Cracker by Damian Christie

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Cracker: A Whale of a Tale

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  • Damian Christie,

    @Jeremy. I'm not being threatening, I'm being defensive. You've jumped on here, commented an inordinate number of times, and as I've indicated above, the purpose of a number of your comments seems little more than inflammatory.

    If I've misinterpreted, then please, go ahead and explain your comments about paper rounds, a newsroom full of strange people, your one word response to my "stephanie whatshername" comment...

    I think you are trying to play me and not the point. You do that sometimes.

    Really? After you've accused me of being too close to Henry, being a member of a strange group of people with scary voting tendancies, having a job that is beneath a paper-round and so on? I'm the one playing you? And apparently I "do that sometimes"? Dude.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 1164 posts Report Reply

  • Jeremy Eade,

    I'm need some demerit points.

    auckland • Since Mar 2008 • 1112 posts Report Reply

  • Damian Christie,

    So can a drunken bum at the right time, that's no unique quality.

    Haha, true. But I watch a little Breakfast every day. I often feel less smart for the experience, but I just can't agree that Paul Henry is a completely unmitigated right wing nut job as seems to be the suggestion. Because I can't listen to Leighton, or Laws, because that's what they are, and it kills me, but I just don't get that constantly from Paul.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 1164 posts Report Reply

  • Jeremy Eade,

    No accusations......you are very close to the media.Fact.

    auckland • Since Mar 2008 • 1112 posts Report Reply

  • Damian Christie,

    That's it. I am NOT close to the media.

    (I'll be back in an hour or so. I have a TV show to do :)

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 1164 posts Report Reply

  • Jeremy Eade,

    It's not about you,d on't personalise it to you, it's about the state of the media. you didn't invent the media,

    It is an important profession to everyones quality of life, its special to us all and newsrooms are not all neutral, we know they're not.

    auckland • Since Mar 2008 • 1112 posts Report Reply

  • Jeremy Eade,

    i love you damian, don't go.

    auckland • Since Mar 2008 • 1112 posts Report Reply

  • Robyn Gallagher,

    The NZ Herald quotes Paul Henry saying, "It all added up. There was a website, he'd put out press releases and then there was the newspaper story. He'd gone to more lengths than most people would."

    So I took a look at the website, commercialwhaling.co.nz. While it has its own domain name, the site itself is a WordPress blog using the default WordPress theme.

    There are only two entries, the oldest from mid-April, and the site claims to be "under repair". So that's already looking suspicious to me.

    I also would wonder why a pressure group had a .co.nz domain name instead of .org.nz.

    Running a whois on the domain name, the domain is registered to Jay Pryor, but with a contact email of radiorocco@gmail.com. And a quick google reveals that @radiorocco is the (unused) Twitter account of Guy Williams.

    Investigation time? No more than 10 minutes, I reckon.

    Maybe I should go into business as a consultant doing Interwebs 101 For Journalists training.

    Since Nov 2006 • 1946 posts Report Reply

  • Damian Christie,

    I just groan a little when every thread on the media on PAS takes about three comments to turn into "what is wrong with TV news these days, everything about it is fucked and the people who work there are all strange idiots who vote weirdly."

    You don't have to tell me there are flaws - I write about them, right here! Probably not the smartest career move, to be honest.

    Am I very close to it all? Yes. But maybe that also gives me some insights into the whys and wherefores that people who don't or haven't mightn't be privy to. Insights that might be useful. Or not. But either I'm an exception to the strange idiots above, in which case I'd argue I'm far from the only one - there are many inside who despair - or I'm being tarred with the same brush. In which case I'm offended.

    In case it escaped attention, one of the key points in my post was that media should spend less time airing the views of reactionary nutbars who have started a website. It's worth noting that again it wasn't Breakfast leading the charge on the story - there had been something in a Sunday paper about it too, so it's not a complaint limited to television.

    Another point was that if one is going to air the views of such people, it's very hard to tell whether they are bona fide or not. I would argue largely impossible, at least by reasonable means.

    And a third was that Jono's stunts should be funnier, at least funnier than the real right-wing nutbars they get on.

    Can we have a discussion around any of these points? Please? :)

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 1164 posts Report Reply

  • ScottY,

    Robyn, I agree. There are endless numbers of crackpots out there pushing various deluded causes, and Lord knows anyone in the world can issue a press release. So why did TVNZ decide to interview this guy, when a quick check would have shown the group he claimed to represent had virtually no presence or following?

    And I'm not feeling the love for Mr Henry. You can forgive someone for an occasional indiscretion when they're on live TV all the time, but Henry's indiscretions are all too frequent. He may not be in the same category as Michael Laws. But he does appear to deliberately court controversy, much like that soon-to-be ex Mayor of Whanganui.

