Stupid news makes you stupid shocker

Written By: - Date published: 1:00 pm, December 17th, 2010 - 50 comments
Categories: polls, tv, us politics - Tags:

It’s a real worry to me how much we’re dumbing down the news. I haven’t been able to watch TV news in NZ for the last 10 years or more because it makes me want to strangle my own brain in self defence. In America it’s even worse, with (as one extreme example) Fox News serving as nothing more than naked propaganda. And surprise surprise:

Study Confirms That Fox News Makes You Stupid

A new survey of American voters shows that Fox News viewers are significantly more misinformed than consumers of news from other sources.

Yet another study has been released proving that watching Fox News is detrimental to your intelligence. World Public Opinion, a project managed by the Program on International Policy Attitudes at the University of Maryland, conducted a survey of American voters that shows that Fox News viewers are significantly more misinformed than consumers of news from other sources. What’s more, the study shows that greater exposure to Fox News increases misinformation.

So the more you watch, the less you know. Or to be precise, the more you think you know that is actually false. This study corroborates a previous PIPA study that focused on the Iraq war with similar results. And there was an NBC/Wall Street Journal poll that demonstrated the break with reality on the part of Fox viewers with regard to health care. The body of evidence that Fox News is nothing but a propaganda machine dedicated to lies is growing by the day.

I don’t know that we really needed studies to tell us this, did we? The question is, what, if anything, can be done about it? Can we have both a free media and a requirement for minimum levels of accuracy and balance, or are those options mutually exclusive?

(PS – Interesting thesis for some Pol Sci student out there – conduct a similar study of misconceptions in The Standard vs Kiwiblog readers. I have my prediction ready!…)

50 comments on “Stupid news makes you stupid shocker ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. Sam 1
    17 December 2010 at 1:06 pm

    While FOX is a absolutely nothing but pure propaganda, other press and media networks in the US are not exactly meticulous in their provision of news. Sure, they do a much better job than fox, but at the end of the day, they always push forward the party line.

  2. Sweetd 2
    17 December 2010 at 1:07 pm

    Red news team good, blue news team bad.

    • r0b 2.1
      17 December 2010 at 1:09 pm

      I rest my case.

      • Sweetd 2.1.1
        17 December 2010 at 1:18 pm

        what case? Posting surveys as evidence to indicate your smug world view is correct and anyone who disagrees is wrong?

        • r0b 2.1.1.1
          17 December 2010 at 1:32 pm

          My case that some people have consumed so much stupid news that they have become stupid, and reduce the world to stupid sound bites like: “Red news team good, blue news team bad”.

          your smug world view is correct

          Facts are facts, not “a smug world view”. For example, those who watch Fox News are more likely to be incorrect about where Obama was born. Where Obama was born (in the US) is a simple matter of fact, not a “smug world view”.

    • Pascal's bookie 2.2
      17 December 2010 at 1:10 pm

      Yep, the evidence suggests this is true sweetpea.

    • Higherstandard 2.3
      17 December 2010 at 1:15 pm

      Blue is associated with the democrats, red is associated with the republicans in the US

    • mickysavage 2.4
      17 December 2010 at 1:19 pm

      Sweetd you have been watching too much Fox News.

      • Lindsey 2.4.1
        17 December 2010 at 2:25 pm

        It is not hard to find stupid Americans. Like the woman on one of the Texas school boards who stated that she did not see why people should learn a foreign language. “If English was good enough for Jesus, it is good enough for me” was the quote.

        • A 2.4.1.1
          17 December 2010 at 6:09 pm

          It’s not the stupidity that is the worst problem. Stupid people are generally capable of admitting that they are wrong when confronted with facts. However, there are some stupid people who are so stupid that they are incapable of perceiving facts that prove them wrong, even when they are directly confronted with them.

          Americans fall into neither of these classes. Americans, when confronted with facts counter to their claims promptly take refuge in audacity and assert that those who have brought the facts to their attention are guilty of a terrible crime against civility. They feel no shame, and indeed a perverse sort of pride, in being ignorant.

          The American disease is spreading.

          • Jeremy Harris 2.4.1.1.1
            18 December 2010 at 6:49 pm

            I think it’s pretty stupid to attribute a single belief or state of mind to 307,000,000 people of almost countless backgrounds, various political beliefs, languages and religions, as if they have one mind…

  3. grumpy 3
    17 December 2010 at 1:09 pm

    Nothing wrong with Fox, I watch it….and el Jazeera…and BBC and…….

    All have their own point of view, the only bad ones are TV1 and TV3 who trivialse and try to tell their viewers what to think.

    • Dan 3.1
      17 December 2010 at 2:18 pm

      Thoroughly agree, Grumpy. Although my political views don’t align with the majority represented here at The Standard I still make a point of reading them – as I do with WhaleOil, Red Alert, Kiwiblog and so on. When it comes to news media I try to read a broad mix from the NY Times, Washington Post, Haaretz, Daily Telegraph, The London Times, The Guardian, Sydney Morning Herald, The Independent etc. The point is, I read as much as I can and then form an opinion based a broad range of evidence/views weighted by my own bias and world view.

