Posts by Andre
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Magazine publishers now make money through data sales (dm and email data, email newsletters etc), events, exhibitions and online. An annual awards night might see their 5 largest advertisers spending tens of thousands more a year in sponsorship. Publishers have adapted to the new environment by expanding new revenue streams beyond printing magazines. I predict those that do this best will survive and grow.
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When I was 16 I left home and got a job in the accounts department of a government department. They had a policy of hiring people with disabilities for 25% of their staff. Because there were so many disabled people it was a very inclusive environment. I was surrounded by staff who tried very hard, were grateful for their employment, were never fractious or rude and always turned up on time. And then there was me. I lasted ten weeks, was paid more to leave than I had earned over that period of time and got another higher-paying job within 2 hours of departure (oh for the days of full employment). It made a huge amount of sense paying one-armed or half-blind kiwis to do a job they were easily capable of than paying them a benefit so I'm glad to hear the government still has a scheme in place. There were also intellectually handicapped people working with us in the mail room etc. Many of those working with me back then had been there happily for decades. I am, of course, glad I escaped my first full-time job when I did - but not because of my colleagues. The pay really did suck.
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Nick will be back no doubt.
I was excluded from the jury for the trial along with two other jurors after being empanelled. I gave them all a rant prior to departing and am relieved they didn't find them guilty on the main charge. They were overwhelmingly middle class white women that I left on the panel, some of whom had already told us that Tame Iti scared them etc. One of the jurors asked to be excluded because she was convinced he was guilty by how he looked. She was refused her request to leave and heard the case. Another guy asked to be excluded because he thought the whole exercise was a waste of taxpayer money and resources and he was excluded. How does that work? I'm glad they did the right thing... -
I worked for Heart of the City canvassing ratepayers about their thoughts on the propsed District plan changes in October and found that 99.9% of those I spoke to had no idea about the proposals. The only residents that agreed with the port expansion - about a dozen people out of the thousand I talked to - were business-minded folk who wanted to see "growth" or "progress". The fact is that neither POAL or Waterfront Auckland sought a mandate from residents for the extensions beyond including them in the district plans. Waterfront Auckland's executives showed up daily to harangue us and changed their future plans almost daily as public support grew. The playground that had just been built was scheduled to be removed again in the near future. By Day 2 its destruction had been rescheduled to happen in 5 years. The fact they are planning to pull down the oil tanks only to replace them with 4 story commercial buildings is civic vandalism. Who ever uses Princes Wharf nowwadays beyond Hilton Hotel guests and those who can still afford to dine at Euro? North Wharf should be retained as open park land rather than becoming another repository for tall buildings. The wharf expansion plans by POAL are equally as stupid.
Imagine refurbishing the Northland rail line and running a track up Woodcocks Road to Warkworth and through Matakana to Omaha as well as a line to Marsden Point. We could then dump the plans for a Wellsford Motorway. I worked on the new Ruakaka development for a bit and the rail plans were agreed to years ago.
As a long-time resident of both Warkworth and Waikanae I think the former's roading problems could be fixed by a rail link. Imagine the number of tourists who'd be keen on a Matakana day trip by train? Waikanae's roading problems could be fixed by putting through a bridge south at Otaihanga with a 30kph speed restriction through the beach area and a new northern link road (only a km or so of new road required) by the sewage ponds to Pekapeka. It would attract local traffic, reducing the load on SH1. The Maori tapu areas could be left relatively undisturbed and my fellow Waikanae firefighters would be called out to less fatalities on the SH1 passing lanes. -
You downloaded it on Twitter! OMG! Now awaiting a US law enforcement authority rendition?
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I’ve got a 1.5 metre high poster for the first BDO on the wall. I remember it was a beautifully sunny day and having space to move. Smashing Pumpkins, Urge Overkill and the Breeders! Just brilliant! You really felt part of something new and fresh. The bus rides to Mt Smart were a great part of the fun too. During the 1996 concert when it poured down we grabbed an advertising hoarding from the side of the pitch and held it above our heads. About 20 people ended up joining us under it and others grabbed hoardings to shelter under as well. We met all sorts sheltering and dancing while it poured all afternoon. It was a long time to hold a 50kg piece of wood up but we shared the load! Watching the drugs of choice change over the years has also been interesting. That 1994 crowd was so chilled out. Lots of acid and weed. By 1996 some were on speed and e’s. By 2005 half the crowd were on BZP. Today you’ll see everything I imagine. I won’t be there unfortunately. A stand-out for me over the years was Straitjacket Fits playing “If I Were You” before signing off. That first gig still seems so important.
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I found that the regulatory bodies were basically an old-boys club and very Wellington-centric. As magazine publishers, my partner at the time and I took action against our competitor, the NZ Retailers Assn, over their misleading subscription figures which were used by them to help sell advertising into their magazine NZ Retail. The Audit Bureau of Circulation stepped in and made them change the way they reported their circulation figures in November 2000. http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0011/S00217.htm
However they continued to advertise the incorrect figures in display ads within their publication, so we took them to the Advertising Standards Complaints Board. Now this is where it got tricky because the NZRA are very good friends with the ASCB (The Warehouse, Farmes, Progressives etc etc). So instead of taking our case to the ASCB Board for a hearing, their executive asked the CEO of the NZRA what the story was and the CEO denied all wrong-doing. We chased it up and showed hard evidence, including the ABC report and so the CEO of the NZRA told the ASCB that they wouldn't use the figures again. They continued to use the figures. I took it back to the ASCB. They made out the whole time like our case had been heard. This time, on 25 June 2001, it was reported as settled. Then the NZRA ran a story in their magazine saying our complaint had been rejected so we took them to the Press Council. It was one of the only cases upheld by the Press Council that year - in March 2002. http://www.presscouncil.org.nz/display_ruling.php?case_number=871
The NZRA continued to run the false ads and as a result were kicked out of the ABC in June 2003 - and that is the main reason AGM (and now Tangible) publish their magazine. It was only on re-reading the report now years later that I noticed that the Advertising Standards Complaints Board never heard our case. The amount of Yes Minister-style mincing around our situation was quite destructive for us. Our competitor was lying and it took 18 months to fix the situation instead of the month-or-so that I expected. It cost us a lot of energy and time but was a fairly inexpensive process otherwise. Over the 18 months that they continued to lie it may have cost us a lot of money in lost business though. We would do better with a completely independent panel but we're such a small country that anyone in business is going to have a network to appease if appointed regulator. The amount they can fine offenders is also fairly pathetic. -
Inzequality
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Super City
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Off like Goff...