The Paepae | . . . hosted by Peter Aranyi @ Page 55

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I’ve just been away for a week with the whanau, hence the lack of posting here. I don’t like to announce trips ahead of time for reasons related to ‘security’. 🙂

We had a great time, not least because we (a) unplugged and enjoyed some good quality recreation and (b) re-connected with our loved ones just back safe from duty in Afghanistan. The tension waiting for that was extraordinary, and gave me a terrible empathy for the families of those in service there. I can only imagine what It’s like for those who’ve lost someone.

I’m grateful for the good in our lives.

– P

Encouragement

Quote approval is a defeat for journalists any way you look at it. Call their name.

Posted in 8 August 2012

Following up on my comment Flacks will always try this on. Resist. here’s an insider’s view from
Ari Fleischer, White House press secretary to George W. Bush 2001 to 2003 …

How Washington officials bested the media

The problem with quote approval is it’s too easy. It turns the relationship between a source and a reporter entirely over to the source. And the practice has spread too far and wide. Too many staffers will speak only if their quotes are approved and too many reporters are happy to oblige.

The relationship between a source and the press will always resemble a tug-of-war. Since the early days of our republic, government officials and the media have clashed. It’s part of the ongoing, generally healthy dynamic in our noisy democracy. Over time, the ground shifts and one party gains the upper hand, only to lose it back.

Of course, the media’s focus on the trivial — see coverage of Romney’s trip to England — makes sources fight even more for control, lest a sentence be misconstrued, exaggerated and hyperfocused.

But so long as reporters allow their sources quote approval, this round has been won by the sources.

Read on at CNN

That’s a big change in role for journos. What name should we call someone who peddles flannel or talking points for their sources? ‘Churnalist’? ‘Flack’?
Here’s Cheryl Cole:

It gets worse

In fine ‘whatever is whispered in secret will be shouted from the rooftops’ style, allthingsD’s Arik Hesseldahl reports a US judge has just ordered two competing corporations, Oracle and Google, to DISCLOSE which ‘journalists’ they paid to ‘report’ on their trial…

Judge Orders Google and Oracle to Disclose Who They Paid to Write About Java Trial

In something of a peculiar turn in the nearly concluded lawsuit between Oracle and Google over the Java platform, the judge in the case has ordered both parties to disclose who they paid to cover and write about the trial.
Judge William Alsup, who presided over the case in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, wrote in his order that he’s “concerned that the parties and/or counsel herein may have retained or paid print or Internet authors, journalists, commentators or bloggers who have and/or may publish comments on the issues in this case.”
Google and Oracle have 10 days from today to “file a statement herein clear identifying all authors, journalists, commentators or bloggers who have reported or commented on any issues in this case and who have received money (other than normal subscription fees) from the party or its counsel during the pendency of this action.”

Read on at allthingsD

Propagandists?

– P

Media issues - Politics

authenticity, courage, journalism

A nice description of the journalist’s conceit (as in fanciful notion, not pride)

Posted in 7 August 2012

image: beinspired2.com.au (click)

From Jeff Himmelman’s NY Times review of Yours in Truth — A Personal Portrait of Ben Bradlee.

Some journalists seem incapable of seeing flaws in themselves or their heroes. They suspend their professional skepticism as if they’re not bound by the usual rules of gravity. It’s a kind of self-important higher-calling disease that has made some among us less responsive to the public. In Bradlee’s life as relayed by Himmelman, even the shrewd and remote editor gets consumed by his own celebrity — followed by adrenaline withdrawal — in Watergate’s wake.

In a book he wrote in 1975, “Conversations With Kennedy,” Bradlee tars his old friend for pettiness and vanity in what feels like envy for the one person more charming and powerful than himself. (This, by the way, is exactly what Himmelman does to Woodward in “Yours in Truth,” pointing out rough spots in the name of love and friendship.) We find there’s a mean speck to Bradlee’s brashness. “He knows that he’s hurt some people,” Himmelman writes, “but in the grand scheme he doesn’t let it slow him down all that much.”

Yah. Journos can be very tough friends to have because we have this urge to demonstrate a kind of impartiality or forthright honesty even when at times it’s confusing and inconvenient and hurtful to others. Journalists, as Himmelman says, ‘tar’ even those we respect and like.