      Nothing wrong with Fox News, but I don’t take everything it serves up as gospel.

      And yes, the state of NZs televised news media is dire. We seem to have latched on to a model where the ‘personality’ delivering the news is valued more highly than the content they provide. Both Espiner and Garner seem to think that I/we care about their opinion. I certainly don’t, just give me the facts without the commentary and I’ll decide for myself – some of us are capable of independent thought.

      • Sam 3.1.1
        17 December 2010 at 2:45 pm

        I agree with you, Dan. The best way to go is to read many different newspapers. And that’s the best way to see how information gets distorted.

        • Zorr 3.1.1.1
          17 December 2010 at 3:01 pm

          I would have to disagree with the statement that reading through multiple sources is always a good idea in the pursuit of understanding and knowledge. Fox News is demonstrably stupid and false 99% of the time, and the 1% of the time it gets anything right is usually by mistake. The only reason to ever watch it is to try and understand the viewpoint that a significant voter bloc of the US has. Other than that, why watch something that is specifically an exercise in propaganda? It would be like, in WW2 say, reading the newspaper and then bending down in the street to pick up a leaflet from a propaganda campaign and according both a remotely equal weight.

          My wife has a similar issue. She reads a lot of books that after a chapter or two you could quite easily say “this is a crackpot trying to sell to other crackpots” but she will keep reading out of some form of masochism. Why should anyone do this to themselves if we are wanting to remain informed. Time is precious and it is not worth my time to even engage with some of the truly incredible stupid out there.

          • Sam 3.1.1.1.1
            17 December 2010 at 3:19 pm

            Zorr, what you are talking about is skimming through sources. Allow me to clarify myself; if you read various newspapers on the same topic, you will find enormous distortions in information. In fact, reading various sources allows you to discover for yourself exactly what is missing out in the press of a certain nation or region.

            • Zorr 3.1.1.1.1.1
              17 December 2010 at 3:27 pm

              That is fair enough if it is only to get a feel for what the standing of any particular news organisation. However the original statement you were agreeing with by Dan seemed to state that one should consume Fox as part of a rounded, well balanced diet of news.

              • Sam …
                17 December 2010 at 3:33 pm

                Well, I didn’t specify that in this particular comment that I made in reply to Dan, but if you look at the very first comment I made – which is also the the very first comment on this article – you will see that I have clearly mentioned FOX is propaganda.

                “That is fair enough if it is only to get a feel for what the standing of any particular news organisation”
                Could you please clarify what you mean by that?

                • Zorr …
                  17 December 2010 at 3:54 pm

                  What I meant by that is that you shouldn’t be according the same weight to each news organization. That, especially in the case of Fox, the only time you want to spend watching them is to understand the thinking of their demographic, not actually for their “reporting”. To put it in a NZ sense though, how much weight would you give issues of Investigate?

                  Basically, I work on the basis that my time is precious and that there are news organizations out there that are worth my time. And others that aren’t. The statement you quoted is pretty much a reflection of that outlook.

                  • Sam …
                    17 December 2010 at 4:34 pm

                    “Basically, I work on the basis that my time is precious and that there are news organizations out there that are worth my time. And others that aren’t. The statement you quoted is pretty much a reflection of that outlook.”

                    well, time certainly is precious, that’s why you have to be smart about such things. And yes, it takes a bit of practice to realize just how certain news is presented, shaped and all together omitted throughout various press and media.

                    \”That, especially in the case of Fox, the only time you want to spend watching them is to understand the thinking of their demographic, not actually for their “reporting””

                    Well, that’s not true. I can give you examples of where particular nation has given coverage vital piece of information, but another nation or newspapers have completely turned a blind eye to them – even though the news is of particular interest to the very nation which has chosen to ignore it.

          • Dan 3.1.1.1.2
            17 December 2010 at 3:59 pm

            Zorr, I agree that time is precious and that we can’t read everything, but I strongly believe that reading/viewing from a broad range of sources, from across the spectrum is the best defence against ignorance – even if only from the perspective that to know your enemy makes you stronger and better able to argue your own position more forcefully. And I certainly don’t approach all sources as being equal:

            “I read as much as I can and then form an opinion based a broad range of evidence/views weighted by my own bias and world view.”

            I’m not a fan of Fox News, but I also think we’re not drawing enough distinction between the ‘news’ and the commentary that is served with it, which is the point I think Grumpy initially made. All the major networks blur the line between presenting the ‘facts’ and opinions, Fox is just the least subtle of them – if you wanted to be generous you could even say it was a virtue, at least you know where you stand with Fox.

            As for ignoring/writing-off stupid/crackpot ideas, it should be said that a lot of what we hold to be self evident today was at one point in time held to be stupid/crackpot or heretical. Open and informed dialogue, which lies at the heart of the Wikileaks project, doesn’t require us to suspend our judgement and world view, but it does require us to engange with the alternative.

