NZ Media and blogs vs blogs
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- Date published:
10:32 am, December 6th, 2014 - 42 comments
Categories: blogs, broadcasting, internet, journalism, Media, newspapers, radio, tv -
Tags: blogging, blogs, Media, ownership
“Mainstream” media has (in general) a structural right-wing bias because it (in general) reflects the interests of its owners, who are of course well off. If you have ever felt the need to know who owns the NZ media and pulls its strings, take a look at the latest version of the JMAD NZ media ownership report (pdf), which has a brief summary on RNZ here:
More evidence of unethical alliances
Researchers say there is increasing evidence of what it calls unethical alliances between bloggers, politicians, media and public relations companies. The Journalism, Media and Democracy research centre at AUT University says the boundaries between those groups are blurring. The report highlighted what researchers said were major revelations in Nicky Hager’s book Dirty Politics, and said they cast a shadow over long-established media organisations.
Well yes, all of this is now obvious to everyone. Here’s a few snippets from the report itself (pdf):
Key events and trends concerning New Zealand media
• Financialisation of mass media ownership confirmed
• Substantial changes in Fairfax, APN and MediaWorks ownership
• Competition heats up in online television and video markets
• Turbulence at Maori TV
• Blurred lines among politicians, bloggers, journalists and PR practitioners
In 2014, there were six major commercially operating media corporations in New Zealand. These included APN and its New Zealand media arm NZME, Fairfax Media, Sky TV, MediaWorks, TVNZ and Bauer Media. The National Business Review is a privately owned financial newspaper which funds its operations from advertising income and print/digital subscriptions. APN, Fairfax Media, Bauer Media and MediaWorks are all foreign owned media outlets. APN is a trans-Tasman media corporation with Irish media corporation INM and Irish telecom billionaire Denis O’Brien as its substantial shareholders. Fairfax Media is an Australian headquartered media corporation with Australian mining billionaire Gina Rinehart as its largest shareholder. Bauer Media is a privately owned, global media conglomerate headquartered in Germany. In 2013 the group bought APN’s New Zealand magazines including The Listener. MediaWorks ownership is also in foreign hands as the American private equity group Oaktree Capital is the largest shareholder in the company. Sky TV has been owned by financial institutions since Rupert Murdoch’s News Limited sold its shares in the company in 2013.
In 2014, Stuff was more dominant in the online news sphere than The New Zealand Herald. In September Amazon’s Alexa, which measures internet traffic, ranked stuff.co.nz as the sixth most visited site in New Zealand, and nzherald.co.nz as the seventh most visited site in the country (Alexa, 2014).
In 2014, it was even more evident that New Zealand media companies were under the control of fund management companies and other unlisted financial institutions. In 2014, two financial corporations alone owned 23 per cent of APN’s shares, and four financial institutions held 24 per cent of Fairfax’s shares. Sky TV’s four substantial shareholders were all investment management companies and they held 26 per cent of the company’s shares. In 2014 MediaWorks was owned by five financial firms: one private equity fund, Oaktree Capital, held 43 per cent of the company’s shares.
As the JMAD report in 2013 noted, financialised ownership is worrying because it intensifies corporate focus on revenue streams and profits. This ownership structure has made media organisations more vulnerable to restructuring as the financial owners maximise profits and returns. These profit imperatives were exemplified by Fairfax, as it continued layoffs during 2014, and by APN as the company contemplated a float for its New Zealand media assets. The drive for profit also compelled MediaWorks to introduce increasingly commercial, advertising friendly content for its programmes.
Many journalists noted that “profit-making pressures” had strengthened in the past five years (Hannis et al., 2014). They commented that cost cutting was “undermining the quality of journalism” and that news copy was over reliant upon public relations material (Hannis eta al., 2014). Some respondents were quoted as saying that journalism in New Zealand is “too productivity-driven” (in regard to the number of stories expected per day). Others remarked that journalism had “been captured by trivia” as newsrooms were employing fewer journalists, and that there was pressure “for everyone to be first with something on websites” (Hannis et al., 2014). Clearly, the profit driven culture is felt in most newsrooms. In this context, it is concerning that public service journalism in New Zealand has shrunk as non- commercial television channels such as TVNZ7 have been shut down.
All of that is business as depressingly usual of course. But the report also gets in to territory that is of particular interest to Standardistas:
Political machinations and the blogosphere
The 2013 JMAD New Zealand media ownership report observed that bloggers had gained in prominence and influence in New Zealand as media space became increasingly commercial. Accordingly the report observed that “blogs have started to fill the gap in public interest journalism left by the commercially operated media corporates” (Myllylahti, 2013). The report specifically argued that
increasing commercial pressures combined with financialised media ownership, have created a national media environment where the content is driven by profits, ratings and clicks. In these circumstances, it is not surprising that citizen journalists and bloggers have started to take a more active role in the media domain (Myllylahti, 2013).
After the revelations in Nicky Hager’s book Dirty Politics, it appears that blogs are not necessarily a counterweight to commercial media outlets. The capability of blogs to retrieve the principles of public interest journalism became questionable. This report finds increasing evidence of unethical alliances among bloggers, politicians, PR companies and legacy media.
The issues concerning Dirty Politics have been covered extensively elsewhere. This report simply highlights the major revelations; how the politicians try to manipulate news coverage; how corporates and public relation practitioners advance their agendas in the blogosphere; and how blogs can influence news journalists. In the latter context, the Coalition for Better Broadcasting (CBB) observed that the ability of Slater, Judith Collins and David Farrar (a right wing blogger) to exploit mainstream media was due to the fact that “our media is weak, underfunded, highly competitive and almost entirely commercial” (CBB, 2014c).
Hager’s book has cast a shadow over long established media organisations. After the publication of Dirty Politics, Fran O’Sullivan, Jared Savage and David Fisher, journalists working for The New Zealand Herald, came clean about their earlier collaborations with Slater. Jared Savage admitted that “information was shared, there was a bit of “horse trading”, we talked about developments as the story rolled along (Savage, 2014). The paper’s investigative journalist David Fisher admitted in his opinion piece that “Cameron Slater was a contact of mine – Nicky Hager made this clear in Dirty Politics”; before he stopped “dealing with Slater”, he was “speaking to Slater as a contact and source” (Fisher, 2014).
The Dirty Politics fallout, which led to the resignation of Justice Minister Judith Collins, did also damaged Cameron Slater’s the Whale Oil blog alongside the reputation of the wider blogging community. However, the Hard News blogger Russell Brown remarked that “we’re not all like that. The multitude of bloggers, political bloggers included, have no part in this” (Brown, 2014).
I want to pick up on the last point in particular. Permeating this report, and the coverage of it (e.g. RNZ quoted above) is the assumption that all blogs are equal – a blog is a blog is a blog. This is a version of the Nats’ dirty politics spin that “everyone does it” and “Labour has attack blogs” and “The Standard is written by Labour staffers” and so on – these are all distractions, deflections, and lies lies lies.
