

      How is it close to inciting race hatred? Just because Harawira is Maori does not make every misleading article about him race hatred that’s just ridiculous.

      • Lanthanide 4.2.1

        How about when almost everything he says is taken to the extreme, and it isn’t done to any other politician?

        • Chris 4.2.1.1

          That has nothing to do with his race. It’s to do with the fact that a lot of things he says are extreme which he has obviously found as an effective way to get his points across and encourage discussion.

          In other words it is about him not his race.

      • Colonial Viper 4.2.2

        Just because Harawira is Maori does not make every misleading article about him race hatred

        I agree. Just 20% to 30% of the articles.

        • Chris 4.2.2.1

          Yeah I’ll agree with that. But ones like this where the fact he is Maori is not mentioned is not one of those.

  5. Ianupnorth 5

    From the herald on the same subject

    Among those outside the court were Greenpeace respresentatives and Mana Party leader Hone Horawira, who told the protesters of the two captains in court today: “They should give one a gold medal and hang the other bugger.”
    Many shouted cries of support at the comment.
    But, minutes later, he described the Rena’s captain as “just a working boy” working for multinational companies.
    Mr Harawira believed the Rena disaster was just a taste of what could happen if the Government allowed Petrobas to drill oil.

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10760106

  6. randal 6

    my message to TV3 is tie a knot in it!

  7. I don’t find it funny at all, very poor from an MP. Why the hell are you trying to defend this?

    And worse – there are people who would take his suggestions as a serious option, as the Herald report suggests.

    I don’t think it’s TV3 who’s got this wrong.

    • just saying 7.1

      Oh?
      Who exactly?
      After reading what he actually said.

      There is no other politician you would make this claim about in the circumstances.
      More racism from Pete Squirrel imo

      • Pete George 7.1.1

        There’s nothing at all racist about what I’ve said here, and I’d be surprised if you could find anything else I’ve said as racist either.

        I don’t even know what race Anthony is.

        • just saying 7.1.1.1

          Very funny Pete.
          Are you going to answer my question?

        • Colonial Viper 7.1.1.2

          I wouldn’t say that Pete George is racist. He is full of casual racial prejudice however.

          • just saying 7.1.1.2.1

            Casual racism isn’t racism?
            The guy is a politician remember. He might be a bit careful about airing more “formal” racism in a public arena. Anyway, dog-whistling is usual tactic. Honest and open isn’t his style.

          • alex 7.1.1.2.2

            Okay, I don’t really like Pete George, and I fucking despise his leader, but he is not a racist. Come on guys, thats an incredibly serious accusation to make against someone, and there is nothing in what he has said that remotely backs it up. Find the evidence and present it, if it exists, but until then, don’t call people racist for no good reason. It does your cause no good and devalues the struggle against real racism.

            • just saying 7.1.1.2.2.1

              I believe what he wrote was a racist dog whistle, as was, in my opinion, his “Maori correctness” comments previously. I don’t believe racism to be a rare phenomenon, or that it is outrageous to talk about it.

              • Colonial Viper

                casual racism is indeed racism, but its not on the particularly sinister end of the spectrum. Just the casual redneck smug end of the spectrum.

    • Galeandra 7.2

      Hell,PG, with judgement like yours you could stand for parliament so I could not vote for you.

    • Why the hell are you trying to defend this?

      Aye from now on if some idiot wants to bend out of all proportion any comment by a leftie the rest of us should obsequiously back the idiot’s wrong and ill informed interpretation of the lefties’ comment and condemn him or her for it.

      After all Hone may have had his tongue in his cheek and tried to be funny when he made his comment but we should refuse to acknowledge this and jump up and down really hard and say that he is being really mean.  And we should avoid all analysis of reality and refuse to even talk about the widening gap between the rich and the poor but we should be really, really upset.  

      BTW Petey what are we being upset about?  I am actually really upset about the gap between the rich and the poor but you do not seem to think there is a problem … 

    • higherstandard 7.4

      “Why the hell are you trying to defend this?”