            • Pascal's bookie 3.1.1.1.2.1
              17 December 2010 at 4:10 pm

              While there is a lot in here that I agree with, I don’t reckon the distinction between ‘news’ and ‘opinion’ is worth much at fox.

              Last week there was a memo from the news division’s boss leaked. The memo was sent out a few hours after a pollster had determined that ‘public option’ got a highly positive response from voters and ‘government healthcare’ got a negative response. the memo instructed newsreaders, (not opinion peeps), to call it ‘government healthcare’ and to avoid calling it ‘public option’. If for whatever reason they had to call it ‘public option’ they were to call it the ‘so called public option’.

                • Pascal's bookie …
                  17 December 2010 at 5:08 pm

                  Thanks Bill.

                  Another fav from back in the heady warblogging days when men were men, words were weapons, and questions were definitely French and probably treason;

                  “Homicide bomber”.

                  Fucking awesome. Behold it. Savour that shit, (and the meaningless justifications they had for using it), in all it’s shibbolethic goodness.

                  It subtracts from the alternative phrase it replaced, and adds nothing in it’s place. It’s useless as a descriptor, it’s pure signifier. Tribal shit.

                  It’s a piece of language that says only, ‘use this term and you are one of us’. (With us, or with the terrist).

                  And terrist means any damn thing now. OMG someone loaded a bomb into a truck at drove it into the gatehouse of one our military bases in their country!! Terrist!!

                • Jilly Bee …
                  18 December 2010 at 10:51 am

                  Bill -this article was reproduced in the ‘World’ section of the N Z Herald this morning – a bit scary really but not unsurprising.

  4. Pascal's bookie 4
    17 December 2010 at 1:44 pm

    The funniest* thing at the moment about Fox is that they have most of the GOP presidential primary candidates literally on the payroll. Exclusive contracts too!

    It’s a nice little rort. The candidate gets nice non-combative ‘interviews’ fed straight into their demographic’s cerebral cortex (or what passes for one) and gets an appearance fee for the ‘work’.
    If another news outlet wants to interview the candidate, ‘well, that’s unfortunate you see, there’s a contract and they can only appear on Fox but we’d be happy to supply you with a Fox news clip you can use instead’.

  5. Bill 5
    17 December 2010 at 2:06 pm

    Remove the media from corporate ownership. The ‘freedom’ of such media is a misnomer anyway.

    But how to ensure that resulting media offer a wide and fair view? Well, how about having media under state control but allow corporate interests to have 60% of the airwaves or whatever within any particular broadcast, newspaper or TV channel (unedited) to peddle their angle?

    So the FOX channel disappears, but the FOX perspective carries on as a part of a state owned channel. But it would always be viewed within the context of other the perspectives that it is mutually embedded with. Which means it wouldn’t carry on for very long I guess. Without exclusivity, stupid and plain misleading news gets laid bare, no?

    Or as another example, ‘The Herald’ disappears, but the editorial line or whatever survives within the 60% space corporate or private interests are allowed within whichever state newspaper.

    How to deal with the internet and satellite channels then? Well, if the quality and veracity of the state owned media sets a high enough bar, the impact of these other media would be severely curtailed.

    Far from a perfect solution, but far better than what we have now.

  6. Draco T Bastard 6
    17 December 2010 at 2:08 pm

    Can we have both a free media and a requirement for minimum levels of accuracy and balance, or are those options mutually exclusive?

    You don’t need minimum requirements for “balance” as reality is, by default, balanced. You do, of course, need minimum requirements for accuracy and that people/organisations who post inaccurate/misleading or plain not supported by the facts news should be held to account. Such a requirement would, of course, remove Fox News from the airwaves and result in News Corp. getting fined a few billion dollars.

  7. randal 7
    17 December 2010 at 2:18 pm

    even worse.
    sofar all the republican hopefuls for the next presidential election work for Fox News.
    what has happened to the world?

  8. RedLogix 8
    17 December 2010 at 2:40 pm

    George Orwell had it nailed.

  9. Lanthanide 9
    17 December 2010 at 2:44 pm

    Correlation is not causation.

    Also it seems the survey itself is very statistically flawed:
    http://news.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=1913322&cid=34578476

    As someone else posted in the slashdot thread, it’d be nice if the study actually took a bunch of random people, assigned them to watch different news channels exclusively for a period of time, and then quizzed them about current events afterwards. But that’s not what they did – they take people that already watched the channels and asked them questions and didn’t have any sort of control group to compare them to at all.

    The survey is relatively useless for anything apart from saying “yes, the audiences of these channels are different” – you can’t work out why they’re different or what caused it.

    • r0b 9.1
      17 December 2010 at 3:23 pm

      Correlation is not causation.

      And that is not a mantra to banish the bleeding obvious.

      Or as another comment in the slashdot thread put it: Except, that they don’t talk about uninformed, they talk about misinformed It’s not that the viewers have no information, they have wrong information. And if people claim to get their information from that particular source it stands to reason, that there is causation.

      And as to the statistical issues, they are no better or worse than most of the polls and surveys that get reported.

