Hard News by Russell Brown

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Hard News: Never mind the quality ...

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  • Bryce Edwards,

    Some great points there. But just to be clear, I haven't really been "revealing" anything or complaining about any Herald decisions. My Twitter comments last night were in response to Danyl Mclauchlan asking me: 'Will you be doing an NZ politics column in the Herald for the campaign?' I said, 'No invites this time round. Pagani & Odgers are the outside columnists for the next 4 weeks'. And then I linked to the Audrey Young article/announcement from a couple of weeks ago that specified who the guest columnists would be: Audrey Young: Policies and people all part of campaign - http://bit.ly/HeraldColumnists And as of a few minutes ago, the Herald's Shayne Currie has announced: 'Cathy Odgers has withdrawn'.

    Dunedin • Since Oct 2007 • 8 posts Report

  • MxDEJ,

    Tweeted by the Herald 7 minutes ago:
    "To clarify, Bryce Edwards is still writing for http://nzherald.co.nz and Cathy Odgers has withdrawn from our wide-ranging election line-up."
    https://twitter.com/nzherald/status/501859469664350208

    Hamilton • Since Feb 2012 • 24 posts Report

  • Grant McDougall,

    Hooray !

    Dunedin • Since Dec 2006 • 760 posts Report

  • Russell Brown, in reply to Bryce Edwards,

    And then I linked to the Audrey Young article/announcement from a couple of weeks ago that specified who the guest columnists would be:

    Gah. My bad. I didn't realise the the context in which you linked to Audrey's column. I'll note that above.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report

  • Danyl Mclauchlan,

    It’s nice that Odgers isn’t going to write a column any more. But it is so weird that she was asked. The Herald already have a bunch of libertarian/ACT cheerleaders writing copy for them. They’ve got Bob Jones and Rodney Hide and Damien Grant.

    Politically these people are represented by a party currently on 0.1% in the polls. In the last few by-elections ACT have been beaten by Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis. No one takes these people seriously EXCEPT the New Zealand Herald, whose first instinct when they’re looking for a right-wing columnist is to find another hateful, deranged libertarian headcase.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 927 posts Report

  • George Darroch,

    " @bryceedwards Cathy Odgers voluntarily pulled out of doing Herald columns, on Sunday. Wasn't pushed. She just contacted me with emails that back this up."

    So, it looks like a mildly dirty mess which became a much dirtier mess when the curtain was drawn back.

    WLG • Since Nov 2006 • 2264 posts Report

  • Tom Semmens, in reply to Danyl Mclauchlan,

    No one takes these people seriously EXCEPT the New Zealand Herald, whose first instinct when they’re looking for a right-wing columnist is to find another hateful, deranged libertarian headcase.

    See Russell Brown above:

    you know what else drives traffic? Angry political conflagrations

    Hateful, deranged nutcases generate clicks. The problem we've got is we don't have a quality newspaper in NZ, just tabloids masquerading as pint-sized broadsheets.

    Sevilla, Espana • Since Nov 2006 • 2217 posts Report

  • James George,

    As far as Odgers situation, does anyone know what the Law Society process is? IMO her alleged emails about getting Hager hurt or even killed by angry Chinese business people are illegal as well as being fuckin racist as all get up.
    Such people should not be members of the NZ Bar or even solicitors.
    Maybe someone who understands the process will lay a complaint certainly it seems lawyers have been struck off for a damn sight less although I suppose she will argue she wasn't acting in a professional capacity it does bring her character into question ie whether she is 'fit & proper' or whatever their rules call it.

    Since Sep 2007 • 96 posts Report

  • bob daktari,

    if they are after comments they should get Shelley Bridgeman to write some politically charged columns - something like the best shoes to wear to a voting booth and why do we wear shoes anyway

    auckland • Since Dec 2006 • 540 posts Report

  • James Butler, in reply to James George,

    fuckin racist as all get up

    I'm wondering what her clients think of all this. Because, you know, if it causes them to lose face...</sarc>

    Auckland • Since Jan 2009 • 856 posts Report

  • CJM,

    The fallout in the wider arena of media continues.
    Farrar fronted on RNZ's 'Panel' yesterday…I'm wondering if Jordan Fisher will do the same this week? And will he get the easy pass his best buddy David did?

    Auckland • Since Aug 2014 • 107 posts Report

  • Alec Morgan,

    Lawyers, particularly ACT aligned ones for some of us are forever in the “better call Saul…” category and not necessarily the best pick as political columnists, great we have so many hi quality options via blogs.

    Though it is mildly amusing that Cactus withdraws while “Whaledump” stays for now at the SunHerald.