On the other hand, there can be a media love affair with a public figure, with members of the press offering them a kind of non-critical honeymoon. But deep down, we feel conflicted about that too and look for ways to redress any imbalance, and offer a whack to keep us ‘balanced.’

People who misunderstand that can sometimes accuse us of being two-faced, but there’s a kind of noblesse oblige which applies — an (imperfect) attachment to ‘the truth’ which is at the heart of the Ben Bradlee/Washington Post legend and story.

As we discussed when considering Michael Hastings in The new breed of journalist-commentator and Playing whack-a-mole with ‘da media’ an ’embedded’ journalist can find themselves in a very conflicted place. They can be dangerous:

“Having a journalist around is like having a pet bear. Most of the time it’s really cool, but once in a while it’ll bite your hand off.” — Michael Hastings after General McChrystal resigned following being quoted in Hastings’ Rolling Stone article and the subsequent scandal.

– P

Writing/Publishing

Heroes, journalism, psycho-babble

One of my favourite right wing vixens pulls the plug, citing her children

Posted in 7 August 2012

Cactus Kate, Louise Mensch

8 Comments »

Photograph: Olivia Harris/Reuters via The Guardian

Oh noes!

MP Louise Mensch resigns to move family to New York

Louise Mensch, possibly the most well-known Conservative backbencher, has resigned as MP for Corby and East Northamptonshire, citing the difficulties of trying to balance her family life with political commitments.

Mensch and her three children will move to New York to live with her husband, Peter Mensch, who is based in the city where he works as manager of Metallica, Jimmy Page and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. She married him last year after her first marriage broke down.

Mensch said every effort had been made to ensure she could stay in her role, but she had ultimately made the decision to ensure the welfare of her family.

“I am completely devastated. It’s been unbelievably difficult to manage family life,” she said. “We have been trying to find a way forward with the prime minister’s office but I just can’t spend as much time with my children as I want to.”

Read on at The Guardian

Quite a good follow up piece here from Gabby Hinsliff: The lessons of Louise Mensch’s departure? There are none.

Well, maybe. Too bad. Good on her for being clear about her priorities.

I respected MPs as diverse as Pam Corkery, Katherine Rich and Simon Power for getting the hell out of politics when they saw how it worked from the inside. As Bismarck said:

“Es gibt zwei Sachen da sollte man besser nicht wissen wie es gemacht wird – Wurst und Politik”.

“There are two things you don’t want to see being made: sausages and legislation”.

It crosses my mind to wonder what NZ’s own good-looking former right wing vixen (now ‘apolitical‘ ahem) Cactus Kate will have to say about this for-the-sake-of-my-children decision, if anything.

At least Louise Mensch didn’t torch her Party’s caravan on the way out and abuse her former team mates as ‘giant titheads’, as Cathy did. Nor did she, as far as we know, back-stab, undercut and sabotage the political careers of other female Party candidates who didn’t meet her required level of idealogical purity. Then leave.

Lessons in class.

– P

Politics

Read this and tell me it doesn’t remind you (just a little bit) of John Key’s SkyCity Casinos convention centre deal for extra pokie machines

Posted in 6 August 2012

Business/Investment - Politics

Is there any doubt that people who work on Wall St acquire a Wall St culture? No. But the idea that Wall St firms adopted MAFIA culture and techniques, as claimed ... wow, that's new. (pic: capitalistbanter.com - see below)

Dave Pell’s Next Draft recommended weekend read was Matt Taibbi’s The Scam Wall Street Learned From the Mafia in Rolling Stone magazine. I agree. It’s a fascinating read, but kind of sickening too.

USA v. Carollo marks the first time we actually got incontrovertible evidence that Wall Street has moved into this cartel-type brand of criminality. It also offered a disgusting glimpse into the enabling and grossly cynical role played by politicians, who took Super Bowl tickets and bribe-stuffed envelopes to look the other way while gangsters raided the public kitty. And though the punishments that were ultimately handed down in the trial – minor convictions of three bit players – felt deeply unsatisfying, it was still a watershed moment in the ongoing story of America’s gradual awakening to the realities of financial corruption.

Earlier, Matt Taibbi’s article says

In fact, stripped of all the camouflaging financial verbiage, the crimes the defendants and their co-conspirators committed were virtually indistinguishable from the kind of thuggery practiced for decades by the Mafia, which has long made manipulation of public bids for things like garbage collection and construction contracts a cornerstone of its business.