      • Lanthanide 9.1.1
        17 December 2010 at 5:40 pm

        “And that is not a mantra to banish the bleeding obvious.”
        Something may be obvious, but that doesn’t mean that is actually what is happening.

        “And as to the statistical issues, they are no better or worse than most of the polls and surveys that get reported.”
        Just because most other surveys are done badly doesn’t make this one being done badly any less of an issue.

  10. Deadly_NZ 10
    17 December 2010 at 3:34 pm

    I agree with Dan too. and like hime I watch as many news shows , have a laugh at parliament TV (best comedy show ever) read all sorts of newspapers and blogs and yes even wikileaks… so I feel all what i have read and seen joined with a healthy dose of cycnasism, lets me have what my Partner calls my 5cents worth,

    the worse thing is that some people take as gospel what they see on one tv channel or newspaper. and look at me as if i am mad when i offer a differing opinion.

    Well i off now to watch something else thats dear to my heart The Aussies getting their asses kicked in the cricket!!

  11. Jeremy Harris 11
    17 December 2010 at 4:46 pm

    I regularly watch CNN, Sky (Aus), BBC World, Al Jazeera but I definitely watch FOX the most, it is just so damn entertaining…

  12. steve 12
    17 December 2010 at 8:22 pm

    You are only picking on NZ TV News because they can not help being stupid.
    News at 6pm is a must, Mum tapes it, although her TV is jammed on CH1
    It is not Fox News that is the problem ROB, it is the stupid people who can not/will not think for themselves

  13. Meany Beany 13
    18 December 2010 at 6:19 am

    A year or so ago, Charles Krauthammer, one of Fox’s correspondent’s received an award of some sort. . . he congratulated the network for having created an “alternative reality”.

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    At yesterday’s post-cabinet press conference, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, flanked by his Health Minister Shane Reti and someone we can’t independently verify was a real sign language interpreter, announced that he had some positive news for the country. “Alright team, I’m just going to hand over to uh, Dr. Shane, ...
    The CivilianBy Ben Uffindell
    3 days ago
  • Heartwarming: Thoughtful driver uses indicator to tell you what they’ve just done

    It’s 4:10pm in the morning, and you’re in the middle lane heading north on the great southern motorway of our nation’s capital, Auckland. There are no cars directly in front of you, but quite a few in the lane to your left. Suddenly, without warning, a black ute enters your ...
    The CivilianBy Ben Uffindell
    3 days ago
  • NPC teams will now be allowed to actually use the Ranfurly Shield in play

    Following decades of controversy, the governing body of New Zealand rugby, New Zealand Rugby, has ruled that the team currently holding the Ranfurly Shield may once again use it in play during the National Provincial Championship (NPC). The ruling restores the utility of a prize that for many years was ...
    The CivilianBy Ben Uffindell
    3 days ago
  • Climbing out of the hamster wheel

    I arrived home with a head full of fresh ideas about mindfulness and curbing impulsive aspects in my character.On the second night home I grabbed a piece of ginger and began swiftly slicing it on our industrial strength mandolin, the one I have learned through painful experience to treat with ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • More Notes From Stinky Town

    Good morning, folks. Another wee note from a chilly Rotorua morning that looks much clearer than yesterday. As I write, the pink glow in the east is slowly growing, and soon, the palest of blue skies should become a bit more royal.A couple of people mentioned yesterday that I should ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Make it make sense: why axe valuable local projects?

    Last week, Matt looked at how the government wants to pour a huge chunk of civic infrastructure funding for a generation  into one mega-road up North, at huge cost and huge opportunity cost. A smaller but no less important feature of the National Land Transport Plan devised by Minister of Transport ...
    Greater AucklandBy Jolisa
    3 days ago
  • Driving blind at higher speeds

    An open letter by experts about plans to raise speed limits warns the “tragic consequence will be more New Zealanders losing their lives or suffering severe injury, along with a substantial burden on the nation's healthcare and rehabilitation services”. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāKia ora. Long stories short, here’s ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • 2024’s unusually persistent warmth

    This is a re-post from The Climate Brink My inaugural post on The Climate Brink 18 months ago looked at the year 2024, and found that it was likely to be the warmest year on record on the back of a (than forecast) El Nino event. I suggested “there is a real chance ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago
  • National plan for 2000 more Kiwis a year in prison

    Open for allYesterday, Luxon congratulated his government on a job well done with emergency housing numbers, but advocates have been saying it‘s likely many are on the streets and sleeping in cars.Q&A featured some of the folks this weekend - homeless and in cars. Yes.The government’s also confirmed they stopped ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    4 days ago
  • I Found a Note in a Tree

    Hi,On most days I try to go on a walk through nature to clear my head from the horrors of life. Because as much as I like people, I also think it’s incredibly important to get very far away from them. To be reminded that there are also birds, lizards, ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    4 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Politicians need to lift their game