So it is disappointing to see this report accepting (apart from one quick comment by Russell Brown) the assumption that all blogs are created equal, and that all are tarnished by dirty politics. Bollocks. It makes no more sense than saying that all TV is game shows, that all radio is talkback, or that all websites are porn. Blogs span a rich and interesting spectrum, and the only ones tarnished by dirty politics are the ones that were actively involved – Whale Oil, Kiwiblog, and the (deleted in shame) Asian Invasion.
So – media – how about a little bit more honesty in the coverage of bloggers and blogs eh? And with all due respect to the JMAD team, for your next report, why not get out and talk to some bloggers, find out a bit about what is really going on (and not going on), instead of repeating the media lines that you are supposed to be critiquing?
(As a last point for a lazy Saturday, quoted above “blogs have started to fill the gap in public interest journalism left by the commercially operated media corporates”. Discuss!)
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David Parker's speech from the University of Auckland's forum on Piketty, Inequality and Climate Change in September 2024. ...16 hours ago
- Release: Youth mental wellbeing no longer a priority for Child Poverty Minister
Louise Upston has revealed her diminished vision for vulnerable youth against a backdrop of snubbed advice, scrapped priorities, shifted goal posts and thousands more children projected to fall into poverty. ...18 hours ago
- Release: National’s lack of climate action taking NZ backwards
National Government’s backward-looking climate policy has seen New Zealand fall seven places on the Climate Change Performance Index to 41 out of 63 countries measured. ...18 hours ago
- Release: Simple reason for drop in emergency housing
When the Government says it has reduced the number of people in emergency housing, what it means is it is stopping people from accessing it in the first place. ...21 hours ago
- Govt’s child wellbeing strategy ‘shallow and shameful’
The Government is turning its back on children by not only weakening child poverty reduction targets, but also removing child mental wellbeing as a priority focus in their Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy. ...21 hours ago
- Release: A historic win for Samoan communities
Labour warmly welcomes the Restoring Samoan Citizenship Bill as it passes its third reading, before becoming law. ...22 hours ago
- Government plan to reinstate live animal exports a “national disgrace”
The Government has taken a giant step backwards by reinstating live animal exports. ...2 days ago
- Pasifika justice as Member’s Bill passes final reading
Teanau Tuiono’s Member’s Bill, the Citizenship (Western Samoa Restoration) Amendment Bill, has passed its third reading and will become law. ...2 days ago
- Release: Minister of Education thinks New Zealand ends at the Bombay Hills
The Minister of Education has shown complete disregard for rural communities and their school bus routes in Question Time today. ...2 days ago
- Economists sound alarm on Government’s slash-and-burn approach
A group of prominent economists has released an open letter to the Government, raising grave concerns about the far-reaching consequences of its fiscal policy. ...2 days ago
- Release: Smoking numbers up under Costello’s watch
National’s repeal of Labour’s smokefree legislation has taken New Zealand further away from achieving a Smokefree 2025 and a smokefree generation. ...2 days ago
- Release: Call for Palestine recognition by NZ, Australian and Canadian MPs
Parliamentarians from Australia, Canada and New Zealand have written an open letter to their respective Prime Ministers calling on them to recognise Palestine. ...2 days ago
- Justice Select Committee opens floor for Treaty Principles submissions
Today, the Justice Select Committee has decided to officially open submissions for the controversial Treaty Principles Bill. ...3 days ago
- Power of the people on full display as hīkoi approaches Parliament
Today, Hīkoi mō te Tiriti arrived in Wellington, with thousands gathering to march in unity against the divisive Treaty Principles Bill. ...3 days ago
- Hypocrisy as Te Whatu Ora contractor bill balloons
Te Whatu Ora’s bill for contracting and consulting staff has ballooned by nearly 20 percent under the National Government, breaking a promise they made during the election campaign to cut contractors. ...4 days ago
- Release: Growing pressure to scrap Section 7AA Repeal Bill
The newly released Section 7AA Repeal Bill's select committee report is further evidence that the Government should scrap it. ...5 days ago
- Government’s move to monetise access to nature a slippery slope
The Green Party is voicing serious concerns over the Government’s proposal to charge for access to public conservation land, released today. ...7 days ago
- Green Party condemns the passage of Treaty Principles Bill
The Green Party condemns the passing of the Treaty Principles Bill at first reading, and is clear that the fight is not over. ...1 week ago
- Stand Up for Te Tiriti
Te Tiriti o Waitangi is our country’s founding document. It forms the basis of the relationship between Māori and the Crown – and the Aotearoa New Zealand we live in today. ...1 week ago
- Release: Over 15,000 sign Labour’s open letter to Luxon
As the hīkoi to Parliament continues, Labour has sent an open letter to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon in a last-ditch attempt to get him to kill the Treaty Principles Bill. ...1 week ago
- Fast Track Bill threatens environment, climate and reputation
The fast-track legislation passing its second reading in Parliament is another step towards environmental ruin. ...1 week ago
- Greens join King’s Counsel in calling for Treaty Principles Bill to be abandoned
The Prime Minister must answer the call from a group of senior lawyers of the King’s Counsel to abandon the divisive Treaty Principles Bill. ...1 week ago
- Chris Hipkins’ apology statement to state and faith-based care survivors
...1 week ago
- Release: Labour formally apologises to state and faith-based care survivors
Labour joins with the Government in unreservedly apologising for the abuse, neglect and trauma including torture in state and faith-based care and for ignoring the voices of survivors for too long. ...1 week ago
- Green Party stands in support of survivors of abuse in care
Today, the Green Party stands alongside the survivors of abuse in state care and faith-based care as the Government issues an historic apology. ...1 week ago
- Green Party calls for conscience vote on Treaty Principles Bill
The Green Party has written to the Speaker of the House requesting he enable a personal vote on the Treaty Principles Bill. ...2 weeks ago
- Govt move to exclude journalist risks chilling effect
The Green Party is alarmed by the Government’s move to exclude a journalist from covering this week’s apology for the survivors of abuse in state and faith-based care. ...2 weeks ago
- Without action, an apology will be empty air
For tomorrow’s apology to survivors of abuse in state and faith-based care to hold any water, the Government must not pursue the same policies that drove the abuse in the first place. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Concerns remain over tobacco interference
Concerns about the tobacco industry’s ability to interfere in government policy making remain, despite the inability of the Office of the Auditor-General to investigate the Government’s decision to halve the excise tax on heated tobacco products. ...2 weeks ago
- Urgent wake-up call on climate
The Climate Change Commission’s latest advice indicates Aotearoa needs to be stepping up on climate action. ...2 weeks ago
- Green MP’s Meme-ber’s Bill set to save the world
Break out the punchlines and dust off your meme folder: Green Party MP Kahurangi Carter’s Copyright (Parody and Satire) Amendment Bill was pulled from the Ballot yesterday. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Poroporoaki: Ta Robert (Bom) Gillies
Kua hinga te manawa kairākau o Te Rua Tekau Ma Waru Tiwhatiwha te po! Kakarauru i te po! Ka rapuhia kei hea koe kua riro! Haere e te Ika a Whiro ki o tini hoa kua ngaro atu ki te Pō ...2 weeks ago
- Labour, Greens and Te Pāti Māori call on the Prime Minister to block the Treaty Principles Bill
The opposition parties stand united for an Aotearoa that honours Te Tiriti, rather than seeking to rewrite it. Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori are working together against the Government’s divisive Treaty Principles Bill. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Labour, Greens and Te Pāti Māori call on the Prime Minister to block the Treaty Principle...
