Hard News: How long the leash on the Fourth Estate?
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I think, though, that part of the problem is the weak self-regulation of the NZ media industries. The Broadcasting Standards Authority and Press Council are toothless when it comes to reining in the excesses of talkback radio and the ghastly Investigrunt magazine, and it was Paul Litterick who exposed the Bruce Logan plagiarism scandal, not the Press Council, or investigative journalism.
Still, I do take your point about media autonomy and freedom of speech, within the boundaries of copyright and defamation laws.
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There’s a world of difference between whistle-blowing and wilful invasion of privacy. I’ve also suggested to Myles Thomas of Save TVNZ7 about getting together a Royal Commission on public broadcasting and media concentration.
I’ll also talk to Tim Pankhurst, the secretary of the Commonwealth Press Union’s Media Freedom Committee, who expressed concern at the National Party’s attack on the papers that – it’s worth remembering this – didn’t actually publish the contents of the so-called Teapot Tapes.
Which effectively makes it a gagging order or a media blackout.
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I’ll also talk to Tim Pankhurst, the secretary of the Commonwealth Press Union’s Media Freedom Committee, who expressed concern at the National Party’s attack on the papers that – it’s worth remembering this – didn’t actually publish the contents of the so-called Teapot Tapes.
Papers which, on many other fronts, richly deserve damn-near every comparison to Britain’s scum tabloids that come their way. Sorry, needs to be said.
Which effectively makes it a gagging order or a media blackout.
Not even close, Red. Stephen Joyce saying mean (and ridiculously hyperbolic) things about the Herald on Sunday is abso-fucking-loutely NOTHING like a gagging order or media blackout. You might want to ask Barbara Dreaver and David Robie -- who've both spoken eloquently on Media7 about the reality of reporting in the face of government harassment and intimidation in the Pacific. Comparing the HoS to the Screws of the World was offensively hyperbolic, but let's not balance it up by equally stupidly comparing the Herald stable to journalists who are facing genuine, and incredibly serious intimidation in places like Fiji, Vanuatu and Papua.
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A lot of the problem with the NOTW is the way they are entwined with the state. The police protected them by ignoring the complaints, the former editor became Cameron's press secretary, Murdoch and his editors have an open door into Downing Street (and are core in ensuring that no government to the left of George W Bush can ever get elected in the UK).
Basically, it's a media controlled by the nations rulers - Pravda, but much better disguised.
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Rich Lock, in reply to
Papers which, on many other fronts, richly deserve damn-near every comparison to Britain’s scum tabloids that come their way. Sorry, needs to be said.
Craig, they're really not in the same league. The NZH and SST may be laughably breathless, inaccurate and obsessed with all things shallow and sleb-oriented, but they really don't stand direct comparison with The Sun, The Daily Mail, The Mirror, and the thankfully defunct NotW. The core of unpleasantness running through all those papers is way beyond anything I've expereinced here.
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His experience afterwards was a fairly stark demonstration of what happens to anyone who gets in the road of the Murdoch papers.
Bloody hell.
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Ranapia seems to forget that the accidentally recorded conversation of a Prime Minister was put in the public domain- but the PM was Geoffrey Palmer and the means ,not the HoS but Ruth Richardson in parliament.
It seems that the National party crossed that bridge a long time ago.
As for comparing our local rags to Britains 'scum tabloids' here is Sienna Miller telling of her experience-“For a number of years I was relentlessly pursued by 10 to 15 men, almost daily” the actress said. “Spat at, verbally abused”. She added that it often happened that she would have to run from the reporters at midnight, on dark alleys. “And the fact they had cameras in their hands made that legal”
Just like the scum tabloids - yeah right
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merc,
...but what was going on was a dodgy collaboration between National and ACT and the media organisations...
http://pundit.co.nz/content/ive-just-been-internalising-a-really-complicated-situation-in-my-head
A counter-view. -
Russell Brown, in reply to
Comparing the HoS to the Screws of the World was offensively hyperbolic, but let’s not balance it up by equally stupidly comparing the Herald stable to journalists who are facing genuine, and incredibly serious intimidation in places like Fiji, Vanuatu and Papua.
To be fair, it wasn't just Joyce's nastiness. It was the actions that led to the police serving search warrants on major news organisations a week out from a general election -- and the fact that two of those news organisations had done no more than report on a significant campaign story: the very job we expect them to do.
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The fact that Banks and Key chose to make off-colour jokes about this entire situation during the ‘victory’ speeches on Election night speaks volumes
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The idea of a content standards authority that had to comb through my ill-advised rantings and poorly concealed breaches of various court orders on Discourse fills me with a certain sort of glee. The silver lining is that they'd be so busy with me, the rest of you would probably be able to continue as you are. It's my gift to you.
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The last Labour government's electoral finance law was a step in a dangerous direction, and it's vague murmurings of setting up government regulation of the media suggests it hasn't learned well...