    Declining trust in New Zealand politicians should be a warning to them to lift their game. Results from the New Zealand Election Study for the 2023 election show that the level of trust in politicians has once again declined. Perhaps it is not surprising that the results, shared as part ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 days ago
  • Police say they won’t respond to bomb threats anymore as ‘it’s never anything’

    Police Commissioner Andrew Coster says that New Zealand’s police force will no longer respond to bomb threats, in an attempt to cut costs and redirect police resources to less boring activities. Coster said that threat response and bomb disposal was a “fairly obvious” area for downsizing, as bomb threats are ...
    The CivilianBy Ben Uffindell
    4 days ago
  • A dysfunctional watchdog

    The reality of any right depends on how well it is enforced. But as The Post points out this morning, our right to official information isn't being enforced very well at all: More than a quarter of complaints about access to official information languish for more than a year, ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Climate Change: The threat of a good example

    Since taking office, the climate-denier National government has gutted agricultural emissions pricing, ended the clean car discount, repealed water quality standards which would have reduced agricultural emissions, gutted the clean car standard, killed the GIDI scheme, and reversed efforts to reduce pollution subsidies in the ETS - basically every significant ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Vegas Baby

    Good morning, lovely people. Don’t worry. This isn’t really a newsletter, just a quick note. I’m sitting in our lounge, looking out over a gloomy sky. Although being Rotorua, the view is periodically interrupted by steam bursting from pipes and dispersing—like an Eastern European industrial hellscape during the Cold War.Drinking ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • Why Entrust Needs New Leadership

    I am part of a new team running in the Entrust election in October. Entrust is a community electricity trust representing a significant part of Auckland, set up to serve the community. It is governed by five trustees are elected every three years in an election the trust itself oversees. ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    5 days ago
  • London Bridge is falling down

    In the UK, London is the latest of council groups to signal potential bankruptcy.That’s after Birmingham, Britain’s second largest city, went bankrupt in June, resulting in reduced sanitation services, libraries cut, and dimmed streetlights.Some in the city described things as “Dickens” like.Please, Sir, Can I have some more?For families with ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    5 days ago
  • Govt may kick elderly out of hospitals

    The Government is considering how to shunt elderly people out of hospitals, and also how to cut their access to other support. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Monday, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Getting the nephs off the couch

    The so-called “Prince of the Provinces”, Shane Jones, went home last Friday. Perhaps not quite literally home, more like 20 kilometres down the road from his house on the outskirts of Kerikeri. With its airport, its rapidly growing (mostly retired) population, and a commercial centre with all the big retail ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • De moralibus orcorum: Sargon of Akkad, Rings of Power, Evil, and George R.R. Martin

    I have noted before that The Rings of Power has attracted its unfortunate share of culture war obsessives. Essentially, for a certain type of individual, railing on about the Wokery of Modern Media is a means of making themselves a online livelihood. Clicks and views and advertising revenue, and all ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    5 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #37

    A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, September 8, 2024 thru Sat, September 14, 2024. Story of the week From time to time we like to make our Story of the Week all about us— and ...
    Skeptical Science
    5 days ago
  • Salvation For Us All

    Yesterday, I ruminated about the effects of being a political follower.And, within politics, David Seymour was smart enough on Friday to divert attention from “race blind” policies [what about gender blind I thought - thinking of maternity wards] and cutting school lunches by throwing meat to the media. Teachers were ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    6 days ago
  • A warm embrace

    Far, far away from here lives our King. Some of his subjects can be quite the forelock tuggers, but plenty of us are not like that, and why don't I wheel out my favourite old story once more about Kiwi soldiers in the North African desert?Field Marshal Montgomery takes offence ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • Literal clowns are running the place, we must put a timeout on this stupidity… right Aotearoa?

    These people are inept on every level. They’re inept to the detriment of our internal politics, cohesion and increasingly our international reputation. And they are reveling in the fact they are getting away with it. We cannot even have “respectful debate” with a government that clearly rejects the very ...
    exhALANtBy exhalantblog
    6 days ago
  • Fact brief – Does manmade CO2 have any detectable fingerprint?

    Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park from the Gigafact team in collaboration with John Mason. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Does manmade CO2 have any ...
    Skeptical Science
    6 days ago
  • Judge Not.

    Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. Matthew 7:1-2FOUR HUNDRED AND FORTY men and women professing the Christian faith would appear to have imperilled their immortal souls. ...
    Bowalley Road
    6 days ago
  • Managed Democracy: Letting The People Decide, But Only When They Can Be Relied Upon To Give the Righ...

    Uh-uh! Not So Fast, Citizens! The power to initiate systemic change remains where it has always been in New Zealand’s representative democracy – in Parliament. To order a binding referendum, the House of Representatives must first to be persuaded that, on the question proposed, sharing its decision-making power with the people ...
    Bowalley Road
    6 days ago
  • Looking For Labour’s Vital Signs.

    Flatlining: With no evidence of a genuine policy disruptor at work in Labour’s ranks, New Zealand’s wealthiest citizens can sleep easy.PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN has walked a picket-line. Presidential candidate Kamala Harris has threatened “price-gauging” grocery retailers with price control. The Democratic Party’s 2024 platform situates it well to the left of Sir ...
    Bowalley Road
    6 days ago
  • Forty Years Of Remembering To Forget.