The opposition parties stand united for an Aotearoa that honours Te Tiriti, rather than seeking to rewrite it. Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori are working together against the Government’s divisive Treaty Principles Bill. ...2 weeks ago
- NZ must pursue independent foreign policy
The Green Party says the need is greater than ever for Aotearoa New Zealand to pursue an independent foreign policy. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Winston Peters must apologise
The Deputy Prime Minister should apologise to the public servant he named and blamed for something they did not do, and for misusing the rules of Parliament. ...2 weeks ago
- Government action provides Southland farmers more time to meet plan requirements
The Government is taking action to ensure Southland farmers and growers are not affected by unreasonable regional farm plan deadlines, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay, Environment Minister Penny Simmonds and Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard say.“Cabinet has agreed to provide more time for farmers and growers to comply with regional rules ...14 hours ago - Bill reaffirms Government’s commitment to crack down on serious youth offending
The Oranga Tamariki (Responding to Serious Youth Offending) Bill had its first reading at Parliament today. The Bill reaffirms the Government’s commitment to crack down on serious youth offending, Minister for Children Karen Chhour says. “In recent years we have seen an unacceptable spike in youth offending. “This Bill makes ...15 hours ago
- Critical milestones for earthquake buildings review
Fairer, more sensible rules about managing earthquake risks are a step closer with the passing of legislation and the appointment of an independent chair to provide expert advice, Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says. “The Government is committed to reinvigorating our cities and regions to support economic growth, ...15 hours ago
- State of the art radiology machine for Auckland
People in Northland and Auckland will benefit from a new machine for cancer treatment installed at the Regional Cancer and Blood Service at Auckland City Hospital. The MV5 linear accelerator, or LINAC machine, officially opened today targets cancer tumours with pinpoint accuracy. Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says this new, ...15 hours ago
- Foreign Minister to visit Europe
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Europe for high-level talks with France, Germany and the United Kingdom next week. "Since taking office almost a year ago, the Coalition Government has emphasised the importance we place on New Zealand's traditional and likeminded diplomatic and ...16 hours ago
- First arrests made under gang patch ban
Police have made their first arrests under the new gang patch legislation, with two gang members arrested, says Police Minister Mark Mitchell. “Just before 11 this morning, Police in Wairoa apprehended a gang member for wearing a patch to the supermarket. He has been arrested and will now face enforcement ...17 hours ago
- Better support for victims of sexual violence
The Government is proposing two major changes to name suppression laws that will put the views of victims of sexual violence first, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “We are committed to restoring law and order and these two proposed changes will help ensure the victims of crime are put at ...18 hours ago
- Government moving forward with Regional Deals
Cabinet has agreed to invite all regions to submit proposals for Regional Deals between central and local government that drive economic growth and deliver the infrastructure our country needs, Local Government Minister Simeon Brown and Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop say. Inviting all regions to propose a Regional Deal that boosts ...18 hours ago
- MSA pilot participant update
One of the ten young men selected to participate in the Military-Style Academy Pilot has allegedly reoffended. Children’s Minister Karen Chhour is disappointed but says it would be naïve to think that none of these young men would reoffend. “I’m saddened that this young person has not taken this opportunity ...19 hours ago
- Attendance rates increase, again
Associate Education Minister David Seymour says that school attendance is continuing to rise. In Term 3 of 2024 51.3 per cent of students attended school regularly, an increase of 5.3 percentage points from 46 per cent in Term 3 of 2023. “This Government has prioritised student attendance and it is ...21 hours ago
- Improving the lives of young New Zealanders
Ensuring New Zealand is the best place in the world for children and young people is the vision at the heart of the Government’s new Child and Youth Strategy, Child Poverty Reduction Minister Louise Upston says. “Childhood represents a huge opportunity to set people on a positive path towards living ...24 hours ago
- Government continues work to reinstate livestock exports by sea
The Government is reinstating the trade of livestock exports by sea while ensuring the highest standards of animal welfare, says Associate Minister of Agriculture Andrew Hoggard.“The Government will introduce legislation changes to reinstate the trade, enhance oversight, and strengthen requirements for exporters to identify risks and manage the welfare of ...2 days ago
- Speech to the National Quality Forum 2024
Tēnā koutou katoa – it is a pleasure to be here today. I would like to begin by acknowledging the important leadership role you all play in ensuring a quality health system New Zealanders can trust. There is enormous clinical expertise in this room covering a wide range of disciplines. ...2 days ago
- New Zealand’s COP29 National Statement
Tēnā koutou katoa. Mr President, Excellencies, Delegates. New Zealand, and all nations represented here today, are already dealing with the impacts of climate change. Our households, businesses, and economies are bearing the costs of its effects. The choices we make now will shape the severity of these impacts for generations ...2 days ago
- Latest Quarterly Investment Report released
The Government has released its second Quarterly Investment Report (QIR) which shows substantial work still to be done by agencies to improve investment reporting and meet the Government’s expectations, Infrastructure and Acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “New Zealand has significant infrastructure and investment needs. The Government is determined to get ...2 days ago
- New Zealand supporting loss and damage fund
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced New Zealand will contribute NZ$10 million to the new Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage while at the annual United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan. “New Zealand is joining the global effort to address the significant challenge of responding to ...2 days ago
- Gang crackdown begins at stroke of midnight
The free ride for gangs is over when the clock strikes midnight tonight, with tough new laws officially coming into effect, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith and Police Minister Mark Mitchell say. “Gang patches will no longer be able to be worn in public. To earn the right to wear a ...2 days ago
- LGFA increases borrowing capacity to support high growth councils
The Government is welcoming the decision by the Local Government Funding Agency to increase access to financing tools for fast growing councils to support greater investment in critical infrastructure, Local Government Minister Simeon Brown says.“Communities across the country are facing an infrastructure deficit and significant population growth is projected in ...2 days ago
- Temporary Traffic Management costs revealed
The Government has revealed that over the past three years, the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) has spent an eyewatering $786 million of taxpayers’ money on road cones and temporary traffic management (TTM), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“When I became Minister, I was surprised to learn that that NZTA did ...2 days ago
- Jurisdiction of Disputes Tribunal to double
Legislation that will double the financial jurisdiction of the Disputes Tribunal from $30,000 to $60,000 has passed first reading in Parliament today, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith. “We need to improve court timeliness and access to justice so that Kiwis and get on with their lives. Court delays affect everyone, the ...3 days ago
- Protecting New Zealand from foreign interference