But at the risk of finding myself on the pointy end of a "...let's not balance it up by equally stupidly comparing...":
Key and Joyce's arrogant, blustering, bullying response to the teapot recording reminded me disturbingly of many a Chinese government official's response to uncomfortable news made public. But whereas in China such official behaviour is mocked, apparently many in New Zealand sympathised. That worries me.
And while China shows the danger of government regulation and intimidation of the media for government and corporate transparency, Nicky Hager's comments in that article merc linked to on the role David Farrar and Cameron Slater played has me worried for a different reason. China, with parallel government and party administrations at every level of society and in every organisation, also does a good line in active Party guidance of the line the media should take on issues, and that, again, is dangerous for government and corporate transparency.
And I strongly suspect that an awful lot of Kiwis like strong, authoritarian leaders, and could be quite comfortable with a dictatorship that more or less let them go about their lives as they do right now. But that's the kind of country I live in, and it has its downsides.
So maybe, as Craig Young says, "part of the problem is the weak self-regulation of the NZ media industries", but I'd rather be bringing my family back to that than a Kiwi version of what we enjoy now, especially now that the internet lets us bite back.
So high on my wishlist for the incoming parliament is Labour and the Greens playing loud and clear the "National bullies the media to preserve it's hold on power" song.
But a more positive (for China) comparison: For all its government control and censorship, there is a lot more diversity of media voices here. People's Daily is the national-level Party mouthpiece. Global Times is hyper-nationalist. Anything in the Southern Daily group is going to be frequently courting trouble by taking a liberal line and pushing the censorship boundaries. On the desk next to me is a copy of 《炎黄春秋》(oh, wait, it does have an "English" name in the form of toneless Pinyin on the spine: Yanhuang Chunqiu) which pushes political views much more liberal than the government would prefer. And sure, China has a lot more people to sell to, which I'm sure helps. The internet makes it much easier to get a greater diversity of voices out there, but I do have to ask if that greater diversity is filtering in to the mainstream. So also high on my wishlist, although I don't expect it anytime soon, is some law on media ownership with a view to splitting up these huge media empires.
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Sacha, in reply to
Stephen Joyce saying mean (and ridiculously hyperbolic) things about the Herald on Sunday is abso-fucking-loutely NOTHING like a gagging order or media blackout.
You're conveniently leaving out the part where he called in the police during an election campaign. Bit more serious than calling names.
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Craig Ranapia, in reply to
You’re conveniently leaving out the part where he called in the police during an election campaign. Bit more serious than calling names.
And not on the level of the media harassment and intimidation Barbara Dreaver and David Robie have talked about on Media7. Seriously, you can argue that the Police complaint was a strategical brain-fade, and I guess we shall wait for the courts to decide whether it was well-founded. But if that’s what constitutes a gagging order in New Zealand, the media are damn lucky.
Ranapia seems to forget that the accidentally recorded conversation of a Prime Minister was put in the public domain- but the PM was Geoffrey Palmer and the means ,not the HoS but Ruth Richardson in parliament.
You know what, Curtis? We’re adults, not tabloid hacks: “Mummy, they did it first and they were asking for it!” is exasperating from toddlers, and intolerable from alleged adults. IIRC, in that case Palmer had more than sufficient grounds for a privilege complaint against Richardson (and the journalist responsible) but decided not to take it. Shame he didn’t, in my view.
You might also want to check out my long-standing views on the abuse of Parliamentary privilege by politicians who know they can say any crap about anyone, and get it reported, without cost or consequence.
Finally, I’ll see your Sienna Miller and raise you one Brad Guildford, photographers allegedly staking out Alison Mau’s childrens’ school (because the bisexuality of a divorced autocue reader is a matter of compelling public interest), a pair of Kahui Twins, irresponsibly credulous treatment of charlatan pseudo-scientists like Ken Ring, Deb Filler and anti-immunisation nutbags, and a phantom Asian crime wave that didn’t actually exist. I can keep going if you like.
If the Herald titles don’t like being called “scum taboids”, I’d disrespectfully suggest the solution is in their hands – stop acting like it.
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Sacha, in reply to
But if that’s what constitutes a gagging order in New Zealand, the media are damn lucky.
stopped most publishing. job done
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Brad Guilford- Sienna Miller - Yeah, I see the concurrency in that one. Some one needs a reality check about what private means. Running naked through a bar and the rest sort of does draw attention to yourself -a bit like a photo op gone wrong.
As for the brain fade du jour- making a privilege complaint to the Speaker afterwards and calling the police...... mmmm who's running to mummy ?
If you had read the story from the journalist who made the tape, you would discover that she hadn't given the details to Richardson and apologised profusely to Palmer.
He had replied that the 'office of PM could withstand these storms in a teacup' and not to worry.Quite a contrast dont you think ?
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Craig Ranapia, in reply to
Brad Guilford- Sienna Miller – Yeah, I see the concurrency in that one. Some one needs a reality check about what private means.