    The Beginning of the End: Rogernomics became the short-hand descriptor for all the radical changes that swept away New Zealand’s social-democratic economy and society between 1984 and 1990. In the bitterest of ironies, those changes were introduced by the very same party which had entrenched New Zealand social-democracy 50 years earlier. ...
    Bowalley Road
    6 days ago
  • Kōrero Mai – Speak to Me.

    Good morning all you lovely people. 🙂I woke up this morning, and it felt a bit like the last day of school. You might recall from earlier in the week that I’m heading home to Rotorua to see an old friend who doesn’t have much time. A sad journey, but ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago
  • Winning ways

    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on anything you may have missed. Street architecture adjustment, KolkataShare Read more ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    7 days ago
  • 48 seconds on a plan that would reverberate for a million years

    Despite fears that Trump presidency would be disastrous for progress on climate change, the topic barely rated a mention in the Presidential debate. Photo: Getty ImagesLong stories short, here’s the top six news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above between Bernard Hickey ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    7 days ago
  • Using blunt instruments and magical thinking to ignore evidence of harm

    The abrupt cancellations and suspensions of Government spending also caused private sector hiring, spending, and investment to freeze up for the first six months of the year. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāThis week we learned:The new National/ACT/NZ First Coalition Government ignored advice from Treasury that it didn’t have to ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    7 days ago
  • Is This A Dagger Which I See Before Me: A Review and Analysis of The Rings of Power Episode 5 (Seaso...

    Another week of The Rings of Power, season two, and another confirmation that things are definitely coming together for the show. The fifth Episode of season one represented the nadir of the series. Now? Amid the firmer footing of 2024, Episode Five represents further a further step towards excellent Tolkien ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    7 days ago
  • In Open Seas; A Book

    The background to In Open Seas: How the New Zealand Labour Government Went Wrong:2017-2023Not in Narrow Seas: The Economic History of Aotearoa New Zealand, published in 2020, proved more successful than either I or the publisher (VUP, now Te Herenga Waka University Press) expected. I had expected that it would ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    1 week ago
  • The Hoon around the week to Sept 13

    The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts and talking about the week’s news with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on the latest climate science on rising temperatures and the climate implications of the US Presidential elections; and special guests Janet ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Do or do not. There is no try

    1. Upon receiving evidence that school lunches were doing a marvellous job of improving outcomes for students, David Seymour did what?a. Declared we need much more of this sort of good news and poured extra resources and funding into them b. Emailed Atlas network to ask what to do next c. Cut ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago
  • Dangerous ground

    The Waitangi Tribunal has reported back on National's proposed changes to gut the Marine and Coastal Area Act and steal the foreshore and seabed for its greedy fishing-industry donors, and declared it to be another huge violation of ti Tiriti: The Waitangi Tribunal has found government changes to the ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago
  • Climate Change: National wants to cheat on Paris

    In 2016, the then-National government signed the Paris Agreement, committing Aotearoa to a 30 (later 50) percent reduction in emissions by 2030. When questioned about how they intended to meet that target with their complete absence of effective climate policy, they made a lot of noise about how it was ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago
  • Treasury warned Govt lower debt limits meant less ‘productivity-enhancing investment’

    Treasury’s advice to Cabinet was that the new Government could actually prudently carry net core Crown debt of up to 50% of GDP. But Luxon and Willis instead chose to portray the Government’s finances as in such a mess they had no choice but to carve 6.5% to 7.5% off ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Is the Media Complicit?

    This is a long read. Open to all.SYNOPSIS: Traditional media is at a cross roads. There is a need for those in the media landscape, as it stands, to earn enough to stay afloat, but also come across as balanced and neutral to keep its audiences.In America, NYT’s liberal leaning ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    1 week ago
  • Black Friday

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    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Weekly Roundup 13-September-2024

    Ooh, Friday the thirteenth. Spooky! Is that why certain zombie ideas have been stalking the landscape this week, like the Mayor’s brainwave for a motorway bridge from Kauri Point to Point Chev? Read on and find out. This roundup, like all our coverage, is brought to you by the Greater ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    1 week ago

  • Tourism on the table for Pacific Ministers’ meet-up

    Tourism and Hospitality Minister Matt Doocey will meet with Trade and Tourism Minister of Australia Don Farrell and Fiji Deputy Prime Minister Manoa Kamikamica in Rotorua this weekend for a trilateral tourism discussion. “Like in New Zealand, tourism plays a significant role in Australia and Fiji’s economy, contributing massively to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 hours ago
  • Young people report on family and sexual violence

    The Te Puna Aonui Expert Advisory Group for Children and Young People has presented its report today on improving family and sexual violence outcomes for young people, to the Minister for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence, Karen Chhour.  The presentation at the Auckland event was an opportunity for ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 hours ago
  • $18 million being invested in the victims of crime

