Archive for the ‘Media issues’ Category
Denial is not just a river in Egypt #GCSB
“I don’t think the inquiry was a botch-up at all” [Chief executive of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet Andrew Kibblewhite] said, although mistakes were made about providing certain information. Right. All good, then? Read coverage of the Privileges committee ‘hearing’ into the just ever so slightly botched-up inquiry set up by GCSB minister John […]
Please stop taking pictures of your genitals
Oh dear, my first thought was, Are radio stations in one of their ratings survey periods again, by any chance? (Or is this guy just a twit?) Also: I laughed at the offer as an ‘excuse’ … that he meant to send a Snapchat picture of his genitals to a female co-worker. Oh, gee, that’s […]
Have you voted in Campbell Live’s GCSB poll?
I have not participated in the angst-ridden/gloating discussion about how spymaster prime minister John Key ‘performed’ in his appearance on Campbell Live this week — ostensibly to defend and/or justify his GCSB Bill and its new, to-be-expanded powers of domestic surveillance provisions. Judging by a superficial reading of the reaction to the interview, people’s view […]
Criticism and questioning are part of your job description, Mrs Collins. Get over it.
Apropos my post ‘With respect, Mr Key, you misjudge me.‘ I had a trifling interaction with another government politician under siege this week. I’ve been researching an article about Justice minister Judith Collins — specifically the criticisms of her handling of the David Bain compensation issue. (You may recall my sense of genuine regret and […]
Because I like and respect John Armstrong
I’ve learned that in the ongoing parasitic relationship between politicians and the news media (some call it symbiotic, but meh) certain actors on both sides overestimate their importance. But not John Armstrong. Read John’s column from the Weekend Herald: Government betrayal on a monumental scale. What he says about ‘the democratic fabric being ripped asunder’ […]
John Key’s changing narrative on al-Qaeda threat in NZ
PM justifies spy bill: Kiwis trained by al-Qaeda NZ Herald 1 August 2013 Kiwi with al Qaeda links ‘no threat’ NZ Herald 31 August 2011 Yeah, this can pretty much be seen in the context we discussed on Saturday: Justifying mass surveillance with ‘terror threat’ is a right wing talking point. Also interesting: SIS spying […]
An important article by Andrea Vance & some thoughts about democracy in NZ
Seriously, read this: Spy scandal journalist speaks out Maybe I’m ‘conflicted’, since I’ve worked in the press gallery — back when it was where it should be: in the corridor on the 2nd floor of Parliament Buildings, a short stroll from the actual Parliamentary Press Gallery. I’ve used the swipe-cards, used the Parliamentary Service-provided phone […]
Trying to make Google’s glasses look glamourous
I had to chuckle when I spotted a request online for a picture of someone ‘attractive’ wearing Google’s somewhat creepy wearable spy camera/computer — then saw the request responded to with this picture from Google’s original marketing material (i.e. a posed professional model): She’s gorgeous, no question. But, of course, she’s being paid for her […]
With respect, Mr Key, you misjudge me.
In an interview broadcast on state broadcaster (well, for now) TVNZ’s Q&A current affairs programme this morning, John Key characterised New Zealanders who’ve expressed dissent about his GCSB Bill, and specifically the thousands of us who took part in protest rallies throughout the country yesterday, as “either politically aligned or misinformed“. Listen to this 20 […]
Justifying mass surveillance with ‘terror threat’ is a right wing talking point
All over the world right wing politicians are justifying encroachments on their citizens’ civil liberties with references to the 9-11 terrorist attack or the spectre of a similar outrage. In the US, Republican presidential-possible Governor Chris Christie has just had a crack at it, whacking ‘libertarian’ concerns about privacy and civil liberties as ‘esoteric’ or […]
The slippery slope: Dissent > Protest > Politics
Rick Falkvinge on civil liberties in the age of the internet. “The old guard is introducing censorship, wire-tapping, an end to anonymity — a crackdown on free speech.” “If the old politicians understood that the laws they are making are the equivalent of putting microphones under every cafe table … ” (cf: like Urban Cafe? […]
Another stab at big-O objective journalism/media
He’s wonderful, huh? Go and read the whole thing at Maria Popova’s site. I was a fan a Hunter S. Thompson long before I got into journalism — I read Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas while I was still at high school, back in the days when I was listening to Pink Floyd’s album Meddle […]
‘News co.s aren’t in the business they pretend to be in.’
Here’s a quite smart analysis of the challenge ‘traditional’ news companies face vis-à-vis the internet eating their lunch … Certainly the landscape for those working in ‘da media’ has changed (understatement!) and those who look at journalism as a career are increasingly faced with putting their skills and experience to work feeding the machine (or […]
You’re doing ‘hit-pieces’ on government critics, now David? Seriously?
You may remember the name David Farrar. I write about him here now and then, usually fairly affectionately (well, comparatively). David Farrar showing WhaleOil how it’s done Negative credibility sux, eh @whaleoil? eh @dpfdpf? I’d double-check if they told me what day it was A study in spin. And Farrar lends a hand … Wailing […]
When you can’t trust the Night Watchman. @MediawatchNZ on Duncan Garner’s spasm
Here’s Radio NZ’s Mediawatch review of the (let’s be kind): pre-reporting of a Labour Party leadership coup, and Duncan Garner’s part in further lowering the public’s trust in the media — if that was possible. [Discussed earlier in my post, Leave Duncan Garner alone! (And stop blaming the weed.)] It’s worth a listen. — extract […]