    West • Since Feb 2009 • 794 posts Report Reply

  • Damian Christie,

    @Robyn.

    This is all good info, although to be fair you are trying to prove what you already know - that it's fake.

    The .co.nz vs .org.nz for example, would alert me. There are any number of sites out there using the incorrect domain, and users who wouldn't have a clue what the difference is. So many that organisations grab the .co.nz too (go to Greenpeace.co.nz for example).

    The @radiorocco is useful, although could be coincidence. My twitter name and gmail address are different, for example, it doesn't make me two different people (and yes, only marginally, but you get my point).

    The website itself is probably the biggest clue, but again, if a group is just getting off the ground, as this one claims to be, is having a functioning website with a history a pre-req? Not if the lobby group is as net-illiterate as the average reporter (check out, for example, Miss Universe's website - the competition was decided on Sunday, when I checked yesterday the site still hadn't been updated - may be now of course - too lazy for factchecking (and 5 mins from the start of my tv show...)

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 1164 posts Report Reply

  • Jeremy Eade,

    I love people writing journals.There are plenty of talented journalists out there and always will be.

    Media is knowledge, I'd love to have a marketplace arranged so journalists get to use all their talents because I don't feel that from the industry news i to hear, but please educate us to the mood of the newsroom. What a gift.

    Also sorry if my humour went down badly, for the record what I said about having a paper run was that I wanted to be a journalist but tht got in the way which is an old football joke.Basically I'm saying being a journalist is cool.

    auckland • Since Mar 2008 • 1112 posts Report Reply

  • Jeremy Eade,

    On the original point I guess i was laughing at the economics , no one can explain the economics of the free market, not even its cheerleaders, in fact he dumped on it.

    auckland • Since Mar 2008 • 1112 posts Report Reply

  • 3410,

    I just groan a little when every thread on the media on PAS takes about three comments to turn into "what is wrong with TV news these days, everything about it is fucked and the people who work there are all strange idiots who vote weirdly."

    Okay, I won't do that if ONe News stops referring - as they did this evening - to Shrek the sheep as an "author". Deal?
    ;)

    I take your point, but you've got to recognise that the anger is real and legitimate (and there are, frankly, bugger-all other public places to vent). </rant>

    I'd comment about the whaling prank, but I've not much to say. Yeah, it wasn't especially funny, per se; yeah, it exposes Breakfast 's sloppiness in the authentication of the legitimacy of their content. Neither is much of a surprise.

    Nevertheless, on balance I applaud the attempt, even if was just basically juvenile rivalry-based pranking. In the long run, the industry should actually be grateful that they occasionally get tested like this. Breakfast people will feel embarrassed by this minor event, but it'll presumably make them a bit sharper about checking things, in the near future, at least.

    Auckland • Since Jan 2007 • 2618 posts Report Reply

  • Jeremy Eade,

    N.Z television comedy is basically underground, it has no lineage (?) , just the occasional genuis and one god John Clark...what a loss he was to our art.

    auckland • Since Mar 2008 • 1112 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown,

    Haha, true. But I watch a little Breakfast every day. I often feel less smart for the experience, but I just can't agree that Paul Henry is a completely unmitigated right wing nut job as seems to be the suggestion

    No, he's not. He actually has a very quick mind too. I've been on TV with him quite a number of times, and he was good fun.

    But the Stephanie Mills episode was discourteous and unprofessional. It's a rotten breach of faith to bring someone on air and then mock them when they're gone. And it's not the only time he's gone for laughs at the expense of others in that way. I seriously fucking disapprove of that shit.

    WRT Whalegate (see what I did there?), I admire the chutzpah, liked it as a momentary Twitter craze, but didn't really rate what Williams did once he got there. Rick Giles was way funnier.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Jeremy Eade,

    Rick Giles was scary funny, actually fucking disturbing on some levels.

    So maybe Guy isn't going to be the new Paul Casserly but hey I laughed at this on so many levels,one being the deadpan, I'm sorry.

    auckland • Since Mar 2008 • 1112 posts Report Reply

  • Jeremy Eade,

    I seriously fucking disapprove of that shit.

    If you were a guest now on his show he would say, "hey russell you are just so P.C ", and flick his eyes and we'd all laugh at your beard.......a beard, on a man.

    auckland • Since Mar 2008 • 1112 posts Report Reply

  • Jeremy Eade,

    I don’t feel a warmth to Paul Henry, Paul Holmes, Leighton Smith, Micheal Laws, Kerry Woodham, …angry guy at the end of the day on zb. I wish i did.