    The Government is putting more than $18 million towards improving the experience of the criminal justice system for victims, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith and Minister for Children Karen Chhour say. “No one should experience crime, but for those who through no fault of their own become victims, they need to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 hours ago
  • Landmark phonics check in te reo Māori

    For the first time, schools can use a purpose-built tool to check how a child is progressing in reading through te reo Māori. “Around 45 schools are trialling a New Zealand first te reo Māori phonics check, known as Hihira Weteoro. It will help kaiako (teachers) focus on what ākonga ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 hours ago
  • New sea walls safeguard Ōpōtiki’s transformation

    Two new breakwater walls at Pākihikura (Ōpōtiki) Harbour will provide boats with safe harbour access to support the continued growth of aquaculture in Bay of Plenty, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and Regional Development Minister Shane Jones say. The Ministers and leaders from Tē Tāwharau o Te Whakatōhea and other ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 hours ago
  • Kitmap to improve access to science infrastructure

    Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins today announced an online platform to optimise the use of New Zealand’s science and technology research infrastructure and to link the public and private sector. “This country is home to world-class science, technology, and engineering expertise. Kitmap is set to empower Kiwi innovators, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 hours ago
  • Driving the uptake of low emission heavy vehicles

    The Government has launched the Low Emissions Heavy Vehicle Fund (LEHVF) to promote innovation and offset the cost of hundreds of heavy vehicles powered by clean technologies, Energy Minister Simeon Brown and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts say. “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 hours ago
  • Speech on replacing the Resource Management Act

    Replacing the RMA Hon Chris Bishop: Good morning, it is great to be with you. Can I first acknowledge the Resource Management Law Association for hosting us here today. Can I also acknowledge my Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Simon Court, who is on stage with me. He has assisted me in establishing the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 hours ago
  • Replacement for the Resource Management Act takes shape

    Two new laws will be developed to replace the Resource Management Act (RMA), with the enjoyment of property rights as their guiding principle, RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Parliamentary Under-Secretary Simon Court say. “The RMA was passed with good intentions in 1991 but has proved a failure in practice. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    9 hours ago
  • Tough laws pass to make gang life uncomfortable

    Legislation passed through Parliament today will provide police and the courts with additional tools to crack down on gangs that peddle misery and intimidation throughout New Zealand, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “From November 21, gang insignia will be banned in all public places, courts will be able to issue non-consorting orders, and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • New levy rates set to ensure continued funding of FENZ

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government has agreed to the rates for the redesigned levy that will fund Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) from July 2026.  “Earlier this year FENZ consulted publicly on a 5.2 percent increase to the levy. I was not convinced that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Police allocate Officers to Beat and Gang Units

    The Coalition Government welcomes Police’s announcement today to deploy more police on the beat and staff to Gang Disruption Units.  An additional 70 officers will be allocated to Community Beat Teams across towns and regional centres.  This builds on the deployment of beat officers in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch CBDs ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Consultation begins on significant updates to the biosecurity system

    Proposals to strengthen the country’s vital biosecurity system, including higher fines for passengers bringing in undeclared high-risk goods, greater flexibility around importing requirements, and fairer cost sharing for biosecurity responses have been released today for public consultation. Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard says “The future is about resilience and the 30-year-old ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Wānaka community to benefit from new overnight health service

    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says an Overnight Acute Care Service opening in October will provide people in Wānaka and the surrounding area with the assurance of quality overnight care closer to home.  “When I was in Wānaka earlier this year, I announced funding for an overnight health service – ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Preventing potholes with data-driven technology

    The Government is rolling out data collection vans across the country to better understand the condition of our road network to prevent potholes from forming in the first place, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.  “Increasing productivity to help rebuild our economy is a key priority for the Government and increasing ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • GDP data shows effect of high interest rates

    Gross Domestic Product (GDP) data for the quarter to June 2024 reinforces how an extended period of high interest rates has meant tough times for families, businesses, and communities, but recent indications show the economy is starting to bounce back, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ data released today ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • NZ to host first Fiji, Australia trilateral trade Ministers’ meeting in Rotorua

    Trade Minister Todd McClay will host Fijian Deputy Prime Minister Manoa Kamikamica and Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell for trilateral trade talks in Rotorua this weekend. “Fiji is one of the largest economies in the Pacific and is a respected partner for Australia and New Zealand,” Mr McClay says. Australia and New Zealand ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • NZ hosts Annual CER Trade Ministers’ meeting in Rotorua

    Trade Minister Todd McClay will meet with Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell for the annual Closer Economic Relations (CER) Trade Ministers’ meeting in Rotorua this weekend.  “CER is our most comprehensive agreement covering trade, labour mobility, harmonisation of standards and political cooperation. It underpins an important trading relationship worth $32 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Government proposing changes to jury trials

    The Government is seeking the public’s feedback on two major changes to jury trials in order to improve court timeliness, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “The first proposal would increase the offence threshold at which a defendant can decide to have their case heard by a jury. “The second is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Business key to regional economic dialogue

