Archive for the ‘Media issues’ Category
Public relations and the anti-democratic style of politics
I had an interesting chat online with some other journos yesterday/last night about the place (or, in my view, lack of place) of paid PR propagandists like Matthew Hooton as ‘pundits’ or ‘panelists’ in news and current affairs shows. (Click the image below to read around the conversation on Twitter. There was quite a lot […]
Guest post: The history of Propaganda
Paul Bieleski from Nelson sent this in as a comment on the last post … I found it interesting. – P Propaganda The “Congregation for Propagating the Faith” founded by the Catholic Church in 1622 is where our use of the word propaganda has come from. Its activity was aimed at “propagating” the Catholic faith […]
BBC Scotland on spying. Some of the same issues and questions as New Zealand
I heard part of this BBC Scotland report by Eamonn O’Neill as he “explores the world of contemporary espionage” this morning and recognised several of the same talking points about increased state security agency surveillance keeping us ‘safe’ as are deployed here in New Zealand — it’s right there in the title: ‘How safe are […]
Nicky Hager on protecting sources
Investigative journalist and author Nicky Hager was part of the Centre for Investigative Journalism’s recent Logan Symposium … Check out CIJournalism’s YouTube channel for more. Update: If you’re a journalist, don’t miss John Pilger’s blistering presentation on media vs propaganda & news ‘agenda’. An important message. Pilger’s speech notes War by media and the triumph […]
From ‘News of the World tactics’, journalists as ‘little henchmen’ to … #hypocrisy
See earlier: Teapot tape saga sputters out with withdrawal of ‘costs’ action against cameraman.
John Pilger on the shabby persecution of Julian Assange
I have respected John Pilger since before I trained and entered journalism in the 1980s. I respect his courage and his tenacity, his willingness to show up and tell the truth as he sees it. He’s also no fool. So, although it may not be a popular stand, in terms of some people’s interpretation of […]
Leaving ‘Dirty Politics’ questions hanging. (It’s a PR strategy)
This recently published wrap of one aspect of the PR attack blog activities of Cameron Slater1 on behalf of his clients idealogical soulmates illustrates a couple of things. 1) Calls to ‘seek answers’ from corporate groups (like the Ports of Auckland, or even Auckland Council) to ‘questions raised’ will often be ignored. People and organisations under […]
Blinding Flash of the Obvious re composing encrypted emails – Avoid auto-saved drafts
I recently reviewed Edward Snowden’s instructions for setting up and using PGP/encrypted email available on Vimeo: GPG for Journalists – Windows edition | Encryption for Journalists | Anonymous 2013. It’s a good tutorial. One of the points it makes about keeping your communications secure is a very important one: Don’t compose your message (pre-encryption) in […]
Read Nicky Hager’s search warrant
How we want it to be: How it sometimes is (click to read documents): Documents from New Zealand cops raided home of reporter working on Snowden documents by Glenn Greenwald and Ryan Gallagher (The Intercept). Worth reading to see how our government’s actions are perceived. – P
Why privacy matters: a TED talk by Glenn Greenwald
Comments about Eric Schmidt and Mark Zuckerburg — actions speak louder than their words. – P
Fran O’Sullivan calls for a wider inquiry into Dirty Politics allegations
Worth reading. Fran O’Sullivan says she told Cathy Odgers she was “damn angry about being drawn into a MH [Mark Hotchin] sting.” Well, well, well. I’ll put some comments up later. (It’s just too nice a Saturday morning to be blogging.) – P
Let’s remember the real victims here
It looks like Nicky Hager is digging in for a fight with the police about access to the material they took from his house. An effort is being made to raise funds for his legal fighting fund. For details, and to donate, see: http://www.givealittle.co.nz/cause/NickyHager For reference, and because it’s interesting, here’s the audio (below) of […]
Dirty Politics: John Key confesses to secret relationship with campaign worker
In the aftermath of the National Party’s emphatic re-election to lead a coalition government in New Zealand, surprisingly little has been made of Party Leader John Key’s confession to a secret relationship. It was contact John Key admitted he was warned not to engage in. “I was told not to … I know I shouldn’t […]
A good discussion about interviewing politicians
I heard this on BBC Radio 4’s ‘The Media Show’ this morning, and thought, “That’s worth sharing” — and not just because it features my sole remaining favourite right wing vixen Louise Mensch. (Best line: ‘blood on the carpet’.) Sparked by a recent changing of the guard at BBC’s Newsnight programme, the discussion traverses various […]