    Its always very sloppy social commentary, and it seems to get massive promotion and distribution and awards. I see them as, if not nutty, then just incompetent to be commenting on important social issues through share bulk of historic inaccuracies and media hyping.

    I want a rachel madow now.

    auckland • Since Mar 2008 • 1112 posts Report Reply

  • Damian Christie,

    1. John Clark is still on our screens, thanks to Radirah or whatever it's called, the skit show on Fridays on TV3. It reminds me it was better John Lennon died when he did.

    2. I disapproved of Paul Henry re moustache-gate and agree with Russell's comments above. I was very disappointed with TVNZ's response, as I thought it crossed a major line in terms of the respect we are supposed to show for guests. I expressed my views to the powers that be. It was a classic case of hating the playa and not the game. Bad bad bad. But I watch Breakfast every morning, and Paul Henry is on for 2.5 hours every morning, and I've never seen anything approaching that since. (The Susan Boyle thing I didn't have a problem with, to be honest.) Mostly I find him amusing. But maybe that says more about me.

    2b. Let's not confuse 'Breakfast' with 'News'. There is news on breakfast, sure, but there's a lot that isn't. Gadget reviews. Interior decorating tips. Chilli eating. Paul Henry's comments should probably be assumed to fit into the bit that isn't news, and be treated with all the import and reverence of the gadget review.

    3. I don't think there's ever a decent defence to someone tricking their way onto air if they are of a mind to. If we start by assuming that everyone we speak to is out to trick us, and spend an inordinate amount of time checking everyone's credentials, I don't think journalism will be the winner on the day. Especially when resources are already stretched, and likely to become more so. I don't think there are lessons to learn in this example about fact/credential checking. I think there are lessons to learn about who and what is news. @ScottY - what you said (and what I'd said in the original post).

    4. When it comes to the MSM, I think everyone here wants more or less the same thing, ideally. It'd be a LOT easier to achieve if people stopped responding to the lowest common denominator content that has dominated in recent years. Let's not be surprised when a commercial network behaves in a way that maximises ratings. Chicken and egg, to an extent.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 1164 posts Report Reply

  • Graeme Edgeler,

    John Clark is still on our screens, thanks to Radirah or whatever it's called, the skit show on Fridays on TV3. It reminds me it was better John Lennon died when he did.

    Really? They've been doing this for years - and it still seems pretty good.

    Wellington, New Zealand • Since Nov 2006 • 3215 posts Report Reply

  • Sacha,

    moustache-gate and retard-gate aren't exactly political

    Only if you're an individualist - which I think you'd agree is more the province of the right than left in political terms.

    I just can't agree that Paul Henry is a completely unmitigated right wing nut job

    Paul Henry is clearly capable of being intelligent - which makes his unrepentent and cowardly bullying all the more unforgiveable. He had another verbal crack at women just before the whaling interview, so nothing much seems to have changed. The man's a snivelling, childish turd who is unworthy of airtime.

    I don't think there are lessons to learn in this example about fact/credential checking. I think there are lessons to learn about who and what is news.

    Agreed. I think the point is more the rush to give fawning airtime to certain types of people - and they're hardly feminist trade unionists, are they?

    Let's not be surprised when a commercial network behaves in a way that maximises ratings.

    Certainly - so where's the alternative again?

    Ak • Since May 2008 • 19745 posts Report Reply

  • Jeremy Eade,

    It reminds me it was better John Lennon died when he did.

    No, he was only 40 and a guy shot him. He would have been good to have around.

    auckland • Since Mar 2008 • 1112 posts Report Reply

  • andin,

    4. When it comes to the MSM, I think everyone here wants more or less the same thing, ideally. It'd be a LOT easier to achieve if people stopped responding to the lowest common denominator content that has dominated in recent years.

    And your not referring to people at the bottom of the economic heap I hope. Cause in some people's minds stupidity is invariably linked to poverty. But it seems commercialisation isn't having the uplifting effect on society some believe it would.

    Let's not be surprised when a commercial network behaves in a way that maximises ratings

    So one commercial enterprise pranked another one - not very well - IMO. I don't think outrage is the right response. But Breakfast will be credential checking like crazy now, another door close's.

    An apropos of nothing, gee Boy is a great film.

    raglan • Since Mar 2007 • 1891 posts Report Reply

  • Stephen Judd,

    I just groan a little when every thread on the media on PAS takes about three comments to turn into "what is wrong with TV news these days, everything about it is fucked and the people who work there are all strange idiots who vote weirdly."

    It's odd how that keeps happening, isn't it? It's almost as though the vaguely lefty, snooty, intellectual audience of PAS loathes and despises the TV news so much that they can't help themselves. I wonder why?

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 3122 posts Report Reply

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