How that relates to the SkyCity Casino deal to build a convention centre in Auckland “at no cost to the taxpayer” in exchange for a law change allowing hundreds of extra pokie machines: Well, certainly NOT the criminality aspect, in my view — that’s probably a step too far.

But the cynicism and what looks like demonstrable manipulation of a supposedly public tender process may — possibly — have some relevance. viz: Continue reading →

John Key, satire, SkyCity

The dignity of the office

Posted in 6 August 2012

8 Comments »

There are roles the political leader of a country plays that are non-political. They are a task of the office rather than the office-holder. A prime minister responding to a national emergency, for instance, or representing our country in times of grief or alarm.

John Key does these well, in my opinion. His everyman, guy-next-door likability serves him, and he delivers the (no doubt scripted) appropriate words appropriately and with an apparent sensitivity which goes over well.

His role in that moment is not to ‘solve’ the problem, but to help ‘salve’ our pain. He represents us, offers sympathy on behalf of us all, evokes community solidarity and promises of collectivism the detail of which will follow later. Think of his appearances at the Pike River miners’ memorial, at the Christchurch earthquake services, and other episodes of national shock and mourning.

So it was yesterday, announcing the sobering details (gut-wrenching for those of us with loved ones serving in the military in Afghanistan) of the deaths and injuries inflicted on NZ Defence Force personnel over the weekend.

Credit where it’s due. He is a good communicator in those situations.

– P

Encouragement - Politics

John Key

Heart warming NYC cabbie story

Posted in 3 August 2012

I like New York. I’ve never felt unsafe there.

– P

via John Gruber

Encouragement

Good values, positively expressed

Posted in 2 August 2012

Business/Investment - Encouragement

I briefly mentioned the challenges someone advocating for ‘better’ can face, with other ‘crabs in the bucket’ pulling them back as ‘sanctimonious and hypocritical’ (see Choking on one’s own sanctimony …)

Here’s nice model from Bennetts Bookshops … pointing to their ‘Core Values‘.

Bennetts exists to serve students and the campus communities of which they are a part. Our mission is to be the foremost provider of academic bookstore services in New Zealand. Our staff are committed to the following set of Core Values. These values provide the guiding principles for Bennetts in its dealing with all its key stakeholders.

Value #1 – People
We will treat people the way we wish to be treated. We will treat people with respect. We will encourage others to succeed. We will be honest with ourselves and others.

Value #2 – Integrity
We will operate with the highest level of integrity in all that we do.We will say what we mean. We will walk the talk and do what we say

Value #3 – Courage
We will act with confidence that we are doing the best for our business and our customers. We will lead decisively, with confidence in our direction. We will face change, progress and adversity with confidence in our direction.

Value #4 – Community
We encourage the advancement of literacy, family values, and quality relationships in the community.

Value #5 – Fun
We will strive to have fun in all we do because it makes the workplace more enjoyable and attracts more customers, staff and suppliers to Bennetts.

Of course, it helps that they’re not blogging critically about others (!), thereby not making themselves a target. But still, nice work … declaring where they’re coming from and publishing aspirational statements.

It’s important and useful, I think, to do that in a positive way, rather than just what I called ‘anti-matter’ self-definitions.

– P

psycho-babble

What a strange coincidence [Updated]

Posted in 2 August 2012

privacy, telling the truth

Let’s just put a pin in this and come back to it later …

Ms Boag, as well as all recipients of the email – including Ms Collins, ACC chief executive Ralph Stewart and Mr Judge – have denied leaking the email.

But Ms Collins told the Herald last night that the email from Ms Boag was forwarded to Mr Judge’s personal and only email account.

She had been advised by ACC that Mr Judge had his home computer replaced some time in April, and his old one “is no longer able to be accessed”.

“In addition, I’ve now been advised that Mr Judge was given an iPad from ACC … and that iPad was wiped clean by Mr Judge’s computer expert before it was returned to ACC in June.”

Ms Collins told the Herald: “I am aware now that that is an issue around being able to access the forensic data which would normally be on the computer.”

Ms Collins said she could make no further comment because the matter was still subject to the Privacy Commissioner’s inquiry.

Mr Judge was unavailable to respond to Ms Collins comments last night but earlier yesterday said he did “absolutely not” leak the email.

From Adam Bennett NZ Herald – Ex-chair’s moves slow ACC probe, says Collins

Caption competition, anyone?

