Posts by Andrew E
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Matt, that's a truly depressing blog and article. This quote highlights the ignored scale of the issue:
When I first presented a list of victims to the state Department of Motor Vehicles for photos, the clerks were baffled. Twenty young people every week? "What is this?" one asked. "Did a plane crash?"
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the pages are (usually) so big and unwieldy that I can't be bothered
One of the reasons the Guardian moved to the 'Berliner' size. Certainly meant you were less likely to dig your elbows into your neighbour's face as you turned a page on the train or tube to work in the morning.
I assume the literal downsizing hasn't happened here because that would mean actual investment in their product by the owners.
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Hehehe
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What I really miss about opening a real newspaper is the seredipitous story. Something of interest or use that you may not have discovered through the top-down, menu-driven world of online newspapers. Boundary-spanning knowledge that may or may not be of use some day, but which (possibly) enriches you as a person.
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And a lot of the stories you read that have a political dimension are not written (or otherwise reported) by reporters with accreditation. They're reporters whose only interactions with Ministerial offices or Departmental comms units are via phone and email.
Agreed and understood - also about the accreditation to the Press Gallery. Perhaps then the question is broader, about the standards required to be met by people seeking to pass any national journalism training scheme. And whether news outlets (be they print, TV or radio) should be hiring people who can't demonstrate that they've passed this kind of assessment. Op-ed is different - people can be as pig ignorant and biased as they want there. Loathe as I am to cite the <i>Guardian</i>, C.P.Scott's dictum that 'comment is free but facts are sacred' isn't a bad place to start from for any news organisation.
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Great post Keith. Thanks.
It also illuminates the question of why public sector organisations aren't more robust in demanding corrections to inaccurate reporting. Instead of complaining about 'stupid journalists wasting public money with silly OIA requests' and 'undermining the levels of public trust in government/public services', why don't agencies get (even) more proactive in responding? Don't just phone up the editorial desk - respond quickly and officially to the inaccuracies in the comments under the story, issue your own press release which will be picked up by Scoop.
Ian's right to say that corrections might get lost in the noise, but the earlier and more forthrightly the correction is made/demanded, the greater the chance of it being heard.
Maybe government should require reporters to have passed Stats 101 and Public Policy Making 101 (at least) before being accredited to the parliamentary press corp? May not cover all reporting of public service issues, and newspapers shouldn't be Pravda, but it might help?
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Cardboard box? Central reservation? You had it lucky! [contd. p94]
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And cheese. Honestly I cannot get over how average-to-awful cheese is in New Zealand.
Exactly. Most cheese here is tasteless rubbish. For a country with such a big dairy industry it's such a pity.
Remembering the outstanding cheeses from all over the UK and Europe that I used to get in Borough Market, I long for the day when the Wellington sunday markets have local micro producers' cheeses, preferably with some flavour to them.
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*warning: threadjack*
Russell, an item for next week's programme?
Guardian provides open access to stats to facilitate mashups.
AND
Guardian provides API to open up its content for re-use.
[/threadjack]
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What strikes me about the Key government is the sheer lack of rigour in so many of their decisions.
Agreed. In 2 years time as the chickens start to come home to roost, maybe they'll start to recognise the last lot weren't completely divorced from reality.
It's as if they think they can simply spin any unintended consequences.
Yes, well that's not surprising. *cue rant about NZ media and fooling many of the people most of the time*