Archive for the ‘Writing/Publishing’ Category
Mealy-mouthed
Heard on Radio NZ National’s World Watch this afternoon: “There’s strong evidence to suggest the worst of the eurozone crisis could be over…” Crikey. Ya reckon? How to say something without really saying anything or committing yourself. Shoot me (joke) if I write something so equivocal. Please. It’s almost as bad as hyperbolic self-promotion. – […]
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 […]
Trying to find our own truths
This, from Deborah Hill Cone’s farewell column Black-and-white thoughts on a world of grey in the NZ Herald today echoes something … I just write because I’m trying to work out things for myself, which is shamefully indulgent. So I really should be thanking you, Dear Fabulous Readers, after all. Thing is, we’re all just […]
Paris Review: Hunter S. Thompson
As I noted, I’m reading (and thoroughly enjoying) Gonzo. So I looked up his Paris Review Interview: Hunter S. Thompson, The Art of Journalism No. 1 – Interviewed by Douglas Brinkley, Terry McDonell A great read. -P
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Sometimes Mail is soooo right. Junk.
I spotted this on a quick flick through my ‘Junk’ folder. ‘Mail thinks this is Junk Mail’. Er, … that’s fersure. What gives it away as fake, most of all, is that I’ve never actually entered that lottery. A small detail. – P
Peter Shirtcliffe’s campaign against MMP (MkII)
I watched Sandra Grey of the Keep MMP group pretty much wipe the floor with Dr Who’s faithful assistant Jordan Williams (right) in a brief discussion panel/debate about the MMP referendum compèred by Sean Plunket on TV3’s The Nation on the weekend. (video here) Poor Jordan ducked and dived, bobbed and weaved. He didn’t want […]
Playing whack-a-mole with ‘da media’
‘Da media’ cops a lot of flak. I heard someone complaining on the radio today about the saturation coverage of the Rugby World Cup … every possible angle explored and elaborated upon. Those who work in news and its many-fangled tributaries make a big fat juicy target. Generic criticism rains down on them. It’s instructive […]
Putting fuel on the fire
Enough with the sheep jokes, already! As a Kiwi with Australian friends, I’ve had plenty of opportunity to be a good sport over so-called ‘jokes’ about New Zealanders and sheep. (Example: “Q: How do NZ’ers practice safe sex? A: They paint an ‘X’ on the back of sheep that bite.”) Especially when I’m visiting the […]
Confronted with information indicating we are wrong, we get ‘cranky’
I listened to a brilliant lecture with Q&A on iTunes U last night by Eli Pariser, the author of The Filter Bubble. He was talking about the ideas in his book as part of a London School of Econmics Summer 2011 Public Lectures and Events. (Here’s the iTunes U URL [1 hr 20 min]. He’s […]
