Archive for the ‘Media issues’ Category
Smoke gets in your eyes, Carrick?
Tonight TV3 broadcast an Inside New Zealand documentary: Dying for a Smoke, highlighting some of the health issues and the political debate around suggested moves to increase controls on the sale of tobacco products — and even suggestions to eliminate tobacco products from the country by 2020 … which strikes me as a pipe dream, […]
Head on a spike
So Alasdair Thompson’s words, taken by so many to reveal an anachronistic misogynist attitude, have cost him his job. Even more intriguing is this line from the NZ Herald‘s ‘breaking news’ story: His conduct sparked an angry outcry on micro-blogging site Twitter and saw the Council of Trade Unions call for him to be fired. […]
Murdoch Phone hacking – a visceral jolt
Wow, read this piece after my own heart: Rupert Murdoch Meets His Ahab by Jack Shafer in Slate. Brilliant. First words: If Rupert Murdoch could be slain by a mere scandal, he would have been embalmed and entombed long ago. The genocidal tyrant has successfully swept away every scandal—major and minor—he has ever faced because of […]
On a collision course
I briefly mentioned in passing the small c ‘controversy’ generated by blogger Martyn ‘Bomber’ Bradbury loudly expressing his opinion about whether or not blogger Cactus Kate (Cathy Odgers) was suitable ACT MP candidate material. ‘Hell no’ Bradbury says (or words to that effect) because he says she’s a ‘far right hate merchant’ who has previously […]
George Orwell nails journalism? … Maybe.
I had cause to think about public discourse, propaganda and Public Relations recently … Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed: everything else is public relations. — George Orwell Is the English press honest or dishonest? At normal times it is deeply dishonest. All the papers that matter live off their advertisements, […]
The road not taken — copyright is a complicated playground
Sometimes we’re caught by the law of unintended consequences … and sometimes we’re saved by it. Righthaven is a law firm widely portrayed as copyright trolls trying to shake down bloggers and commenters for reproducing news stories published by Stephens Media. According to David Kravets in WIRED 20 June, ‘copyright litigation factory’ Righthaven has sued […]
It’s only ‘propaganda’ if you’re talking about the other side, right, Carrick?
A few days ago in the context of the public discourse around plain packaging legislation for tobacco products, No wonder tobacco co.s are SQUEALING … I briefly mentioned a PR flack who appears to be an advocate (paid or unpaid? Not clear) for Tobacco manufacturers. This spin doctor* Carrick Graham follows me on Twitter and […]
Richard Nixon’s dirty dirty tricks alive and well in 2011
I’m still reading Nixonland by Rick Perlstein, initially prompted by the mention of Fox News’s Roger Ailes‘s early work as a Nixon operative. Ailes is credited with teaching Nixon how to succeed in the world of television — by bending reality, faking news events and running highly staged ‘impromptu’ candidate meetings with ‘off the cuff’ […]
How I wish I had the talent to make a point like this so well
Via Tim Carmody’s Snarkmarket blog, this awesome argument with illustrations demonstrates the sexist double-standard operating in (sigh) comics … merely a microcosm/reflection of wider society. It’s an argument (discussion, really) that’s been running for a while … and is worth following if you care. But my point is the way Megan Rosalarian Gedris has pretty […]
Harawira: Fortune favours the brave
What do we take from ‘rebel’ MP Hone Harawira winning his by-election? … Even with a ‘slashed’ majority — from 6,000 to 867. Wait and see. Let the punditry begin. It must certainly be a victory sweetened by the decision by the Electoral Commission to register his new party, meaning he will be a ‘leader’ […]
Getting around ad blockers …
We discuss web browser ad-blockers like Safari Adblock here from time to time, and since I use one routinely I enjoy a pretty much ad-free environment … so of course the heat is on to find ways to get around it. Here’s the Huffington Post’s latest attempt … ‘sponsor generated content‘: Still, without Safari Adblock […]
Howick’s latest NIMBY hysteria
[NIMBY = Not in my back yard.] You may recall my post about the forces of [small-c] conservatism seeking to block an expression of Maori culture in the heart of Howick (where I live) despite support for it and an enlightened, respectful approach being taken by local Maori, their supporters and the local authority. The […]
Jon Stewart on Fox News – Is this Crossfire Part 2?
This year’s version of Jon Stewart’s intelligent, robust examination of clichéd, reactive, shallow, artificially partisan media and, to a certain extent, a dollop of intellectual humiliation for its players (Think Crossfire’s Tucker Carlson in particular) occurred on Sunday. Heralded with headlines like “Jon Stewart Eviscerates Fox News On Fox News“, “Stewart in the Lion’s Den” […]
Noted in passing
So Rep. Anthony Weiner resigned. As Jon Stewart soul jammed: “Look, Congressman, if you’re sending pictures of your penis as bait to young women who follow you on Twitter, then you’ve got to go.” Yep. Bad judgement is bad. A cover up worse. Jeff Jarvis (@jeffjarvis): Twitter didn’t do in Weiner. Sex didn’t. The coverup […]