Legislation that will specifically criminalise foreign interference and strengthen espionage offences has passed first reading in Parliament today, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “It is normal and appropriate for states to interact and work to influence one another. This encourages cooperation and can have mutually beneficial outcomes. “However, the reality ...3 days ago
- Significant milestone for Canterbury Road of National Significance
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed news that the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) Board has approved funding towards pre-implementation and early works on the State Highway 1 (SH1) Belfast to Pegasus Motorway and Woodend Bypass Road of National Significance (RoNS). “Reaching this significant milestone is a reflection of our Government’s ...3 days ago
- Health survey results to help drive change
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says findings from the annual Health Survey highlight the need to continue driving better health outcomes for New Zealanders. The New Zealand Health Survey is an annual snapshot of key metrics measured from July 2023 – July 2024. Findings released this morning include: In 2023/24, ...3 days ago
- Final push needed to get to Smokefree 2025
A renewed effort to get people to quit smoking will build on what has worked to date and target the groups who most need support, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello said today. “The latest New Zealand Health Survey results show the daily smoking rate at 6.9 per cent and we ...3 days ago
- New diplomatic appointments
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has announced four new diplomatic appointments. “Our diplomats play an important role in ensuring New Zealand’s interests are maintained and enhanced across the world,” Mr Peters says. “It is a pleasure to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the Ministry of Foreign ...3 days ago
- Next steps for Regulatory Standards Bill
Regulation Minister David Seymour has today announced the next steps in the Government’s plan improve the quality of regulation by opening consultation on a proposed Regulatory Standards Bill. “New Zealand's low wages can be blamed on low productivity, and low productivity can be blamed on poor regulation,” says Mr Seymour. ...3 days ago
- Red Tape Tipline goes live
Minister for Regulation David Seymour has today announced that the Ministry for Regulation’s Red Tape Tipline is now live. “We want to hear about your red tape horror stories. From today, New Zealanders will have a say on how they are regulated through an online portal,” says Mr Seymour. The ...3 days ago
- Youth Parliament 2025 announced
The Minister for Youth Matt Doocey has today announced the eleventh Youth Parliament will be taking place in 2025. “Youth Parliament offers a unique youth development opportunity to young people from across New Zealand to experience the political process and learn about how government works,” says Mr Doocey. “The two-day ...4 days ago
- Police stats show promising change
After nearly a year in Government, Kiwis have seen significant change across law and order with promising early results shown across some Police statistics, says Police Minister Mark Mitchell. “In August 2023, I told New Zealanders that if they had not started to see a change in public safety within ...4 days ago
- Better coordination of anti-scam efforts
With the launch of Fraud Awareness Week, the Government is committing to new coordination efforts across industry and government to combat online scams, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Online financial scams are a growing problem for New Zealand. New data released today shows that Kiwis lost nearly ...4 days ago
- Minister to consider 7AA select committee report
Minister for Children Karen Chhour will consider the recommendations made by the Social Services and Community Committee in its report back to Parliament on the Oranga Tamariki (Repeal of Section 7AA) Amendment Bill. “I want to thank the people who made submissions and those who appeared before the committee in ...4 days ago
- Defence Minister to attend ASEAN meeting
Defence Minister Judith Collins will this week attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus in Vientiane, Laos. “We need to take every opportunity to engage with our international partners, given the increasingly unstable geo-political situation,” Ms Collins says. “New Zealand has a long-standing commitment to this ...4 days ago
- Launching the White Ribbon Ride
The Minister for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence, Karen Chhour, was on hand to wish riders well at the start of the North Island leg of the White Ribbon Ride in Whakatāne this morning. The ride helps mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, ...5 days ago
- Construction to begin on next stage of Papakura to Drury
Construction on the next stage of the SH1 Papakura to Drury project will begin early next month, with the contract for works awarded to Fulton Hogan, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. "SH1 Papakura to Drury is a key project that will drive economic growth and productivity, reduce congestion, and enable people ...6 days ago
- NZ signs trade deal with Costa Rica, Iceland and Switzerland
Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has signed a pioneering trade agreement that prioritises New Zealand’s sustainable exports at a ceremony during APEC in Peru today. “The Agreement on Trade and Sustainability (ACCTS), between Costa Rica, Iceland, and Switzerland was concluded in July of this year and opens up significant ...6 days ago
- Government and iwi work together on aquaculture
Five new Aquaculture Settlement Areas will help ensure Ngāi Tahu shares in the opportunities aquaculture offers for Southland’s economy, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. “The Aquaculture Settlement Areas (ASAs) I’m announcing today set aside space so the Crown and Ngāi Tahu can assess their potential for aquaculture development. ...7 days ago
- Government launches review to ensure electricity market is fit-for-purpose
The terms of reference for a review of the performance of the electricity market have been released. The review, initiated by the Coalition Government during the power crisis in winter will look at whether current regulations and market design support economic growth and access to reliable and affordable electricity, Energy Minister ...7 days ago
- Speech to Social Investment Hui: Jack and his whānau need our help
Kia ora koutou katoa. Nau mai, haere mai, piki mai. Ki te mihi atu ahau, ki te manwhenua nei, Te Atiawa, Ngāti toa rangatira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa. Thank you, Andy, for your introduction. Let me acknowledge you as the new Chief Executive of the Social Investment ...7 days ago
- Minister of State for Trade heads to Brisbane for PACER Plus meeting
Minister of State for Trade Nicola Grigg has travelled to Australia to attend the PACER Plus Ministers Meeting in Brisbane. “Trade plays a critical role in driving employment, economic growth, and improving the standards of living in the Pacific Region. The Government is strongly committed to supporting Pacific Island countries ...7 days ago
- Proposals to modernise conservation released
Toitū te taiao – Our environment endures The Government is consulting on proposals to modernise New Zealand’s conservation management system, aiming to protect relevant natural areas while supporting sustainable growth in tourism and regional economies, Conservation Minister Tama Potaka says. “Today, the Department of Conservation – Te Papa Atawhai is ...7 days ago
- Government slammed for pushing ahead with boot camps while trial still under way
The coalition has "absolutely no intention of listening to the evidence that comes out of their experiment", Labour MP says. ...1 hour ago - Smoke and mirrors in heated tobacco debate
Labour claims Government is ‘cherry-picking’ smoking trends data to hide decade-first increase in daily smokers The post Smoke and mirrors in heated tobacco debate appeared first on Newsroom. ...1 hour ago - Treasury bangs the drum on ‘unsustainable’ superannuation
The Government’s economic adviser is sending a message it doesn’t want to hear – superannuation is increasingly unaffordable The post Treasury bangs the drum on ‘unsustainable’ superannuation appeared first on Newsroom. ...2 hours ago
- Victims of sex offending welcome shift on name suppression laws
A man abused by a former political figure is "immensely relieved" at a government proposal to end secrecy around sex offenders' identities. ...2 hours ago
- This week three parties stood together – can they withstand the storm to come?
