Hard News by Russell Brown

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Hard News: Morning in Auckland

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  • Max Call,

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/tv/4203109/Dikshit-giggles-New-Henry-drama

    "TVNZ has come in for fresh criticism over its handling of Breakfast host Paul Henry's Indian slurs after it continued to prominently feature a clip on its website in which he ridicules the name of Commonwealth Games troubleshooter Sheila Dikshit."

    my emphasis

    Fruit Bowl of New Zealand… • Since Jun 2007 • 153 posts Report Reply

  • Sacha,

    he might well have been tempted to do something similar in his younger days, only he'd never happened upon a Deobhakta Street.

    always the silver lining

    Ak • Since May 2008 • 19745 posts Report Reply

  • Sam F,

    Nice link Max. Particularly liking that helpful timeline of Henry's more egregious bursts of idiocy.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1611 posts Report Reply

  • Stephen Judd,

    When I worked at Pizza Hut as a teenager, one of our drivers was a top-flight cardio-thoracic surgeon from the Ukraine.

    One reason immigrants are famously entrepreneurial is that many of them discover that it's easier to start your own business than to try to work in your ostensible profession. It's worth pointing out though that the local medical profession, like professional bodies everywhere, likes to restrict the supply of labour by making it very hard to get certified here. (Except for con artists, who apparently can jump through all the hoops by the simple expedient of forging any and all paperwork demanded).

    I certainly have heard some shocking things from IT recruiters I've dealt with over the years. "Good English" and "New Zealand Experience preferred" are generally code for "no foreigners please".

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 3122 posts Report Reply

  • Max Call,

    it was missing the moustache comment (I think).

    It appears from the article that TVNZs response (to the Dikshit clip) is

    TVNZ spokeswoman Andi Brotherston said the website was an independent news organisation.

    "[It] is part of TVNZ's news and current affairs department, which has its editorial independence enshrined in legislation."

    Fruit Bowl of New Zealand… • Since Jun 2007 • 153 posts Report Reply

  • Rich of Observationz,

    Edward
    Woodward

    Were we discussing imprisoning Paul Henry in a large Wicker Man and torching it, whilst a young Britt Ekland dances naked? I'm all for that kind of shenanigans.

    Back in Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 5550 posts Report Reply

  • nzlemming,

    I'd even forego the torching...

    Waikanae • Since Nov 2006 • 2937 posts Report Reply

  • Sofie Bribiesca,

    Peter Dunne has an opinion
    So is it dam the employees rights? looks so.

    here and there. • Since Nov 2007 • 6796 posts Report Reply

  • Craig Ranapia,

    Peter Dunne has an opinion

    I've got an arsehole. Same difference.

    North Shore, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 12370 posts Report Reply

  • alobar,

    Goff's comment about Henry is spot on , as the Dikshit piece shows,
    its classic Henry being silly , pathetic , childish and definitely himself.
    (in other words probably not capable of much better , or of working out how insulting Goff is being to him )

    auckland • Since Apr 2010 • 63 posts Report Reply

  • Paul Williams,

    I think you're talking about ethnicity, aren't you? Race is more physical in focus, hence the link with health (though not without significant change).

    I am, I misread your initial comment.

    Sydney • Since Nov 2006 • 2273 posts Report Reply

  • Berry Binnie,

    Mr.Henry embodies a serious waste of particles, this is hardly news.

    TVNZ just become more obsolete by the day.

    Nelson • Since Mar 2010 • 5 posts Report Reply

  • Islander,

    Berry Binnie writes "TVNZ just become more obsolete by the day."

    Not wrong.

    But for me, it's been obsolete for some years - I find I can manage quite nicely with the internet, Maori TV, and the odd bit of TV3. All totally-free - well, almost! - PH zones...

    Big O, Mahitahi, Te Wahi … • Since Feb 2007 • 5643 posts Report Reply

  • Stephen Judd,

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 3122 posts Report Reply

  • SteveH,

    Andi Brotherston has admited a "horrendous error of judgement" and offered to resign. If only Henry was as professional.

    Edit: Ah, Sofie saw it first. As I would have known if I had any interest in Peter Dunn's opinion.

    Since Sep 2009 • 444 posts Report Reply

  • Carlos,

    TVNZ spokeswoman Andi Brotherston said the website was an independent news organisation.

    "[It] is part of TVNZ's news and current affairs department, which has its editorial independence enshrined in legislation."

    Its impressive how quickly TVNZ have changed from defender of 'say what you really think' television to issuer of weasel word dodge the real issue statements the moment that they are the focus of criticism.

    CPH.DK • Since Mar 2009 • 27 posts Report Reply

  • TracyMac,

    Regarding overqualified taxi drivers, it's always amazed me that the govt makes people jump through all the hoops, they get in precisely because they have amazing quals (although of course it depends on the institution those quals were obtained from), and then wastes them.

    Why not start up industry schemes? You work for employer X, they get your expertise at a cheap rate (but better than taxi driving) for a year or two, review your work record, maybe do an industry exam at the end... like a cut-down apprenticeship. Can't think of any industry or profession that wouldn't work for.

    Canberra, West Island • Since Nov 2006 • 701 posts Report Reply

  • TracyMac,

    Oh, and agreed with Emma and Jolisa about Gladwell's brainfart. I mean, seriously, who doubts the role of communication in this day and age? It's not the same as action, but action can't happen when people don't know what's going on.