    Tokerau Beach • Since Nov 2006 • 124 posts Report

  • Steve Curtis,

    Perhaps Odgers has decided to to that Moet & Chandon tour shes always wanted

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 314 posts Report

  • Steve Curtis, in reply to James George,

    As far as Odgers situation, does anyone know what the Law Society process is?

    She doesnt appear to be a member of the Law Society but is on the Roll of Lawyers where you can use the complaint process
    NZLS

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 314 posts Report

  • Rob Stowell, in reply to Alec Morgan,

    Though it is mildly amusing that Cactus withdraws while “Whaledump” stays for now at the SunHerald.

    Having both at the same time would be clickbait, for sure, but perhaps a little too unpredictable for Te Herod. Odgers has written (writes?) a fair bit for Whaleoil; they seem closely connected. So any quantity of unpalatable Odger’s bile might arrive in the next dump.
    Because writing for Whaleoil in itself clearly wasn’t enough to put The Herald off choosing her.

    Whakaraupo • Since Nov 2006 • 2120 posts Report

  • Kumara Republic, in reply to James George,

    As far as Odgers situation, does anyone know what the Law Society process is? IMO her alleged emails about getting Hager hurt or even killed by angry Chinese business people are illegal as well as being fuckin racist as all get up.

    Not a new thing with her. Before she memory-holed her blog, she gave the impression of tacitly favouring Peter Low’s threats to deploy Triads in South Auckland. Had it actually come to pass, it would potentially have lit the fuse for something out of Los Angeles in 1992 or Ferguson, Missouri today.

    The southernmost capital … • Since Nov 2006 • 5446 posts Report

  • elmer homofeld,

    For those interested in a complete rebuttal of the "he's making stuff up" argument, see this excellent article by Nicky Hager's lawyer, Steven Price.

    This deserves a wide readership - get it out there amongst the journalists.

    http://www.medialawjournal.co.nz/?p=635

    Since Aug 2014 • 2 posts Report

  • Rich of Observationz, in reply to Danyl Mclauchlan,

    I expect they'll be calling Allan Titford or Graham Capill to see if they're available. Are prisoners allowed to write for newspapers?

    Back in Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 5550 posts Report

  • giovanni tiso,

    But here's the dirty little secret of newspaper opinion columns. Tendentious, partisan arguments generate more traffic via comments than finely-worked theses and sparkling prose.

    This is why I'm hoping people will be more liberal in their use of donotlink.com and screen captures on social media.

    Wellington • Since Jun 2007 • 7473 posts Report

  • Brent Jackson, in reply to Rich of Observationz,

    Are prisoners allowed to write for newspapers?

    Well, they're not allowed to vote, so does that make them impartial ?

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 620 posts Report

  • Paul Williams,

    The fact that this place works as it does is a matter of active moderation, almost all of which is done by me. You're a great bunch, but I've had to remonstrate a lot more than usual.

    I visit a lot less often than I used to for various reasons, but was in fact hoping I would visit and comment more in the next four weeks assuming it would be one of the few places informed, strong-minded people would enagage in meaningful discussions. I'm sure it will be in absolute and relative terms. I get that Hager's book and related events are incendiary and hence discussion is equally intense.

    This deserves a wide readership - get it out there amongst the journalists

    Thanks for the heads-up, I used to check his blog regularly but had missed this piece.

    Sydney • Since Nov 2006 • 2273 posts Report

  • nzlemming, in reply to CJM,

    'm wondering if Jordan Fisher will do the same this week?

    Jordan Williams, I think you mean. I doubt that David Fisher would welcome the conflation of names...

    Waikanae • Since Nov 2006 • 2937 posts Report

  • Lucy Telfar Barnard,

    Sooo, the latest dump. Yes, it's bad that whaledump included personal stuff about health situations - but at the same time... those sections of the printout are about the only bits that show Slater to have some humanity to him. So while it's certainly unkind to those with the health problems, I would argue that it shows some kindness to Slater to leave them in...

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 585 posts Report

  • Pete Sime, in reply to Lucy Telfar Barnard,

    It's not about being kind to Cameron Slater, it's about respecting the privacy of the people discussed. This demonstrates how important Nicky Hager's approach was in only revealing material in the public interest.

    Dunedin • Since Apr 2008 • 171 posts Report

  • Kumara Republic, in reply to Lucy Telfar Barnard,

    Sooo, the latest dump. Yes, it’s bad that whaledump included personal stuff about health situations – but at the same time… those sections of the printout are about the only bits that show Slater to have some humanity to him. So while it’s certainly unkind to those with the health problems, I would argue that it shows some kindness to Slater to leave them in…

    Safe to say there’s a lot of irrelevant noise amongst the actually useful signal. Nicky Hager has just come out and said as much. As of writing this, a number of those I follow on Twitter are attempting to filter out the woffly stuff.

    The southernmost capital … • Since Nov 2006 • 5446 posts Report

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