Posts by Rob Stowell
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Hard News: Rugby Now, in reply to Rickai,
When the current NZRU deal with SKY is up, my bet is on internet providers gaining the rights to some or all All Blacks games. Maybe the NZRU will split up the product – Tri Nations to one, end-of-year tour to another, with Lions and RWC negotiated as well.
From a production point of view, that's at least a headache (unless one production company gets the contract to produce all the different games, it could get very messy) and at worst, only the bigger games are covered (and then 'on the cheap' - not necessarily a bad thing. It costs sh*tloads the way it's currently done - and there's a big fixed cost in equipment.)
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Hard News: Rugby Now, in reply to Tom Semmens,
When you give up Sky, rugby ceases to exist.
True that. Unless you’re a pub regular (I’m not) you just don’t see it. The only games I see are the (very few) games I point one of many cameras at. And from behind the scenes, it’s evident Sky drop massive $$ on rugby coverage.
Big teams of broadcasters flying around the country, staying in hotels, renting cars, plus local crews. You could, these days – or even with older technology – cover the games for a lot less (NPC games get seriously less resource than SuperWoteva and tests get all the bells and whistles.)
Sky are committed to rugby – it’s clearly their most important asset in NZ, and they’d be lost without it. The question will be whether the money it makes them is enough to keep paying both the RFU and production costs. I suspect that's a close-run thing. -
Hard News: Drugs and why Dunne did it, in reply to BenWilson,
If National get in again, I feel pretty confident that it would become politically expedient, based on everything he has ever done in the role, to expect him to compromise on this.
It’s unlikely to be a coincidence Dunne is promoting liberalisation in the first election I can remember where a clear majority of the country want cannabis law reform.
I’ll take it back if he actually puts his neck right on the block for this. But I’m betting he won’t.
Andrew Little is another idiotic hurdle. It’s like he hates being on the same side as public opinion. -
Beautifully expressed, Russell.
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Big ideas in the UK - and some stupid mis-steps from May - mean a Tory lead of about 20 points when the election was announced is now down to 5 - and almost two weeks to go.
Maybe Sanders might just have run away with the US election? -
Up Front: What's the Big Idea?, in reply to BenWilson,
Can I ask a silly question? What does “triangulation” mean in the context of politics?
I'm probably mis-using the term. But this is kind've what I meant https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triangulation_(politics)
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big ideas continuing to gain traction despite an almost universally hostile press.
It's not the moment for careful triangulation. Voters want - need - a clear alternative. -
Up Front: What's the Big Idea?, in reply to BenWilson,
To suggest that this impossible pretty much says “It’s either what scientists reckon, or it’s just prejudice”.
I hope I'm not suggesting that (tho it could be read that way :)) In many ways our lived experience is our primary source, and it shapes our values in all manner of ways.
But big ideas can be a part of our experience too. -
Up Front: What's the Big Idea?, in reply to andin,
being persuaded by someone else to believe something just because that person is good at communicating can so often work against the evidence.
Maybe it would be good if this was a question of evidence based policy-details. But it's not. It's about values, and that means emotion. I don't believe the devil has all the best tunes: Sanders - and Corbyn, on a good day - can be inspiring advocates for our better natures. I want more of that - a lot more.
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Up Front: What's the Big Idea?, in reply to BenWilson,
I think it's working. But probably too slowly, and against a clamour of right-wing popular media that is loudly front-page scornful.
It's a remarkable fact about our democracies - here, England, the US - that the electorate favours policies well to the left of what they appear to vote for. The well-funded propaganda machines of the right are one factor - nothing equivalent on the left to eg Fox News (or Hosking ... ).
The success in peddling fear (and scorn - without any analysis - just arrogant dismissal) is a major factor. But it's also apparent the left lacks great salespeople and clever marketing strategies. Not a complete lack, but a noticeable. They tend to scorn some of these things. But we need great persuasive communicators.