There is plenty yet to play out, but the next election is at this rate shaping up as trio versus trio, writes Toby Manhire. A subplot of this week’s historic hīkoi mō te Tiriti has been the sight of the three opposition parties presenting a unified front. Te Pāti Māori ...2 hours ago - All 33 malls in Auckland ranked from worst to best
From the low lows of abandon empires to the high highs of a mall done just right. This is the second in the Malls of New Zealand series, where we rank the malls in major centres. Next week: Wellington. A note from the editor: This is the hardest ranking we’ve ...2 hours ago
- The cost of being: A clothes-mad 20-something who walks everywhere
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a 27-year-old apartment-dwelling marketing exec explains her approach to spending and saving. Want to be part of The Cost of Being? Fill out the questionnaire here. Gender: Female. Age: 27. Ethnicity: Pākehā. Role: Marketing exec at ...2 hours ago
- Newsroom daily quiz, Friday 22 November
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp');Got a good quiz question? Send Newsroom your questions.The post Newsroom daily quiz, Friday 22 November appeared first on Newsroom. ...2 hours ago
- Daily crossword, Friday 22 November
The post Daily crossword, Friday 22 November appeared first on Newsroom. ...2 hours ago
- China likely to strengthen regional relationships in response to another Trump term
Opinion: Recent discussions in Shanghai provide some insight into what’s likely to be on the table The post China likely to strengthen regional relationships in response to another Trump term appeared first on Newsroom. ...2 hours ago
- Nuclear winters know no borders
Opinion: The immediate horror of nuclear weapon explosions – the blinding flash, crushing blast wave, and radioactive inferno – is well documented.But what nuclear-armed nations either don’t grasp or won’t admit, is far more chilling: how their weapons could devastate even countries thousands of kilometres from any mushroom clouds.The collapse ...2 hours ago
- This week’s bestselling books – November 22
FICTION1 Kāwai: Tree of Nourishment by Monty Soutar (David Bateman, $39.99)Sample dialogue, all from one chapter:“That can’t be,” replied Taona doubtfully.“You were right. The pā is unnervingly quiet,” Taona murmured.“The Hākuwai,” Motukia breathed. “Our grandfathers told us they rarely saw the Hākuwai in daylight,” Motukia muttered.“Their fight would have been futile ...2 hours ago
- Burma the flying elephant
After about two and a half years of planning and waiting, New Zealand’s last elephant has moved to her new home at Monarto Safari Park in South Australia.Burma and her “human herd”, that is, her keepers, arrived last week, and she’s settling in well, according to Auckland Zoo’s Andrew Coers.“Something ...2 hours ago
- NZ’s membership of Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance in jeopardy
Senior ministers in the coalition suggested NZ’s membership will be re-evaluated if it restarts offshore oil and gas drilling The post NZ’s membership of Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance in jeopardy appeared first on Newsroom. ...2 hours ago
- Raw Politics: Six months in a leaky Bill
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon did not meet the Treaty Principles Bill hikoi crowd, sees “nothing” of merit in the Act-proposed law but the Parliament his Government dominates will spend six months debating a “divisive” measure.That’s because he has accepted there needs to be “aeration” of people’s views on the Treaty, ...2 hours ago
- Taken to the brink, Govt is now close to selling big Whakapapa ski field
Bidder Whakapapa Holdings walked away from the sales process last year, but says it’s now ‘95% there’ on a purchase agreement – so who blinked first? The post Taken to the brink, Govt is now close to selling big Whakapapa ski field appeared first on Newsroom. ...2 hours ago
- Watts nears a landmark deal on global carbon trading
A framework for global carbon trading under the Paris Agreement is finally nearing completion at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan after years of halting talks.Climate Change Minister Simon Watts is one of two ministers tasked by the COP29 hosts with landing a long-sought deal on Article 6 of the climate accord, ...2 hours ago
- Grattan on Friday: Marles plays a defensive bat on nuclear as the government rushes to get though la...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Richard Marles is an ambitious man who hasn’t given up the dream of one day reaching the top job. But, despite being deputy prime minister, his profile is much lower than that of Treasurer Jim ...7 hours ago - NEW POLL: Kiwis Overwhelmingly Support MPs’ Expenses Transparency Law Change
62% of respondents support the extension of the OIA to cover MPs’ spending, compared to just 13% opposed and 24% were unsure. ...9 hours ago - The House: Meanwhile, a week of passing law
The political week has been packed with worthy distractions, but all week Parliament has focused on passing new laws. Here are the highlights. ...10 hours ago
- The biggest difference between Hīkoi mō te Tiriti and past hīkoi: More support from non-Māori
Analysis - The diversity of voices during the hīkoi was noticeable - from tangata moana to young immigrants to elderly Pākehā from the South Island. ...10 hours ago
- The House: Samoan citizenship restoration – ‘It means we belong to this land’
When the bill to restore NZ citizenship to some Samoans passed this week, Parliament's galleries were full to the brim with members of the community. ...11 hours ago
- More Delays In Action On Use Of Puberty Blockers With Children
Women’s Rights Party Co-leader Jill Ovens says the Ministry has put New Zealand children at risk by continuing to allow “off-label” prescribing of puberty blockers at far higher rates than other similar countries. ...12 hours ago
- Police Minister adamant he wasn’t aware of gang members training at gun clubs
That is despite two papers from police that raised the matter with him. ...13 hours ago
- Shorten declares himself ‘a proud moderate’, saying Australians ‘in the middle’ shouldn’t ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Bill Shorten has declared himself “a proud moderate” in a valedictory speech declaring parliament has the responsibility to ensure the extremes of left and right do not set the terms of political debate. Shorten, ...13 hours ago
- New ‘best practice’ principles for superannuation products are coming. We asked a panel of exper...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Matt Garrow, Editorial Web Developer Studio Romantic/Shutterstock We all know how important it is to save enough money for retirement – but what about spending it wisely when we get there? Even for those who have built up a suitable ...13 hours ago
- Government accused of betraying Kiwis’ trust over lack of consultation on live exports
The government has always vowed to reinstate live exports by sea, which was banned by the previous Labour government. ...13 hours ago
- 7 things you can do if you think you sweat too much
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Freeman, Associate Professor of Dermatology, Bond University ERIK Miheyeu/Shutterstock Sweating is our body’s way of cooling down, a bit like an internal air conditioner. When our core temperature rises (because it’s hot outside, or you’re exercising), sweat glands all ...14 hours ago
- Phenergan for under 6s is now banned due to hallucination fears. Here’s what to use instead
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nial Wheate, Professor of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Macquarie University Australia’s drug regulator has issued a safety warning over the medicine Phenergan and related products containing the antihistamine drug promethazine. The Therapeutic Goods Administration said the over-the-counter products should not be given to children ...14 hours ago
- A new stage adaptation of Peter Carey’s Jack Maggs is a delightful homage to theatrical storytelli...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Catherine Campbell, Lecturer, Performing Arts, UniSA Creative, University of South Australia Matt Byrne/STCSA Jack Maggs is a delight and a homage to theatrical storytelling in Australia. Based on Peter Carey’s bestselling novel, Jack Maggs follows the ex-convict as he lands ...14 hours ago
- The government has introduced laws for its social media ban. But key details are still missing
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daniel Angus, Professor of Digital Communication, Director of QUT Digital Media Research Centre, Queensland University of Technology Ron Lach/Pexels The federal government today introduced into parliament legislation for its social media ban for people under 16 years. Communications Minister Michelle ...14 hours ago
- Archives NZ, National Library to cut 27 roles
The Department of Internal Affairs wants to bring the two organisations under the joint leadership of the Chief Archivist and National Librarian. ...14 hours ago
- Gang patch ban: Members warn of potential for violence to ‘erupt’ as new laws enforced
"I can't see this lasting unless they have a budget to lock fullas up in jail which I think is absolutely stupid, really it's ludicrous," Ngavii Pekapo, who set up a Mongrel Mob chapter 54 years ago, says. ...14 hours ago
- ACT leader David Seymour raises doubts about Waikato medical school
Government documents show ACT leader David Seymour told the government he was "dissatisfied" with a cost-benefit analysis. ...14 hours ago
- National’s Erica Stanford allegedly calls Labour’s Jan Tinetti a ‘stupid bitchR...