– P

UPDATE (so soon!): Oooh, look: John Judge has responded, describing the ‘wipe’ claims from the Minister as ‘pathetic’ and saying they ‘are untrue and an attempt to “blacken” his name’ – see Adam Bennett’s follow-up Ex-ACC boss denies Collins’ claims

Former ACC Chairman John Judge says ACC Minister Judith Collins’ claims he hampered an investigation into a the leak of a sensitive email are untrue and an attempt to “blacken” his name. …

… Mr Judge said Ms Collins was aware that he replaced his home computer before the Privacy Commissioner’s inquiry was announced.

“Everything was transferred from my old computer to the new one anyway. It’s not like anything disappeared.”

Furthermore, he was not able to receive emails on his ACC iPad anyway.

He said Ms Collins “knew the truth” and was “just trying to blacken people”.

The email was among documents submitted by ACC to police to support a complaint it made against Ms Pullar.

— NZ Herald

Media issues - Politics

How do you spell phishing? A scam targeting Dropbox users

Posted in 1 August 2012

2 Comments »

Update: Looks like it’s a legitimate email from Dropbox. I’m wrong (won’t be the last time):

From TUAW.com

Dropbox sends password change notification to some users

In the meantime, some Dropbox users who have never changed their password or who have an easily crackable password will be getting email reminders to change their password. These emails may appear suspicious, but they are coming from Dropbox (and you should double-check, should you receive one, that you’re directed to a Dropbox reset page). When you pick a new password, you can make it extra secure by using a random generation system like Diceware — endorsed by the makers of 1Password and XKCD alike.

Here’s my original (alarmed) post:

I just got this plausible-looking message … “Please create a new Dropbox password” …
but it’s got to be a SCAM. If you get one, my advice is Don’t click!!
(Of course my Dropbox account is working just fine without any change of password.)

The sender is NOT Dropbox but no-reply@dropboxmail.com (spoofed, in other words)

This is NOT from Dropbox. It’s from some loathsome con artists, I reckon. [Update: Oo er. Maybe it IS legit! See comments.]

– P

Media issues

online life

John Banks ‘absolutely’ supports campaign donation law reform. With a straight face!

Posted in 31 July 2012

Following up on Laughing all the way to the Banks …

Sublime or ridiculous? You decide. Read John Hartevelt's article at stuff.co.nz (click)

Veteran political satirist Tom Scott on the John Banks sniff test

Encouragement - Humour - Politics

authenticity, John Banks

National MP Jami-Lee Ross is just left of Hell

Posted in 31 July 2012

I don’t know local National MP Jami-Lee Ross’s position on gay marriage or the Marriage (Definition of Marriage) Amendment Bill but I surely can’t be the first to notice that his taxpayer-funded electorate office shares a frontage (and what else???) with HELL …

Hmmm. Not a good sign, d’ya think? 🙂

– P

pic: Barfoot & Thompson. H/t Cameron Slater

UPDATE: Well, according to this websiite: www.marriageequality.co.nz he’s a YES.

Click to enlarge

Humour

Jami-Lee Ross

Can we learn WITHOUT the experience?

Posted in 29 July 2012

A wee media brushfire was sparked by mother-of-one MP Maggie Barry’s silly interjection that MP Jacinda Ardern’s not having children somehow reduced her credibility when discussing laws aimed at supporting parents.

The kerfuffle sparked a hilarious twitter trend #maggiebarrystandingorders which merrily mocked the dumb idea that MPs need direct experience of whatever it was they were discussing/debating for their viewpoint to be legitimate.

Of course, that’s not what Ms Barry was suggesting, she was just heckling, but that’s satire for you: exaggeration.

Further media attention followed because a bunch of journos (ahem) are on Twitter.

From the shallow to the deep: Here’s a compelling interview with Joan Didion, discussing the process of grief and her book & play The Year of Magical Thinking. It contains this comment:

Q: Can we learn anything profoundly human without having the experience?
Joan Didion: I don’t think so. I mean, it’s astonishing to me how much I continue to learn simply through experience. You would think we would be able to project ourselves into other people’s situations, but it turns out we have to experience it ourselves.

Video worth watching:

– P

Joan Didion interview via Andrew Sullivan, bless him.

Big Questions - Encouragement

Choking on one’s own sanctimony (I think Juana has ‘issues’ with me)

Posted in 29 July 2012