      1. Because he’s a possible coalition partner.
      2. Because he had a back handed swipe at a member of the other team.

  8. Francisco Hernandez 8

    You know, it’s always remarkable the extent of which ideology actually influences people’s perceptions of these things.

    If a National or an Act party politician had said this – we would be all over him and calling for his resignation.

    When a member of the left says it. We turn a blind eye.

    That’s not acceptable. Filipinos in New Zealand are feeling the pressure of prejudice because the Captain of the Rena was Filipino.

    Suggesting that he be hanged for it simply further fans the flames of racial prejudice and hatred.

    Not cool Hone.

    Warm Regards
    Francisco Hernandez
    Pissed-Off Filipino.

    • Thanks Francisco, well said.

      But I don’t think they care if an MP suggests a Filipino should be hung. If you’re not a devout left or Maori you don’t matter to them.

      • r0b 8.1.1

        What a nasty place the inside of your head must be Pete.

        • Pete George 8.1.1.1

          I’m not the one saying it’s a joke suggesting a Filipino captain is hung.

          • r0b 8.1.1.1.1

            He didn’t suggest that a Filipino captain be hung, he suggested that he be sent home with a stern warning.

            You are the one, however, that is trying to use the incident to drum up race based fears and hatreds, and accuse others of caring only about politics. Shame on you Pete G.

            • Pete George 8.1.1.1.1.1

              Your quote:
              “Hanging the poor bugger might sound a bit harsh, but somebody should pay,” he said.

              From the Herald:
              Hone Horawira, who told the protesters of the two captains in court today: “They should give one a gold medal and hang the other bugger.”

            • higherstandard 8.1.1.1.1.2

              “You are the one, however, that is trying to use the incident to drum up race based fears and hatreds, and accuse others of caring only about politics. Shame on you Pete G.”

              Yeah Pete only the authors at this site are allowed such privileges

            • marty mars 8.1.1.1.1.3

              On the money r0b but the political ambitions of even mice have to be realised and who gives a fuck what heads are used as steps to get there – not pete. Shame indeed.

  9. Hey there

    Agree that headline and synopsis was out of kilter. Have changed to a more accurate portrayal of the Hararwira press release.

    http://www.3news.co.nz/Harawira-puts-Joyce-in-gallows-over-Rena/tabid/419/articleID/230106/Default.aspx

    I personally feel they were unfortunate words for Harawira to use, as one commenter there mentions – people can take that sort of language seriously. Look at the recriminations against Republican MPs and their use of gun-related rhetoric after Giffords was shot in the head in Arizona. MPs need to be careful about using violent imagery.

    So the headlines keeps a reference to the language he used but now makes clear the context it was used in.

    Just want to point out to those people who say we should have reported the throat slitting incident that 3news.co.nz, and Garner and Gower on the 6 News that night reported on the incident. As memory serves our website was the first to post the video of this as well.

    Here are the links if you are interested:

    http://www.3news.co.nz/VIDEO-Key-makes-hand-gesture-to-throat/tabid/419/articleID/228536/Default.aspx

    http://www.3news.co.nz/Key-under-fire-over-throat-slitting-gesture/tabid/419/articleID/228565/Default.aspx

    James Murray – chief editor 3news.co.nz

    • The Voice of Reason 9.1

      Good on ya, James. Its nice to see you guys take your journalism seriously and are prepared to amend the story to better reflect the facts.

    • r0b 9.2

      Hi James.

      Thanks for that. Yes, Harawira’s words were unfortunate, but their impact will be a lot less unfortunate now that they’re being reported more accurately.

      Once again I’m impressed at your willingness to fix the occasionally bizarre headlines that appear on 3News, and to engage on a blog to say so.

      Cheers
      Anthony / r0b
       

  10. Pretty sure if a white politican said of a Maori “Hanging the poor bugger might sound a bit harsh, but somebody should pay,”

    There would be outrage and rightly so.