    Local businesses and industries need to be front and centre in conversations about how regions plan to grow their economies, Regional Development Shane Jones says. The nationwide series of summits aims to facilitate conversations about regional economic growth and opportunities to drive productivity, prosperity and resilience through the Coalition Government’s Regional ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • More funding for Growing Up in New Zealand study

    The Government is investing $16.8 million over the next four years to extend the Growing Up in New Zealand (GUiNZ) Longitudinal Study. GUiNZ is New Zealand’s largest longitudinal study of child health and wellbeing and has followed the lives of more than 6000 children born in 2009 and 2010, and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Tough targets for charter schools will raise achievement

    Associate Education Minister David Seymour says that Charter Schools will face a combination of minimum performance thresholds and stretch targets for achievement, attendance and financial sustainability. “Charter schools will be given greater freedom to respond to diverse student needs in innovative ways, but they will be held to a much ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • NZ votes for Middle East resolution at UN

    New Zealand has voted for a United Nations resolution on Israel’s presence in occupied Palestinian Territory with some caveats, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.    “New Zealand’s yes vote is fundamentally a signal of our strong support for international law and the need for a two-state solution,” Mr Peters says.    “The Israel-Palestine ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Honouring the legacy of New Zealand’s suffragists

    Suffrage Day is an opportunity to reaffirm New Zealand’s commitment to ensuring we continue to be a world leader in gender equality, Minister for Women Nicola Grigg says. “On 19 September, 131 years ago, New Zealand became the first nation in the world where women gained the right to vote. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Foreign Minister to travel to New York, French Polynesia

    Foreign Minister Winston Peters is travelling to New York next week to attend the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, followed by a visit to French Polynesia. “In the context of the myriad regional and global crises, our engagements in New York will demonstrate New Zealand’s strong support for ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Thanking social workers on their national day

    “Today, on Aotearoa New Zealand Social Workers’ Day, I would like to recognise the tremendous effort social workers make not just today, but every day,” Children’s Minister and Minister for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence Karen Chhour says. “I thank all those working on the front line for ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Minister of State for Trade heads to Laos for ASEAN meetings

    Minister of State for Trade Nicola Grigg will travel to Laos this week to attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Economic Ministers’ Meetings in Vientiane.   “The Government is committed to strengthening our relationship with ASEAN,” Ms Grigg says. “With next year marking 50 years since New Zealand became ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Members appointed to retail crime MAG

    The Government has appointed four members to the Ministerial Advisory Group for victims of retail crime, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith and Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee say. “I am delighted to appoint Michael Hill’s national retail manager Michael Bell to the group, as well as Waikato community advocate and business ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Speech to the New Zealand Nurses Organisation AGM and Conference 2024

    It’s my pleasure to be here to join the opening of the NZNO AGM and Conference for 2024.  First, I’d like to thank NZNO Kaiwhakahaere Kerri Nuku, NZNO President, Anne Daniels, and Chief Execuitve Paul Gaulter for inviting me to speak today.  Thank you also to all the NZNO members ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Improvements for New Zealand authors

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says changes to the Public Lending Right [PLR] scheme will help benefit both the National Library and authors who have books available in New Zealand libraries. “I am amending the regulations so that eligible authors will no longer have to reapply every year ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Minister commends Police for gang operation

    Police Minister Mark Mitchell congratulates Police for the outstanding result of their most recent operation, targeting the Comancheros. “That Police have been able to round up the majority of the Comancheros leadership, and many of their patched members and prospects, shows not only the capability of Police, but also shows ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • New appointments to the EPA board

    Environment Minister Penny Simmonds has announced a major refresh of the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) board with four new appointments and one reappointment.   The new board members are Barry O’Neil, Jennifer Scoular, Alison Stewart and Nancy Tuaine, who have been appointed for a three-year term ending in August 2027.  “I would ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Enabling rural recovery works in Hawke’s Bay

    Cabinet has approved an Order in Council to enable severe weather recovery works to continue in the Hawke’s Bay, Environment Minister Penny Simmonds and Minister for Emergency Management and Recovery Mark Mitchell say. “Cyclone Gabrielle and the other severe weather events in early 2023 caused significant loss and damage to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • FamilyBoost childcare payment registrations open

    From today, low-to-middle-income families with young children can register for the new FamilyBoost payment, to help them meet early childhood education (ECE) costs. The scheme was introduced as part of the Government’s tax relief plan to help Kiwis who are doing it tough. “FamilyBoost is one of the ways we ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Prioritising victims with tougher sentences

    The Government has today agreed to introduce sentencing reforms to Parliament this week that will ensure criminals face real consequences for crime and victims are prioritised, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. "In recent years, there has been a concerning trend where the courts have imposed fewer and shorter prison sentences ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Targets data confirms rise in violent crime

    The first quarterly report on progress against the nine public service targets show promising results in some areas and the scale of the challenge in others, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says. “Our Government reinstated targets to focus our public sector on driving better results for New Zealanders in health, education, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
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