Archive for the ‘Media issues’ Category
‘Dirty Politics’ – two worthwhile retrospectives & some new developments
The Spinoff website recently carried two worthwhile retrospective articles looking at the impact of Nicky Hager’s book Dirty Politics. Read them if you’re interested via the links below. First, ‘Sunlight did what sunlight does: Nicky Hager on Dirty Politics, three years on’ (link to The Spinoff here) which includes a good number of points with […]
About Matthew Hooton’s declared loyalties
I’ve discussed Matthew Hooton a few times here at The Paepae. My views of his ‘service’ to political commentary in New Zealand have hardened lately. I find Matthew a personally very engaging, even charming man. There can be few smoother and more persuasive spin doctors in the slippery ‘opinion-shaping’ game in New Zealand – especially […]
On the ‘NZ Taxpayers Union Inc’ PR attack machine
Following some discussion on Twitter about this astroturf political attack machine’s activities, I’ve been asked for these. They’re public documents available on the Register of Incorporated Societies … Application to incorporate a society (see names below*) ‘NZ Taxpayers Union Inc’ 2013 financial report ‘NZ Taxpayers Union Inc’ 2014 financial report ‘NZ Taxpayers Union Inc’ 2015 […]
US Senate adopts Signal, HTTPS a year after trying to kill encryption
In today’s dose of irony … After some attempts to backdoor encryption, led by Senators Dianne Feinstein (CA) and Richard Burr (NC), who are also the top ranking members of the Senate Intelligence Committee, the Senate staff has been approved to use the Signal messenger. Signal is currently considered by most experts as the most […]
What a photo of Patrick Gower!
Wow. Great shot. Talk about moody. Source: Newshub Features on Twitter. I’ve recently been thinking (again) about how media organizations harvest people-in-the-news’s social media profiles – often without permission and often murky about attribution – Source: “supplied” or “Facebook”. I hope I don’t sound too much like a hypocrite because I do use pix “published” on […]
Silencing critical voices with personal attacks
Watch this video. It’s short, less than 5 min, but it’s very good. The ‘flack’ filter — attempts to attack, invalidate and delegitimize “inconvenient” media narratives (starting about 3′ 30″ in the video) — was clearly on display in the NZ Government and NZ Defence Force spin response to Nicky Hager & Jon Stephenson’s book […]
Oh, Megyn Kelly now an even bigger target of Trumpkins
Well, this is a development … Look at Newt Gingrich’s worldview. Trying to paint Fox News as ‘part of the establishment’ seems ludicrous, and even Kelly laughed that off. She did very well as he spun out. But that was a terrible putdown of him at the end re working on his ‘anger issues’. Judging […]
If you’re entitled to – Register and vote
A celebrity ‘Get Out The Vote’ ad with a difference. This 2016 US presidential election is “a tipping point.” Hard to argue with that. Nor with the description of Donald Trump as “a racist abusive coward”. See what you think.
The harms of government hacking, and some suggested controls (Access Now)
This is another very good, clear explanation of some of the issues around government-sanctioned, usually secret interference with the internet. Well worth watching. In justifications for these ‘interferences‘ (that’s the legal term) with our privacy and other human rights – like freedom of opinion and expression – much is made of the ‘threats’ that we […]
Guest post: Regan Cunliffe spreading “utter bollocks”
Newspaper journalist Bevan Hurley appears to be the target of wannabe media proprietors Cameron “FFS I’m not a journalist” Slater and his off-sider, bitter ex-entertainment blogger Regan Cunliffe. By “target” I mean they’re repeatedly attacking him and his reputation, apparently trying to make him the face of alleged malfeasance in the news media. The context is […]
More evidence that Carrick Graham is a paid character assassin
Spotted in yesterday’s news: two references to dirty PR (or as he likes to put it: ‘below the line communications‘) work carried out by Carrick Graham and his most-likely-only-doing-it-for-the-money glove puppet Cameron Slater. In a case that seems to have been judged (by, like, an actual Judge) as attempted character assassination, Carrick Graham appears to […]
Just between us
I am, of course, a fully paid up member of the Vast Yet Peculiarly Secret Left Wing News Media & Trade Union Conspiracy to Deprive Cameron Slater of Free Speech* although I can’t get to all the weekly meetings. Still, the VYPSLWNM&TUCTDCSOFS monthly newsletters produced by the bright young interns in the research department are […]
Apparently this choir boy and his glove puppet are being sued for defamation
It’s hard to believe, I know, that such an innocent looking guy (above) could possibly be involved in a protracted, commercially motivated series of smear campaigns, taking advantage of a half-wit and his website to personally and repeatedly demean and attack public health advocates. But look: And here it is in the news, citing Carrick […]