The Education Minister has apologised in Parliament for her remark. ...14 hours ago
- Labour backs new Police Commissioner – but warns against routine arming
The alternative to policing by consent would be a police state, which New Zealanders don't want, the party says. ...16 hours ago
- Youth on boot camp pilot re-offended five weeks after release
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“..Discuss!..”
i don’t really need to discuss..the problem..
..as what i do..each/every day…is part of the solution..
http://whoar.co.nz/
Yes, the mainstream masses are just clamouring for stream-of-consciousness style garbled sentence fragment “articles”.
and tho’ there is much wailing and gnashing of teeth over the current online content on offer..
..i wd note that i started doing this news-gathering stuff in the 90’s @ bfm..
..they didn’t even have a computer for the news people to use..
..( i bought mine in and gave it to them on extended-loan..it was that dire..)
..and as for news-resources..there was the print edition of the herald..and little else..
..i was reduced to dismantling/re-writing/taking the piss out of what they had on offer..
..the only other resource i had..was the print edition of the guardian weekly..that i went and purchased each week..
..i wd drip-feed re-writes from that most excellent publication over the week..
..i compare that to now..
..and wether you get it from my round-up/best-of..or the other choices on offer..
..what there is now is a total feast..
..compared to the famine of not that long ago..
..so yes..our msm is fucked/owned..but it always has been..nothing new there..
..but we don’t need them now/any more..
..the world is on our screens..
..and also now..we have the offerings from the excellent commentators in this country..(the work of gordon campbell is world-class..as just one example..)
..so i don’t gnash and wail that much..especially when i compare to then..
..and why i am puzzled by those who moan..seemingly unaware that they have more choices than stuff/herald..
Lolz @phil affirming Lanth’s point (and no phil, I didn’t read your comment).
john pilger has a current/relevant bunch of questions/comments..
“..John Pilger:.War by Media – and the Triumph of Propaganda..
..Why has so much journalism succumbed to propaganda?
Why are censorship and distortion standard practice?
Why is the BBC so often a mouthpiece of rapacious power?
Why do the New York Times and the Washington Post deceive their readers?
Why are young journalists not taught to understand media agendas –
– and to challenge the high claims and low purpose of fake objectivity?
And why are they not taught that the essence of so much of what’s called the mainstream media is not information – but power?
These are urgent questions.
The world is facing the prospect of major war – perhaps nuclear war –
– with the United States clearly determined to isolate and provoke Russia – and eventually China.
This truth is being turned upside down and inside out by journalists –
– including those who promoted the lies that led to the bloodbath in Iraq in 2003..”
(cont..)
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article40389.htm
I for one appreciate your cred in this Phil.
Pilger ref reminds me of his showdown with Kim Hill.
And Tom Scott’s F bomb on Kim Hills show this a.m.
Basically when cornered by Hill to justify his ‘kill the PM’ track he ended up saying Key had “‘f….d’ the working class” before walking out.
Maybe radicals on radio have the best reach in the MSM.
Thinking of Russell Brand who has got up Murdoch’s nose.
Interesting interview and good to see Scott talking about his politics. He’s not shy on it, and seems solid on class politics, but still has a way to go on gender politics.
And he really did say that ‘the working class got fucked’ on National Radio 😀
Kim Hill on the other hand, wtf with the question about Scott writing lyrics about the politics of being poor when he got NZ On Air funding for a music video? This is Playing Favourites. Glad he walked out.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/saturday/audio/20160090/playing-favourites-with-tom-scott
Seriously WTF with that NZ on Air question?
Is it seriously the case that recipients believe they’re not allowed to criticise the Govt with NZ on Air funding now?
If true then what a Banana Republic we are in.
Kim Hill is painfully middle class. Pretty sure that her social circle consists of people with household incomes over $80K pa.
+100…very interesting detailed Post and analysis thanks Anthony Robins
…what I take from it is basically the Left parties …Labour , Greens, NZF, Mana/Int ….and New Zealanders’ rights are undermined and stuffed….. by big money corporate media interests and bias ( this includes their right wing dirty ops blogs Whaleoil and Kiwiblog)
…unless the Left can mount an effective and recognised media alternative
‘The Standard’ and the ‘Daily Blog’ are good starts…maybe they can be expanded into paper newspapers/broadsheets as well( sold at railway/bus stations), …and have syndicated Left journalists …and whatever else they need to up their profile…there are still a lot of oldies who dont use the computer much for their news and views
….also needed are ‘commercial’ Left radio stations …to counter the likes of Sean Plunket ( who went after Dotcom)….and television to counter the likes of Paul Henry et al
Some journalists use pseudonyms when dealing with gritty stories (they hide themselves), some media groups get all their minions and slaves to do all their dirty work, while they stay silently behind the scenes (hiding themselves), both of these types are what you call- “ultimate cowards”. But Ian Wishart, when Wishart faces a serious investigation- he faces it head on, he “never” hides himself, he is definitely not the “ultimate coward”.
Considering he is a mere mortal like the rest of us, his bravery is absolutely outstanding!
His work is intelligent and truthful, considering all the crappy fluffy shit that is written these days, all that soft rubbishy bullshit, at least he can count himself as- a ‘real’ investigative journalist!
He is a man that knows his true path to true freedom.
It must be all that wisdom he has acquired, in his many journeys.
auf Wiedersehen
Clotilde.
heh..!..you’re funny…!
Did you forget the /sarc tag?
Re: “Unethical Alliances”
“unethical alliances between bloggers, politicians, media and public relations companies… the boundaries between those groups are blurring.”
