Rachel Stewart from the Taranaki Daily News has written the best account of the significance of Campbell Live that you will read anywhere. Here are some extracts, but go read the full piece too.
Why you should care about John Campbell’s demise
This is a column dedicated to those of you who couldn’t give two tosses – are possibly cheering even – about the demise of Campbell Live.
For me, Hilary Barry probably summed it up best when she broke down while reading the news last Thursday night. That would be the same day that the Budget was released.
In that Budget some relief was chucked at beneficiaries with children in the form of $25 extra per week. Oh the irony. John Campbell’s relentless coverage of the stark reality of child poverty was probably the single biggest factor for bringing that about.
Nah, you say? Well, how would you know if you’re so busy not watching Campbell Live?
To those on the centre-right of the political spectrum there appears to be two common denominators. You tend to watch Seven Sharp for your fix of evening current affairs, and you generally despise the poor.
I mean, John Campbell’s constantly been out there talking to the people that you, and this current government, would really rather prefer we all forgot about.
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I’m in the company of decent New Zealanders who are extremely upset and angry about Campbell Live’s canning.It’s because it represented so much more to us than just a current affairs programme. It was the last mainstream media hope in the new neoliberal hell called New Zealand.
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Campbell Live’s demise strikes me, on so many levels, as the beginning of the end of good, solid journalism.You’re not worried about that? You should be.
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