Just a few words about Media and Politics

Last night I watched TVNZ 1 News coverage about the Smokefree law change that NZ First wanted on behalf of Big Tobacco and the semi automatics being brought back by Act on behalf of the Atlas Network.

It wasn't long before I was silently angry, sitting on the couch and wondering why the NZ Broadcasting Standards in New Zealand even bother with things like balance or accuracy.

There's really no point complaining and TVNZ's legal team have it all sewn up - if you do. The watchdogs turn down close to 99% of all complaints no matter how valid and the cards are stacked against you - so people become disenfranchised and just stop watching.

I recently read that 70% of the population in Western societies are unplugged and disenfranchised from what is happening in politics and what media have to say - for various reasons but this is one of them.

After Jessica hitched a ride on the revolving door into a job liaising with Government for the ANZ ( at the time Sir John's bank ) - a job had opened up to replace her and Maiki was first in line as her successor.

However competition for that job is rumoured to be fierce and so you can imagine how it goes...Maiki is conscious that everything she has to say ( or not say ) will count as watchful eyes are now upon her.

Maiki's report last night - gave Casey Costello a fair hearing - there was Casey - looking down the camera like Camel, Pall Mall, Benson & Hedges, Marlboro, Dunhill, Holiday and Rothmans - all personified in one person - as Maiki ensured the National led Government got to speak and have it's voice heard - about why - under urgency - billions in health spending and thousands of human lives had to be sacrificed at the Atlar of NZ First populism with the cute spinoff that it would generate $500 Million in tax revenue for Nicola Willis every year.

Yes it was dire and I waited for Maiki to uphold the BALANCE - by seeking the voices of the Opposition - either Chippy, or Dr Ayesha Verral or Chlöe - who also should have their voices heard on TVNZ 1 News.

But no, not on your nelly, no way was Maiki going to allow those pesky opposition voices to get a fair suck on the sav ( microphone ).

Perhaps it bothered me because during 2023 and most of 2022 - TVNZ 1 News had made a habit of letting Luxon go first, followed by Seymour and then - at the end - a brief segment from Jacinda or Chippy - in most of their news segments - but now Labour and the Greens had been shut down and removed entirely.

They call it balance and a plurality of voices.

Yes well - now balance means Casey Costello gets a platform for her spin from Maiki while the rest can push off - and maybe Maiki will get the job as a result?

Yes I realise that - it's only one man's opinion ( although Monty agreed with me ) - and it will be dismissed in the same way I dismiss Oliver Sean Plunket's cranky obsessions with Mark Jennings and Winston's fake news populism - and the public interest journalism fund when it comes to the Treaty.

However - I sat there in silent anger - swallowing the lack of balance after I had watched parliament - seen what the Opposition had to say ( that speech from Chlöe etc ) and I despaired on some level.

The same kind of cheap coverage about bringing back semi automatics gave a balance free ride to Act's Nicole McKee with the gun powder on her breath and the Christchurch massacre still ringing in my ears ...once again a censuring of opposition voices as TVNZ 1 News - told one side of that story.

The National Party coalition side. That's the TVNZ news.

It was this context that swirled around me as I thought about what we'd just seen happen at NewsHub - and I agreed with Chippy that New Zealand having only one TV News channel was problematic.

However I also thought about how NewsHub's political reporting had tended to adopt the Tova O'Brien school of tabloid sensationalism - where shoving a camera into Sir Ashley Bloomfield's poker face and declaring he had been brutally thrown under a bus by David Clark - was all the evidence needed to make up a cool story that many would swallow without a critical question.

We all know Jenna was Tova's disciple and she had learned that game ( Maiki is also of this template ) - where journalists will win awards for impact - so you gotta get in their faces, ask them if they will resign, or what will they do for a job, when they lose theirs.

I thought about how this school of political journalism dove tailed with gotcha questions, and discrediting, and harassing people, and making people quit politics ...especially female politicians.

Worse the like of Luxon and Willis and Bishop seemed to have special immunity - when it came to unpacking their spin about how Labour's spending caused high non trade-able inflation, or attacking Adrian Orr or any number of cool stories during Covid.

Was this really because we could not afford better journalists?

My son says the Journalist on $60 grand does not care enough to risk much and dig into things - why should they?

Now I realise that's not 100% correct - but for some it is - and for some it is not - for some it's about the editor they work for, for others it is about holding onto the job and keeping the head down, and for others - it's about being lost in a big office, trying to work their way up a ladder.

It bothers me that neither TV News service could manage to get to the bottom of these issues ( Cushla Norman almost did ) for so many months during the cost of living crisis as National led in the polls and Labour gradually declined.

The people who think these same news services are left wing - tend to be selecting a few issues - most notably the Treaty stuff and the way Te Reo is used by newsreaders with some pride I might add. ( bravo ).

However my critique is more broadly spread - and let me dwell for a moment on how there was barely any coverage about Climate Change leading up to the 2023 election - in a year where we had Cyclone Gabrielle - but instead - we heard all about RAM Raids, Medical Waiting Lists, Schools with problems, angry teachers, angry nurses, anecdotes for Africa - barely any real context - and due to the constraints of commercial imperatives - the news segments were about two minutes long before we had a commercial break.

Sure there were Televised Debates - which seemed designed to make things into a draw - as Jessica shuddered with admiration over Luxon's energy levels - and Luxon was praised for optics not substance.

It was not until after the election that these other conversations about our big problems surfaced - like hey what about the Public Service and what about the fact National do not have any substantial climate policies?

There was a deathly silence for three months about RAM Raids as if the job was done and that topic had fallen off a cliff.

What we did see was Jenna Lynch and Jessica giggling outside the door of a room, where inside - many people had lost their jobs. Oh yes it was time to "Tova" anyone who came out of that door and ask Chippy if he was still going to be leader - with a smug, malicious lip curling smile.

Out came Damien O'Connor on his way to the loo - and he took one look at Jenna's face and said "F Off" - ha ha ha ha.

Yes - it's worth remembering how NewsHub treated people when they lost their jobs and this was foremost in my mind yesterday as I reached for something better inside myself, so I would not stoop as low - and I even asked myself - what would Jacinda do?

Kicking people when they are down is not who we are - and my sympathy is extended to all who were just collecting the pay and making their way - yeah I have been made redundant a couple of times - ( not for personal performance ) - and I doubt many go through a career where this does not happen a couple of times.

Gone are the days of a job for life - and now some sectors are more cut throat than others ( eg Advertising and politics ).

In the end I recalled Jacinda and Willy saying we needed a merger or a new entity because media themselves had warned they were on the way down - and of course media rubbished them.

Adrian Orr made a remark yesterday that what happened with NewsHub was a sign of the times in this economy right now - as unemployment rises and demand is muted.

I feel sorry for all who lost their jobs - but under all of this there's room for improvement in political reporting when it comes to balance and accuracy and investigative journalism ...

Theres been zero coverage about the ties between Act and National to the Atlas Network - and the small amount that raised this was at RNZ with Mihingarangi.

I'll leave it there, but would appreciate your thoughts about this.

Just a few words about Media and Politics

Morena

G