It is rather worse than that. The Govt has its own little squadron of 288 spin doctors, euphemistically referred to as “staff employed in communications roles”: http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/63849330/Public-servant-numbers-climb
As Vernon Small wrote (when discussing Rennie), regarding “agencies’ and departments’ “communications advice””: “It often goes well beyond how to communicate an issue – or even what to communicate – into frankly how to spin and counterspin Opposition attacks and manage the media in the most derogatory sense of the phrase.
“What is happening is that the “no surprises” rule – the requirement public servants warn their political masters of matters both negative and positive that they ought to know – is being stretched, distorted and subverted into something much worse that ought to worry the public and Rennie.
“No surprises has morphed into “no embarrassment” and has reached the next stage of evolution – “how can we help you avoid embarrassment”.
“The next tentative steps on the journey are already being taken: “how we can help you overcome the Opposition”.
“It’s a slippery incline that takes you from political neutrality to friend, to very good friend, to ally and onto unacceptable political partisanship. ”
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/comment/63576511/Putting-the-spin-on-neutrality
Let’s start from the position that everything is biased on a spectrum of degree, and that we don’t have to be defeatist about media corporations.
Even more than I want to see greater differentiation between blogs, I want to see greater effectiveness between blogs.
The MSM can campaign, incite, and change things, but because of their guise of neutrality, tend not to much in NZ.
Apparently, any crowd with a cellphone and texting capacity can topple governments. The Internet is still young and flexible enough that we can form a different kind of media if we want to.
We can and should translate our massive readership from a blog into something that changes the actual world. That’s the best response to these kinds of report.
Ad +100… “We can and should translate our massive readership from a blog into something that changes the actual world. That’s the best response to these kinds of report.”
imo… people are starving of an alternative view from the msm…but many don’t read ‘The Standard’ or other Left blogs …they just read their newspaper and complain it is right wing or John Key Nactional biased ( I see Judith Collins is going to have her own column in the Sunday Star Times)
…I would like to see a real Left newspaper start up in NZ….an unashamed alternative to what we have in the major dailies…then people could ditch their subscriptions to their current newspaper and buy a new one to a real Left newspaper
btw…as with e-books not replacing paperback books …i dont think newspapers are going to be replaced by digital e-news and blogs any time soon….the thing about a newspaper is that it is easy to keep lying around for future reference and mulling…the Left needs a body of journalism and news and reporting that is out there in paper form for people to refer to imo….so they can put a stake in the ground with their friends and say “This is where I stand”…’This is the paper that speaks for me”
I have been getting my newspapers delivered digitally for several years now and not only can I read on my tablet or computer I can keep back copies for as long as I wish. Usually dictated by the amount of space on your computer/tablet.
It is easier to read, I can search the paper for something I am seeking and it is way cheaper. I can read just about every paper in the world for less than one Herald subscription.
What is also needed is an audit of those voices who are still free:
– academic activists like Dr Jim Salinger
– trade activists like Dr Jane Kelsey
– economic activists like those we regularly see at the Fabians, and Child Poverty Action
– little think tanks like the Sustainability Council
– lawyer activists like Debra Manning
– urban activists like Generation Zero
– the Salvation Army
– etc
… who we can invite them to write on specific themes.
We should presume that there are no journalistic distinctions really functioning now, only individuals prepared to research, publish, comment, and then go on MSM to roll the story. We’re not quite at this point, but we are nearly there.
There are active and commercially motivated conspiracies all around us. Con-spiratio means “breathing together”. Lets form our own conspiracies.
+100…and blue leopard would have good ideas
It’s good you acknowledge the role of community leaders, activists, and academics, given in September you said:
‘The politically engaged lecturers, unions, and public servants are small and rapidly declining as a democratic force. No power now.’
http://thestandard.org.nz/my-thinks-a-manufactured-consent/#comment-886911
However: ”We should presume that there are no journalistic distinctions really functioning now, only individuals prepared to research, publish, comment, and then go on MSM to roll the story. We’re not quite at this point, but we are nearly there.”
This misses the point. What’s needed is for the narratives of activists/academics/community leaders to be woven into everyday stories, journalism and current affairs.
Realistically, activists/academics don’t write challenging new editorial opinion pieces or break big stories all the time, it is not feasible logistically.
It’s about changing the narrative in public life and discourse, which is what WO and National understand, and why they attack people who oppose them.
I was responding in that comment to the same defeatism implied in the post.
Serious yawn. And in case you missed it, I was complaining about the obsession pre-election with Dirty Politics, and proven utterly right by the resounding result.
Nor did I atribute specific agency to any of those i listed. The point above and entirely consistent of previous comment is that resistance is shrinking, but we have no choice but to rebuild from remaining points of resistance.
Leave the MSM behind for causal influence. The future is us.
Fragmenting the media further in an already fragmented market like NZ will not assist what has become virtual information blackouts across much of the public service and NGO sector.
Fear of speaking (even about uncontroversial matters) has probably never been as pronounced as it is now.
Those who retain the status to do so, like public health academics, have been targeted by WO with personal attacks.
It’s why the setback to these tactics afforded by Dirty Politics mattered, with or without a positive election result.
Grandiloquent pronouncements like ‘the future is us’ really don’t help.
Platforms do matter. It’s why the BBC, despite its faults, is still a force, a countervailing one to the USA style culture wars the likes of WO and (unwittingly) you would foster here.
You smell of fear. Fair enough – the defeat was big enough. I’m done with reviewing catastrophic defeat.
The personal attacks aren’t going to stop. Jesson identified such networks three decades ago. We can gather round them and support the Good. Why not invite solidarity?
We will never see TVNZ or National Radio transform into a local BBC. Stop your dreaming. Everyone looks at conspiracies real or imagined and expects some external righteous saviour. Media Jesus isn’t coming. We are it. I’ve written plenty on this recently, and many still squirm looking for another answer.
We need to increasingly break anonymity, publish expert articles, break the rights conspiratorial cycle, and accept the leadership we have.
Yes and there will always be networks of power and control, but Hager’s book pushed the pendulum the right way, just a little.
It is fair I think to say Jesson would have championed that, indeed Hager gave the 2012 Bruce Jesson Memorial Lecture.
I think you’re the one dreaming, of a postmodern digital media utopia.
@ Ergo Robertina
Thanks for putting these comments. Your approach brings another viewpoint that fills in gaps. And with enough detail to follow your argument.
I look forward to reading further.
While Ad may well be a step ahead of the game ER – my sympathy lies with him. The left is systematically excluded or marginalised from the MSM and the mechanisms which enforce this fact are thoroughly entrenched.
That door is shut.
You’re confused between platform and content, Red.
Moving to an even more fragmented media, when NZ is already one of the most under-resourced in the western world, is not going to promulgate the left’s themes and messages.
It is realistic for NZ to have a BBC-type public broadcaster, albeit on a smaller scale; I don’t accept Ad’s TINA line on that.
I favour a pluralist model in which the principled blogosphere holds the MSM to account; in which old media skills like digging information and clear writing are used in conjunction with new media technologies.
