Archive for the ‘Media issues’ Category
Losing the shine? Maybe. We’ll see.
Post mortems don’t always render a conclusive or even useful diagnosis, especially when tackling multi-faceted puzzles like an election campaign, but I nodded as I read TV3 political editor Duncan Garner’s round up of the political year … in which he shares some of the same conclusions I expressed in my pre-election post Teflon John […]
Stop asking
Excellent article on the blogger claiming rights of a journalist controversy by Rebecca J. Rosen at The Atlantic … Perceiving attack, the Internet’s collective fur shot up on its back: Do bloggers not merit the same protections as journalists? Many people have argued that the medium in which you publish should have no bearing as […]
‘YOU don’t say who or who isn’t a journalist’
Here’s an article worth reading, which relates in a peripheral manner to our recent discussion about definitions of ‘news media’ vis-à-vis bloggers. I Was Arrested at Occupy Bronx—for Writing About It – Carla Murphy, The Daily Beast 10 Dec …While the four protesters left, I stayed behind to complain to Captain Garcia. His flank, as […]
Wishful thinking about MMP. From both sides of the debate.
Predictable comments after the MMP referendum result, I guess. What caught my eye about this piece from Radio New Zealand is that it’s basically a platform for Jordan Williams to kvetch about how unfair it all was. His point, shared by his rabbit shooting buddies, appears to be that the anti-MMP debate was ‘lost’ because […]
Gonzo
I’m reading this oral history-style biography of one of my heroes, Hunter S. Thompson which I picked up at Real Groovy in Queen Street last weekend. Good book. I’ve been reading Thompson since being astonished by Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas in the late1970s. I always found his writing worthwhile, particularly his political reportage […]
Europe: the ‘you have to act quickly’ sales pitch?
People who work in sales are familiar with the use of the ‘urgency’ or ‘impending event’ ploy to try to achieve a purchase decision. The sound of ‘I want to think about it’ is like finger nails on a blackboard to a salesman. Potential buyers use that statement or similar to put some distance between […]
Bloggers v journalists
The blogosphere has been atwitter about a blogger who wanted her un-sourced ‘comments’ and denigration of a businessman to be protected under Oregon’s ‘shield laws’ — designed to stop legitimate news media from being compelled to reveal their sources. By far the best comment I’ve read about it was from Forbes’ Kashmir Hill in her […]
Scrutiny and criticism starts at home
It is my belief that the writer, the free-lance author, should be and must be a critic of the society in which he lives. It is easy enough, and always profitable, to rail away at national enemies beyond the sea, at foreign powers beyond our borders who question the prevailing order. But the moral duty […]
Oh Patrick Gower!
Well worth watching … 50 seconds of … well, of … Patrick Gower. You know, the [allegedly] ‘deceitful bastard’ ACT leader-on-the-skids Don Brash wouldn’t talk to — three times. Good on him. From TV3’s Firstline (full clip). Look how he cracks up Rachel Smalley … who sometimes indulges in a wee bit of humour […]
Is NZ’s international reputation as a democracy taking a pasting?
I started to reply to a comment by Craig, who suggested that if Bradley Ambrose is successful in his call for the High Court to declare the ‘cup of tea’ conversation “not a private communication” that that (in Craig’s view) would be “a sad day for privacy in this country” Oh yes? I thought. What […]
Winston Peters Kelston speech
I heard comeback kid Winston Peters complaining today that his ‘clear as daylight’ Kelston speech hasn’t been adequately reported in the media. Here’s a copy of the speech notes that I had at the event (with my scribbled notes on the last few pages). I filed reports from the venue on what I saw as […]
Bradley Ambrose takes the initiative
This is a smart move. His lawyer says Ambrose has been slandered and vilified by some in the National Party operating in election mode. They’ve treated him as if he had no reputation to defend. With loose language about Ambrose’s actions being ‘illegal’ and ‘unethical’ being relentlessly squirted at him … by increasingly desperate-sounding National […]
‘public interest’ vs ‘the issues that matter’
Reflecting on John Key’s clearly-scripted talking point before he ‘stormed out’ of a media conference yesterday, it seems to me the National Party spin doctors (and lawyers?) will be emphatic that their man Key NOT under any circumstances admit to any ‘public interest’ in the cup of tea tapes. Thus, the apparent attempt to smother […]
