Posts by Craig Ranapia
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In support of the new transmission system, he also established TVNZ 6 and TVNZ 7. But he – or his Cabinet – lacked the nerve to make those channels permanent. The five years’ funding (structured in an odd and unnecessarily complex way that saw TVNZ raise finance and effectively loan the money back to the government) expired without a sustainable plan for the channels’ future.
Thanks for saying that, Russell. Perhaps I’m too silly simple for this world, but it hardly screams “commitment to public service broadcasting” when you’ve got a kill-switch on the funding from the start. It was a little galling to see Labour screaming bloody murder in Opposition over the entirely predictable consequences of their actions in government.
And, TBF, it would be nice if the current government appointed serious ministers pushing joined up policy in Broadcasting and Arts/Culture/Heritage. I’m not naive enough to think those two portfolios are ever going to win a Budget bidding war with health, education or welfare still… Like it or not, we still have public ownership of a non-trivial chunk of the media landscape. Take it bloody seriously, one way or the other.
Could this be good news? Certainly seems like it, though of course it won’t magically revive public service broadcasting.
No it won't, Chris. I know Murdoch is the anti-Christ around here, but I don't recall INL's print titles magically becoming the paragon of excellence when they were flicked off to Fairfax.
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The coroner’s submission to the select committee considering the marriage equality bill – as a Mormon, he is strongly opposed to same-sex marriage, and his language in the submission is harsh – raises questions about his judgement, and perhaps about his handling of this case.
And while Chris Finlayson has (understandably and appropriately) been *cough* judicious in his public comments, I do hope those questions will be put to Matenga by both the Chief Coroner and the Judicial Conduct Commissioner. (h/t to Graeme Edgeler for pointing out the existence of the latter on Twitter.) YMMV, but even if Matenga was equally stridently pro-marriage equality I'm gob-smacked by the lack of judicial decorum. Seems a no-brainer to me that the judiciary inserts itself into politics in this manner with extreme care and discretion.
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Hard News: First, admit it's broken, in reply to BenWilson,
It ends up being like reading a live blog of the Council of Chalcedon. Who's taking an orthodox line on the hypostatic union of the two natures of Christ? Don't really care, to be honest. :)
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Like, again. C’mon Bomber, don’t let this sort of self-referential crap colonise your new site.
I also ended up doing a TL:DF on Bomber's How left wing are our left wing politicians? Bomber appointing himself to the Tyra Banks role in New Zealand's Next Top Marxist is exactly the kind of stuff that lead me to stop reading most political blogs.
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Hard News: Friday Music: The Cool Return, in reply to Lilith __,
When you've been doing anything for forty-five years, odds are there's going to be a fair amount of not-that-great stuff on the c.v. but the one thing I've got to respect Bowie for (even if I don't like the results that much) is that he's got nothing to prove to anyone any more, and he knows it. He's engaging with the culture around him, doing stuff that interests him creatively. Look at the Stones -- they released their last moderately interesting album before I hit puberty, and I'll be damned if I know why they even bother touring anymore when they could just slap a greatest hit CD on the PA and fuck off back to the hotel. Who'd notice? Who'd care?
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Hard News: A few (more) words on The Hobbit, in reply to Angus Robertson,
In the interests of domestic harmony, I’ll just say this is not my idea of what our Government “should be doing” to secure a FTA with the United States.
More and more foreign governments are sponsoring such excursions for lawmakers and their staffs, though an overhaul of ethics rules adopted by Congress five years ago banned them from going on most other types of free trips. This overseas travel is often arranged by lobbyists for foreign governments, though lobbyists were barred from organizing other types of congressional trips out of concern that the trips could be used to buy favor.
The overseas travel is covered by an exemption Congress granted itself for trips deemed to be cultural exchanges.
And as the linked story notes, these same ethics rules make it illegal for a registered foreign lobbyist to buy a congressional staffer a cup of coffee. But the New Zealand Government picks up the tab for a "cultural exchange" -- with no disclosure whatsoever of any lobbying activity - and it's OK?
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New Zealand’s laws should not be changed at the behest of Hollywood moguls
Of course not, we should be paying for the senior staff of influential US federal legislators to subvert their own ethics rules instead. Don't hold your breath waiting for Campbell Live or Seven Sharp to lead with that any time soon...
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Hard News: A few (more) words on The Hobbit, in reply to Rob Stowell,
Yep. But first: consolidate the base (that’s the actual actors!)
Someone at Actors Equity might want to tell "organizer" Phil Darkins that calling potential members/allies "patsies" is a less than entirely constructive way to do that. There were actors on that march, and one I've talked to today isn't impressed. Funny how that happens...
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Hard News: A few (more) words on The Hobbit, in reply to Russell Brown,
Arguing that Gallo wasn’t famous enough to front an ad campaign over a New Zealander was idiotic.
And, frankly, how many Americans knew who Ant Starr was before he got the lead in Banshee? Or Jay Ryan before the CW started the hype machine up on the Beauty and the Beast re-boot? Or Daniel Gillies, Cliff Curtis. Manu Bennett and Martin Henderson who all have significant roles this pilot season? And I still have to (figuratively) clear my throat every time Karl Urban is called an Australian on Trek fan boards. :)
Finally, as a side-bar, I recall reading some harrumphing in the Daily Mail that the British taxpayer paid for Jane Campion and Elizabeth Moss to have a holiday in Queenstown. I’m pretty sure every Kiwi actor and crew-member who “stole” British jobs in Top of the Lake will respond with a cheery one-finger salute.
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Hard News: A few (more) words on The Hobbit, in reply to Dylan Reeve,
I've also loved the pearl-clutching that (gasp!) Peter Jackson didn't exactly bathe in the milk of human kindness when Simon Whipp's name was raised. This revelation deserves a hashtag: #noshitsherlock
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