    There is a bit of wank about the democratisation of publishing, but given the fact the world's mainstream media is stuck in the clutches of Murdoch et al, the fact that more people can broadcast more information is an increasingly useful way of getting some balance back.

    There's a lot of moaning and grizzling about how much of what you get on the Internets is lies, but if it encourages more sophistication about received knowledge and improved critical thinking - something sadly missing in relation to mainstream media - that can only be of benefit.

    Canberra, West Island • Since Nov 2006 • 701 posts Report Reply

  • Max Call,

    "So in that spirit I apologise unreservedly to Sir Anand and his family, he is a very distinguished man I am a gippo television presenter."

    What exactly is PH saying here??

    Fruit Bowl of New Zealand… • Since Jun 2007 • 153 posts Report Reply

  • Max Call,

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/discrimination/news/article.cfm?c_id=177&objectid=10678366

    just saw this online - pretty good summation of how i feel (though I have only skim read it so far). First two paragraphs cmu.

    Fruit Bowl of New Zealand… • Since Jun 2007 • 153 posts Report Reply

  • Cecelia,

    Interesting observations about Henry's transformation into a clown.

    Fascinating link. Thank you.

    When I watched the clip about Sheila Dikshit (Henry giggling and Peter Williams squirming) I thought, here is a man out of control, drunk on his own ego ...

    I'd love to be a fly on the wall and hear what Peter Williams said when Paul Henry was suspended. He was smiling this morning and tried hard to make little quips and brighten up the programme.

    To make some sort of comparison I watched Campbell Live tonight to see how John Campbell was faring. It was TERRIBLE. He went from shots of an absolutely distraught Macsyna King to something on Kim Kardashian. While the tragic story of the Kahui twins was playing there was script on the screen about trivial stuff. OMG.

    Hibiscus Coast • Since Apr 2008 • 559 posts Report Reply

  • Steve Parks,

    Andi Brotherston has admited a "horrendous error of judgement" and offered to resign. If only Henry was as professional.

    I was harsh earlier about that original response, but I think this is a genuine apology and actually a genuine error in judgment under pressure.

    (Here's the original email in full.)

    I'm also starting to feel slightly sorry for Paul Henry, who is looking a pathetic figure at the moment. But then I remember how he's not exactly one for letting up, and how his supporters have been telling his critics to "harden the phuck up" etc. (See Ben Gracewood's blog for examples.)

    Wellington • Since May 2007 • 1165 posts Report Reply

  • Joe Wylie,

    "So in that spirit I apologise unreservedly to Sir Anand and his family, he is a very distinguished man I am a gippo television presenter."
    What exactly is PH saying here??

    Hadn't heard that one in a while. Not since The Adventures of Barry McKenzie (1972), where Bazza famously observes "when it comes to fleecing you, the Poms have got the edge on the gyppos!"

    Suspect Henry's been mining that ancient movie for material. According to the theme song lyrics, "he's got a great big grin and a great big chin, he's a better man than you are, Gunga Din". Those diehard Henry fans who believe that he merely channels their innermost thoughts would no doubt find this side-splitting, provided they don't twig that it was intended as parody:

    flat earth • Since Jan 2007 • 4593 posts Report Reply

  • Sofie Bribiesca,

    I've got an arsehole. Same difference.

    lol

    here and there. • Since Nov 2007 • 6796 posts Report Reply

  • Matthew Littlewood,

    This whole thing is making me think that Malcolm Gladwell is completely wrong about twitter/facebook and social activism. The lunch counter sit-ins worked precisely because they grew out of social networks; if the participants had had electronic media to augment their communications, they'd have used them without a second thought.

    I'm hardly a fan of Gladwell- in fact I find a lot of his work incredibly glib and prone to manufacturing arguments by cherry-picking examples that fit and leaving out the rest...but I think this sort of was his point. Facebook, Twitter, et al are tools for networking, they're a means, rather than a means to an end, which is why he feels that as a method for continued activism (of any sort), they would have to be bolstered by something else, because their structure is anti-heirachical. Which as he says, is a strength in certain situations, but less so when you want to establish something continuous. I mean when he says this:

    There are many things, though, that networks don’t do well. Car companies sensibly use a network to organize their hundreds of suppliers, but not to design their cars. No one believes that the articulation of a coherent design philosophy is best handled by a sprawling, leaderless organizational system. Because networks don’t have a centralized leadership structure and clear lines of authority, they have real difficulty reaching consensus and setting goals. They can’t think strategically; they are chronically prone to conflict and error. How do you make difficult choices about tactics or strategy or philosophical direction when everyone has an equal say?

    He's right, if you assume the group's only tool for continued activism and organisation is through Facebook or Twitter or whatever. He's wrong, if they're merely using that as one extra tool. Greenpeace, for instance, has a very committed social media platform. But that's not all they have. Likewise, I kinda think those reports on Obama marshalling the social network bely the fact that he also hand the savviest and most talented campaign team since Clinton in 1992.

    They're a continuation of what already existed, rather than a totally new paradigm. And that's great. We shouldn't get worked up and worry and fret if it's not totally new. We should be pleased that it gets used and can continue.

    (Btw, sorry about this word-wank, your response got me thinking is all. I should have just said that Gladwell is sorta right and sorta wrong and been done with it).

    (Here's the piece we're all referring to, btw: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/10/04/101004fa_fact_gladwell?currentPage=all)

    Anyway, back to Paul Henry...

    Today, Tomorrow, Timaru • Since Jan 2007 • 449 posts Report Reply

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