Steve: Just so we have a right understanding, getting pissy with me is not wise unless you’re a huuuuuge fan of watersports. I will have another coffee or three to top up my bladder and flush the bile ducts then return fire. :)
Look, darling, you brought up Sienna Miller – and the way she was treated was absolutely vile and you’d have to be all the way off your meds to even try mounting a public interest/news value defence of her harassment.
Now, could you explain to the group what actual non-tabloid news value existed in sending journalists and camera crews to Rarotonga to concern-troll Guildford, take stunningly insightful snaps of an empty cell (!) and generally beat up a non-story that would have been of precisely ZERO interest if anyone other than an All Black was involved. Oh, and while media outlets are cutting staff and budgets like Freddy Kruger like P nice to see that having a media scrum at Auckland Airport at 6am for further concern-trolling and humiliation of Guildford as soon as he cleared customs was considered a priority.
If it smells like tabloid bullshit, and tastes like taboid bullshit it probably is tabloid bullshit. And frankly, if we're going to keep giving New Zealand media a "at least they're not as bad as the worse of the Oz/UK/US tabs" pass, I can promise you this - the day will come when nobody will be able to say that with a straight face any more.
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Now I’ve got that out of my system. One choke chain I’d love to see put on the media is taking some responsibility for the idea that… you know, getting basic matters of scientific fact right (i.e. that there’s no “proven link” between vaccination and autism anywhere except the planet Michelle Bachmann resides on) matters. I’d also suggest the self-promoting charlatanism of folks like Ken Ring and Deb Filler be firmly relegated to paid advertising, and clearly marked as such.
Our host has written a lot about how junk pseudo-science and statistical innumeracy in the media has real and negative impact on public policy debate – from climate change to drugs and GMOs. But I’d argue when media outlets are uncritically publishing unbalanced, misleading and downright bullshit laden anti-immunisation stories that’s crossed the line (IMO) from bad journalism to putting lives at risk. There has to be real consequences.
http://publicaddress.net/hardnews/start-with-your-conclusion/
Thoughts?
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Kumara Republic, in reply to
If it smells like tabloid bullshit, and tastes like taboid bullshit it probably is tabloid bullshit. And frankly, if we’re going to keep giving New Zealand media a “at least they’re not as bad as the worse of the Oz/UK/US tabs” pass, I can promise you this – the day will come when nobody will be able to say that with a straight face any more.
With apologies to Winston Churchill, a lie travels halfway round the world before the truth can punch in its username and password. Once again, tabloids masquerading as broadsheets are worse than tabloids themselves - what better way to put lipstick on a pig?
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So let me get this right Craig - and dont call me darling- you seem to have a timeline of poor Zac Guilfords humiliation at your fingertips. The cell he _was_ in ??
All the better to wax on the unfairness of it all. Have you ever heard off the off switch?
Im surprised you didnt prick up your ears at the Herald story on a recent murder accused ( who days ago pleaded guilty) where Jared Savage tailed the suspect to various addresses. Concern trolling the neighbours ? When will the intrusions end for murderers.
Its hardly surprising that Granny Herald, like Snow White ,has drifted
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Craig Ranapia, in reply to
and dont call me darling
I will apologise for that - it was not only gratuitously, trollishly bitchy but totally insincere.
I will say this for the last time: If anyone objects to me calling local media "scum tabloids" there's an easy solution. They need to stop earning that label with monotonous regularity.
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Russell Brown, in reply to
If you had read the story from the journalist who made the tape, you would discover that she hadn’t given the details to Richardson and apologised profusely to Palmer.
He had replied that the ‘office of PM could withstand these storms in a teacup’ and not to worry.Quite a contrast dont you think ?
It is. And I think what it showed up was the gap in what you might call constitutional awareness between Palmer on one hand and Joyce and Key on the other. Palmer would simply never have done what Joyce and Key did, while they regarded themselves as entitled to do what they did.
Tim Pankhurst delivers a pretty sharp serve on their actions – and on the lack of boldness amongst New Zealand editors – in tonight’s Media7 (9.05pm, TVNZ 7).
I think this is an entirely separate issue to the flood of celebrities on front pages in the past five years.
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Rich Lock, in reply to
if we're going to keep giving New Zealand media a "at least they're not as bad as the worse of the Oz/UK/US tabs" pass
I'm not giving any of them a pass. Merely noting degrees of fail.
The reason being that I don't think it would take all that much (well, relatively speaking) to turn the major elements of the NZ press around. Whereas certain elements of the UK press simply need to be euthanised.
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bottomline, the media, up and down the country was operating under a police search warrant, days out from an election
we deserve better
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Craig Ranapia, in reply to
I think this is an entirely separate issue to the flood of celebrities on front pages in the past five years.
Perhaps, but anyone who really wants to keep arguing I'm completely out of line saying the media here are too often tabloids in all but format... well, we're just going to have to agree to disagree. On some level, another really fucking dumb thing about Joyce et. al. rolling out the NoTW comparisons is that it gives the usual suspects one more excuse to wave off any criticism.
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