Posts by johnno
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Combining RNZ with TVNZ would leave Mediawatch with nothing to complain about.
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I have to say that I think RNZ do a very poor job craft-wise in regards to their news programmes. Most have absolutely no natural field sound, no sound -ups, just phone i/v after phone i/v. The stories that tend to stand out are on Worldwatch and are foreign television stories from CNN. Despite being made for TV, they have an abundance of natural sound that helps to tell the aural story. I understand that RNZ journalists are so short staffed that they simply don't have the time to get out in the field much any more, but are tied to their desks cranking out endless updates to fill the next bulletin. If TVNZ are going for this model, then I think it's a big mistake.
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"Blog About Cat."
Quietly predict a huge spike in page hits.
Anyway, Bill (RIP) used to sit on the front steps of our Ngata Street flat with us on the few days when a milky sun would fool us into thinking Palmy weather wasn't so bad. I say sit with us, because any attempt to stroke, pat, scratch or generally touch would be met with calm and deadly force. He'd sit there, master of all he could see - the road, footpath, front lawn and derelict car.
One day a foolish interloper decided to wander across the front lawn. Bill was pretending to be asleep. He must have detected a disturbance in the force. I know we sure did, because all conversation stopped. Bill stood up. We waited. Bill surprised us, because he waited until the strange cat had actually left the property and disappeared from view before deciding to wander after it and have a chat. Presumably he was concerned that we might be a little squeamish.
Cool cat, Bill.
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The fireman's jacket works. Unbelievably, twice. Although in both cases I suspect the poor confused wench wanted to nick it when I wasn't looking. I lent it to a friend, and he confirmed the phenomenon.
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Stephen, pixellation is probably a good idea in my case for most of the time. My feeling is that it will get a lot harder to cover breaking crime, at least for the next 5 years or so. The Police have created a secure web page that they make available to certain media outlets. Supposedly, all local Police jobs are entered into it. There are two problems with it. The most obvious is that the media are completely at the mercy of the Police as to what gets added and what doesn't. The second is that the amount of information about each job is so limited that it is impossible to tell if an event is newsworthy. A hypothetical example - two drunks pushing each other about outside a pub might be listed as a disorder. A full-on battle between patched gang members might be coded in the same manner. In the US, some local media organisations have successfully argued that the local police force is required under the Constitution to provide a police radio receiver to them. The local cops are still able to turn-off each receiver if it is misused.
For TV, good pictures are absolute gold. From my observations, I think TV3 tends to work harder and smarter at getting better footage. The bosses at 3 really seem to value good pictures. They have a better network of scanner listeners, and they have hungrier freelancers and staff cameras who tend to be more aggressive in pushing the boundaries. The encrypted communications will take away the best tool they have. The only thing that might change this situation in the near future would be universal high-speed wireless connectivity. Potentially, citizens who witness some sort of crime will then be able to shoot high quality footage and upload it within minutes. The quality of the filming might be lacking, but the immediacy might make up for it.
TV will still continue to cover crime. It will continue to be a very easy type of reportage to do. It usually has a simple narrative with good guys and bad guys. Individual crimes do not require much in the way of resourcing, no investigation, no pouring over documents, no hopeful OIA requests, no real need for experienced expensive reporters. Too tempting for a budget-minded news exec.
(edited cos I'm crap at writing)
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Part of McVicar's appeal to journalist is his availability. Radio journalist in particular need to constantly update stories throughout the day. Knowing that McVicar will answer his phone, and give you a usable grab, means he is gold. It doesn't really matter what he says if you're desperately trying to fill a hole for the next hourly bulletin.
The other string in his bow is his "closeness" to victims of crime. His message and profile means that family members of victims will approach McVicar, looking for help, answers, a sympathetic ear, whatever. Journalists looking for their "please cry on tape" moment when then find it easier to go through McVicar than to approach them selves. He smoothes the way, presumably offering advice as to what the victim might want to do, and which media organisations/journalist will give the most favourable coverage.
I have a sneaking suspicion that crime reporting might decrease slightly in the next 5 years. Media organisations rely on listening to police communications to hear new crime. Some freelance TV camerapeople have made a very comfortable living from listening to scanners and being the first media at a scene. For TV, pictures are king, and without those pictures, a crime will often pass by with little or no acknowledgement. With the police slowly but steadily rolling out encrypted digital communications that the media cannot listen to, I suspect that crime reporting on TV might start to fall away.
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In Mau's comments on Breakfast, my recollection is that her greatest concern was that she was being stalked by a pap photographer for more than a month, often at times when her children were with her. I have a lot of sympathy for that. I can't think of any other type of NZ media organisation that would commission such an extended covert surveillance. As far as I'm aware, TVNZ's celebrity news readers are shopped out by the company's PR hacks, and don't have a lot of control over their interaction, nor do they receive any money themselves.
On a related note, I had to laugh when the magazine's publisher started harping on about accuracy! Just how may times have Brad and Angelina split up now?
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While I must confess some sort of interest in the whole ratings thing, I do find it a little bit annoying that people outside the 18-49 age group don't seem to matter much to programmers and advertisers. When I see a number attached to household shoppers with Sky and kids (5-12) who live in Auckland Metro, you really have to ask why they are more important than single folk in Greymouth or Greytown.
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How long can it go on?
As long as they keep outrating the opposition, I guess. First sign of a drop in numbers, and he'll be in a bit of trouble.
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I once had a boss from across the ditch who criticised a story on fashion week for not having enough “norks”
That was the cameraman's fault... ;-)