Archive for the ‘Media issues’ Category
Blame the Blackberry
From a very-well-worth-reading Reuters article about the News Corp/News International ‘clean up’ over phone-hacking: James [Murdoch] has consistently said that he did not know all the facts when he approved the [£700k] payment [to a hacking victim, soccer union boss Gordon Taylor] despite the revelation by the MSC in December of an email trail that […]
Hollaback girl Fran O’Sullivan
I generally like business writer Fran O’Sullivan’s work, which can be wide-ranging and interesting and often evinces a robust, seen-it-all-before, how-stupid-do-they-think-we-are? tone. Fran doesn’t often mince words (except for when she does) and she gets points in my book for taking a position, and saying what she thinks — or how the landscape looks from […]
Justifying the dodgy
Mitt Romney seems to be indulging in the “I hit him first but it wuz self defence because I could see he was gunna hit me” justification I expect of a six year old. After reportedly outspending Gingrich five-to-one with ads that were overwhelmingly negative, and explaining his philosophy as “when you’re attacked you’ve got […]
Matthew Hooton and the exquisite agony of being a paid shill
I’ve referred to spin doctor Matthew Hooton before — I positively delight in the shabby transparency of his gums-for-hire faux agitprop and the way he marshals an argument. He’s almost always accessible, usually very much in control of himself, except when overtaken by passion or appetite of some sort, and well, I find him just […]
Media neutrality vs being truthful
We’ve talked before about my distinction (not just mine!) between being ‘impartial‘ (or big O objective) versus being FAIR — which I (naively?) primarily define as telling the truth. Some partisans (who shall remain charitably nameless lest we upset their finely-balanced narcotic calm) seem to me to frequently stoop to spinning half-truths or outright lies […]
As predicted, tea pot tapes released
I predicted here and elsewhere that the recording of the now infamous election campaign ‘cup of tea‘ between ACT Epsom candidate John Banks and National Party leader John Key or a transcript would be released … I called that “inevitable“. Viz, yesterday: The recording is now available at multiple locations. This ‘cleaned up audio’ version […]
I like this kind of news story
A report purporting to show potentially historic levels of support from Jewish voters for Mitt Romney in a general election matchup with Barack Obama appears to be either profoundly flawed or simply fabricated. … I like it when journos look behind claims and debunk them. Read it at Huffington Post – P
Whacking ‘da media’ media is a simple formula
Following the upset win in South Carolina, TIME magazine on Newt Gingrinch’s strategy: For Gingrich, this was not just a victory but also a validation. When his staff ditched him last summer amid an imbroglio over the campaign’s direction, Gingrich committed to running a lean, nimble operation that relied heavily on free media (he had […]
Mitt Romney: Arranged marriage?
There’s some typically solid and insightful analysis of the US Republican race on Politico. A good article on the dual nature of Newt Gingrich’s relationship with the ‘working press’ in Newt’s secret press pals by Ginger Gibson is worth a read: The same candidate who on Thursday decried “the destructive, vicious, negative nature of much […]
Attacking Mitt Romney
Look at this attack ad aimed at US Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney (below the fold) with NO mention of who its producers and publishers actually support. It’s just a smear of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth (vomit) ilk. We don’t have a lot of this type of political advertising in NZ … do we? […]
Liars can be truthful?
The weakest part of Piers Morgan’s attempted refutation of his former employee’s allegations that he (Morgan) must have known about phone hacking at the Daily Mirror while he was editor … Morgan, 46, has already dismissed Hipwell’s claims as the “unsubstantiated allegations of a liar and convicted criminal.” Trinity Mirror Group lawyer Desmond Browne also […]
Guest post: poormastery hearts Ron Paul
On the subject of US politics, this is who poormastery is supporting to be the next President: I believe that Ron Paul was the only person who voted against the so-called “Patriot Act”. Ha. Love it. Many of his views I disagree with, but he is the best Republican candidate – by miles. “And I […]
