I watched part of Sensing Murder last night, for the first time. I was shouting at the television after two minutes. I knew I wouldn't dig it, but I was unprepared for quite how weird and manipulative?

The channel's future under a National-led Government appears bleak. Brownlee says he has yet to see any figures suggesting MTS is meeting its aims. "It's a lot of money for what it's reaching. If they could show they are getting the reach they are supposed to?

I was shouting at the television after two minutes.

Ha hah!! I watched one last year, it was spectacular – the mediums (media?) were told nothing other than two guys were strangled & thrown off a ship, their bodies were later found & the coroner deemed they'd been strangled & thrown off a?

Seriously, it's getting beyond a joke. I'm getting?

Can anyone confirm that Charter money was in fact used on Sensing Murder?

Is lthis any use:

In the first three months of this calendar year, TVNZ has committed just over $2.5 million of Direct Government Funding to making local programmes in three categories ? entertainment, documentary/factual and special interest.?

Don't make it, and don't screen it ...

Programme: Sensing Murder Series 2 Extension
Genre: Entertainment
Duration: 5 x 1.5 hour
Production Company: Ninox Television
$ Committed: $1,000,000

As much as I'm loathe to have Governments interfere in the media, that is a million dollars of "waste" that any Government could trim with my utmost approval.

I should?

I'd like to see TVNZ?

Neither Labour nor National have any ambitions to make TVNZ a local equivalent of the BBC.....

Well, thanks for bringing that up, Steve. If anyone is serious about turning TVNZ into the BBC, then they better be ready to put very serious money into the production pipeline and accept that?

Putting aside the fact that Sensing Murder is a pile of shit, and the people who promote it as 'documentary' or 'factual' programming should be sent to compulsory adult literacy classes...

To be fair they have classed it "entertainment" and not "documentary/factual". Which probably means that even the producers know?

On the topic of National policy releases, their broadcasting policy seems about as substantial and well thought out as their Kiwisaver policy, with Shane Arden first saying that small businesses will be exempt from contributions then reversing his comments the next day.

I would be quite interested in hearing how?

Coleman made mention of the fact ...

On bFm

Sorry, I forgot that bit.

enough capacity to store – and then seed via BitTorrent to each and every PVR-cum-node- all the decent TV programmes broadcast in the UK

We could have the same for "all the decent TV progs" in NZ. Running on an iPhone.

Sorry broadcasters – couldn't resist :-)

Coleman made mention of the fact that under National TVNZ would have to make ratings data available, and I have to say I like that. (as sad as it would make me)

Yeah, that was in the policy stuff too: I couldn't see the point of it.

AGB Nielsen Media?

Coleman made mention of the fact that under National TVNZ would have to make ratings data available, and I have to say I like that. (as sad as it would make me)

I took this to be a reference to RNZ's policy of not revealing its internal ratings data, nor?

"Sensing Murder" won it's slot in all demographics last night.

Not in the least surprised, Johnno, and that's my point. If that show meats the Direct Government Funding criteria that it be directed to shows that "would not be made in a wholly commercial environment", what doesn't?

I would be quite interested in hearing how two different MPs both mistakenly got the impression that employer contributions would be altered by National, to the extent that they announced this in public. Either something funny is going on, or people are snoozing off in policy meetings. A lot.

Well,?

It will if Bill Ralston is listened to. He claimed in his boring Listener column (this week) that the National Programme was boring. I would say not nearly as boring as he made TVNZ's channel 1 after his disastrous sojourn there. It now competes quite satisfactorily with channel 2 for?

It now competes quite satisfactorily with channel 2 for LCD shallowness.

But I've got a CRT. Is it different on plasma too?

Well, I'm sure there's any number of explanations.... but the one that keeps jumping to mind is that they are discussing publicly actual policies that were supposed to be secret because the leaders know they wont be that popular with the voters?

Stuff tells me that Shane Arden "had no?

Stuff tells me that Shane Arden "had no idea what was really in the policy" because only Key and English are privy to it.

So, hey, it's not that the party as a whole has secret policies – it's just that the leadership doesn't trust the backbenchers enough to tell?

Well, I'm sure there's any number of explanations.... but the one that keeps jumping to mind is that they are discussing publicly actual policies that were supposed to be secret because the leaders know they wont be that popular with the voters?

I think it's possible that some of their?

Yay!

To be fair they have classed it "entertainment" and not "documentary/factual". Which probably means that even the producers know it's a pile of horse-hockey.

I'm not buying that.

I do have a bee in my bonnet about Sensing Murder. The producers talk out of both sides of their mouths. On?

None of the other lowbrow crap actually leaves a chunk of its viewers more deluded than when they started watching.

I couldn't agree more. Someone at work – a well educated person – was talking about how convincing it was last time it was on. She didn't seem to think?

I cannot think of a more outrageous use of public money as far as recent broadcast shows go

Totally agree.

(Actually I would love to see an FoC-hosted psychic takedown. I bet it would be hilarious.)

Moon TV had a pretty good go. Funded by NZ on Air, too...

BROADCASTING: I've done a briefing paper on why a $50 million dollar increase?

That should read:

HEALTH: And I've still to trip over a DHB chair, or health sector interest group, that won't say they're under-funded. Unless you get them really, really stoned first.

(I'm actually vaguely serious here – they probably haven't figured out what will fly and what they?

Are you sure that the real reason why no one in National knows what the policies are isn't simply that Crosby and Textor haven't got back and told them what they'll be yet?

Gee, Paul, perhaps Crosby/Textor are otherwise engaged deploying the jaws of life to remove Clark's foot from?

Local is a problematic term for RNZ. They are such Anglophiles, in makeup and content, I'ld fully expect 1/2 that to go to a Welsh language programme.

Gee, Paul, perhaps Crosby/Textor are otherwise engaged deploying the jaws of life to remove Clark's foot from her mouth – again.

Yeah, seriously Craig. I thought the Key/railway shares was at best a 50/50 split for Labour in terms of points scored. She looked silly on TV last night with?