Posts by Craig Ranapia
Last ←Newer Page 1 2 3 4 5 Older→ First
-
Up Front: What if We Held an Election…, in reply to Emma Hart,
Most of the procedures (particularly those for the count) are obviously precision-honed from intelligent practice. Which makes me wonder why nobody has noticed that the signage isn’t working.
I’m sure someone has, but there comes a point where no matter where you can't make people pay attention without going all Buffalo Bill on their arse.
“It puts THIS orange ballot in THAT orange box, and THIS referendum ballot in THAT purple box. It does this whenever its told.”
(beat)
“It puts THIS orange ballot in THAT orange box, and THIS referendum ballot in THAT purple box. Or else it gets the hose again.”
(beat)
“PUT THE FUCKING ORANGE BALLOT IN THAT BOX. NO, THAT ONE! JESUS CHRIST, I’M NOT MAKING A MORON SUIT. THERE! THERE! YES, THE OTHER ONE GOES IN THERE.”
(beat)
"Next?"
-
Hard News: How long the leash on the…, in reply to Russell Brown,
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.
-
Legal Beagle: Election '11 -…, in reply to Dave Guerin,
The example you put up is pointless, as the runners-up were running in a first past the post competition in the weekend’s election, so someone like Gareth Hughes (a quality candidate) told people he only wanted the party vote (as did Katrina Shanks) so Ohariu became a Labour-United Future competition.
Problem is, you're on the sodding ballot so what you want doesn't really signify. What those silly electors decide to do does.
-
Legal Beagle: Election '11 -…, in reply to Rich of Observationz,
A candidate for National in South Auckland or Labour on the North Shore is guaranteed a poor showing, even if they're the smartest and most diligent politician out there.
I think that's a generalisation that needs to be made with some care - current North Shore ward councillor Ann Hartley didn't do too badly. And if it was that clear cut, I don't think Nikki Wagner and Brendan Burns would be facing another week and a half of nail-biting. :)
-
Hard News: How long the leash on the…, in reply to Steve Curtis,
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.
-
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?
-
Hard News: How long the leash on the…, in reply to Steve Curtis,
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.
-
Hard News: Democracy Night, in reply to Sofie Bribiesca,
I take Islander's point - good housing isn't a magic bullet. There's not a lot of those outside fairy tales. But if you're sending a child with asthma home to a poorly ventilated mould farm that only sees sunlight two days a year, then you better have the best god-damn paediatric health system on earth. The poor tyke is going to be spending a hell of a lot of time in it, after all.
-
Hard News: Democracy Night, in reply to Christopher Nimmo,
And this is the guy who was supposedly being so upfront about why they lost the election?
Unbelievable.
Nah, not really. Shane’s a real bloke’s bloke among the gaggling gays and politically correct front-bum unionists, least we forget. And he’s very comfortable in his role as the Labour Party’s resident brown-neck – you know, the guy who can smack-talk Meteria and the Maori Party without sounding like some racist arsehole.
Compare and contrast with Nanaia Mahuta – who might not have half the profile of Shane Jones, but strikes me as an enormously smart, capable woman who’s more interested in doing the job than counting her media hits. And according to my contacts in her electorate doesn’t act like some entitled Tainui princess who thinks she can coast on her whakapapa and a red rosette. Don’t think it would be a bad thing if she won the deputy leadership vote.
@Ben. Why do people keep voting in that drongo Dunne? He is Mr Opportunist supreme.
And he may actually be a very good local MP. Next door, I don’t understand how a total douchebag like Mallard can hold onto an electorate, but friends in Hutt South tell that he seems to take a wee fist-full of beta blockers and happy pills before doing his constituency work. Good on him for that, at least.
Sometimes we can get so caught up in the “big picture’ and gaming the polls etc., we forget that old school campaigning 101 still matters. So does the unglamorous scut work of incumbents just having their boots on the ground and being engaged with local issues. I don't remember the figure off the top of my head, but I'd suggest quite a few people grasp they can reward a good local MP without having to accept their party as a package deal. (In Hutt South, Mallard's electorate vote was around 3,900 higher than Labour's party vote. He even slightly expanded his majority.)
-
Hard News: How long the leash on the…, in reply to Sacha,
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.
Last ←Newer Page 1 … 210 211 212 213 214 … 1235 Older→ First