@ Ad
You keep banging on about anonymity – not having it. The point has been made that we actually are not anonymous – the sysop knows who we are and we register each time we email from the same address. We can login if we are coming from another address. Pseudonymity is good in a conformist society.
We are lightly moderated but there are rules – we keep it reasonably clean and ask for sources for statements so we can check and inform ourselves fully. This stops scuttlebutt and we all have our IQs raised from each other. We know each other’s thinking styles and who to respect, and who to rely on for interesting arguments, and who comes here to dump their boring RW lives on us.
I don’t see how knowing people’s names actually provides more certainty and integrity. And I don’t want to be receiving phone calls from people I don’t know who want to praise or denigrate what I say. Which can happen.
You are keen to push us further ahead. Our slogan should likely be to “Make haste slowly”.
People can be as pseudonymous or not as they like. The extent that someone wishes to express expert knowledge gives the extent of how far they want to decloak.
But even for me, this site for me is less than 10% of what I actually do. So I keep vast areas of my life off the site and off the net. I don’t need them to argue about a topic, so I don’t put them forward.
The bits that I do put forward as expertise are usually the discarded or low priority parts of my skillsets, like running a php web site or a BSc in earth sciences or an MBA. Because the actual things that I routinely deal with do not exactly make for good blog posts. It is hard enough to describe them to engineers and programmers the wide area messaging systems of my last few jobs.
Or look at Anthony. I can’t remember any time when he wrote about his speciality. THis post has nothing about that in it.
I have absolutely no wish to become a politician or a media commentator, so I also have no particular need to expose more of my life than I have.
It is the useless drones with time on their hands, like Cameron Slater, who want to bolster their rather pitiful self-esteem by doing that bullshit. People who have work to do are more interested in commenting, writing posts to express what they think and then getting back to their lives and work.
And as grey points out, no-one is particularly anonymous on this site. We simply don’t allow it. Apart from our subtle proscriptions and insistence against changing handles frequently, I can usually figure out who people are if I really need to. Besides you lose your previous mana when you shift handles radically.
It is only the rather lazy who don’t look at the links to see all comments or posts by a person who think that anyway.
This is ridiculous. I have never “come clean” about any so-called collaborations with Slater. The author of this academic study fails at 101 Research. If she bothered to check the author would have found I said it was risible to suggest Odgers influenced my writings.
Fair enough. Happy to take your word at face value here.
But that alone leaves a lot unsaid does it not?
@ Fran O’Sullivan …..good to know you deny “any so-called collaborations with Slater” and … “I said it was risible to suggest Odgers influenced my writings” !
We need more journalists to put a stake in the ground and say this is where I have not been….and this is where i will not go…and this is what i find unethical and despicable ‘journalism’, smear PR
@ Fran O’Sullivan.
I don’t think Anthony Robins meant it quite the way you appear to have taken it. In fact it was likely meant as a compliment – sort of anyway. You did write a piece soon after the book was published outlining your ‘links or the lack of them’ which, from memory, was damming of Slater and all he stood for. As Herald journos/columnists it was convenient to make a broad comment covering all three of you.
I am overjoyed that serious thought is once more being given to need for a leftwing newspaper. That nowhere in comments above do I see the main obstacle of this goal in earlier decades was the then prohibitive cost.
To counteract rightwing propaganda of daily papers pre-1945 election, J.D. Brown ( my father) teacher at Flag Swamp who had been involved for first year of the Kurow think-tank, Ken McIlroy and Dudley Kelly, teachers at Palmerston South and I think Jack Meikle all contributed to the Oamaru Labour Electorate Committee’s weekly newspaper ‘LSP’. Liberty, Security and Progress was Labour’s slogan at the time. I well remember the rush to get the draft up to Oamaru for printing. ‘The Grey River Argus’ and ‘The Southern Cross’, both permanent papers sadly folded through fiscal woes, were begun for same reason.
May your ideas above come to early and successful fruition.
HG +100…great your Father saw the importance of a Left paper in the 1940s….they have always been important for the credibility of the Left …and now even more so to counter the corruption of the right wing controlled and bought msm
with Print on Demand (POD)….paper publishing is a lot more market targeted with less oversupply and wastage …therefore less expensive than it once was
Simon Collins, a journalist, I think tried to set up a Left newspaper in Wellington in the early 1990s…it was very good and a pity he could not continue with it
….maybe now is the time for a Left co-operative to pool resources (intellectual and financial and support market based) to try again for a Left newspaper?…
@ Heather G
That is good to know. Wonderful effort and determination which they must have had in spades. I suppose all information you have of those early days is all down in archives at Nat Lib or whatever. The Kurow think tank sounds good. I’ll have to look that up. What would be our equivalent these days? There seem to be plenty of RW ones around, grow like weeds.
I wonder whether a newspaper would still be viable. Could they be transported by bus in their luggage lockers? To be uplifted by the local distributor. There wouldn’t be huge numbers and the format would probably be tabloid size with an outer and inner sheet. Once a week? Coming out on Wednesday perhaps, printed Tuesday/Wed. 6 monthly subscriptions. One lead story and headlines on line. Adverts and What’s on. Latest achievements by NZs local, nationally and inter-. Letters limited to 100 words. Letters of complaint 30 words! Good links and reviews of latest thinking.
No, not from libraries…I was at High School and belonged to deeply involved Labour activist family. The Kurow thinktank involved Nordmeyer the Presbyterian minister, McMillan the doctor, Davidson a teacher, and others. They gathered at home of a woman teacher Sunday nights I was told at my mother’s knee and there the beginnings of the social security policy were planned. For easy reading, the book “Nordy” gives the gist but not written at the time.
I will never forget faces and bodylanguage of women reaching through truck window to grab relief clothing over the top of me when a toddler squashed between Dad and Nordy in front seat of relief truck they’d taken into Waitaki No 1 dam camp about 1934.
@ Heather G
If you could record your memories they would be a cracker resource for us all to have. I have been reading Margaret Thorn’s Stick Out, Keep Left which details her hard work, along with her husband in early Labour. Very good.
http://www.abebooks.com/Stick-Out-Keep-Left-Paperback-Margaret/2687275502/bd
Mediawatch had a very disturbing breakdown of this freediving record attempt which I had successfully managed to ignore
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/mediawatch/audio/20160131/mediawatch-for-7-december-2014
The one thing missed is that this is a ‘sport’ unrecognised by any mainstream sporting authority because of its extreme danger & very high rate of fatalities.
Something that I have been wondering about. Anthony mentions that Bauer now own The Listener
Many years ago when Listener was sold to APN the Masthead was retained by BCNZ now TVNZ. Its value used to appear in the balance sheet. I have no knowledge if that position was ever changed so I wonder if the Masthead of NZ Listener is now resident in TVNZ or has it somehow been disposed of with out public knowledge.
Anyone any better information that me on this subject?
To greywarshark…..yes I am publishing/have written my memories… accentuated political activism for year plus has delayed publication.