Dirty Politics 2.0
National has engaged in a Dirty Politics style attack on TVNZ reporter Maiki Sherman in an attempt to cower the media in election year.
Media
media abuse
TVNZ Board Chair Andrew Barclay pro-actively reached out to Paul Goldsmith on 1News Gang Story
TVNZ Board members reached out to Paul Goldsmith on media stories, and later added stories to satisfy National Party Ministers
Civil war wasn’t inevitable – but it may be
How misinformation and lies created the environment for battle in the US and elsewhere
The death of truth
The competing social media takes based on video that clearly shows that the shooting of Minnesota woman Renee Good was totally unjustified shows how dominant social discord is now considered to be more important than truth.
Psy-Op Alert: The Four Horsemen of the Linguistic Apocalypse
‘Shared values,’ ‘like-minded partners,’ the ‘rules-based order,’ and the ‘Indo-Pacific’ have become the Five Eyes nations’ favourite rhetorical weapons in their contest with declared adversaries.
Almost $20 million budget cut to RNZ is met with … near silence from Kiwis
Why public interest journalism matters
Writing in the time of Genocide
I want to share a writer’s journey – of living and writing through the Genocide. Because my country provides support to Israel and the US, I feel compelled to support Palestine by doing the one thing I know best: writing.
Trump’s Secret Sauce Hits NZ
What is Trump’s secret sauce? And what parallels and lessons can we draw in Aotearoa New Zealand, before it’s too late?
What Tamatha Paul Really Said
Tamatha Paul’s comments on policing have been criticised by Luxon as “insane” but a closer look at what she really said shows how much her comments have been taken out of context.
Meanwhile, National’s law and order track record is only deteriorating.
Winston’s war on wokeness
In what looked like an early election campaign launch Winston Peters has done his old man shaking his fist at the sky tirade against everything woke.
Canadian billionaire linked to right wing websites buys a near 10% of NZME shares
James “Jim” Grenon spends almost $10 million to buy a ~10% stake in the publisher of NZ Herald and owner of Newstalk ZB.
David Farrar’s Curia Market Research Woes
What happened to the Curia Market Research suspension? David Farrar responded after RANZ hired an independent sub-committee to investigate complaints about polling integrity
In Defence of Golriz Ghahraman
Golriz Ghahraman didn’t shoplift “again” – but recent media reports made it sound like she did. This article looks back on her history and her treatment by NZ’s political and media class.
Government bars Journalist for asking tough questions
The Government has prevented journalist Aaron Smale from attending the Crown apology to victims of abuse in state care because his questions are too tough.
US is spending $28 billion to colonise your brain
Whoever owns the narrative owns the world – and things just got a lot tougher for those of us opposed to US influence campaigns. In a staggering increase in funding for propaganda and covert action the US House has passed the Countering the PRC (People’s Republic of China) Malign Influence Fund, kicking in an extra $1.6 billion.
Assange back in Australia
About time. Not that I have that I really have that much sympathy with Julian Assange. Always seemed like a bit of a narcissistic dickhead to me. But I get really pissed off with the level of US over-reach with their laws. Seems to me that this is a good time to rework our extradition treaties with them.
Where is Melissa Lee?
The New Zealand media sector has been in turmoil during the past week. But Broadcasting Minister has refused to publicly discuss what is happening or what her government proposes to do about it.
How not to make friends and influence people
An increase in lung cancer rates and a decrease in the amount that working families receive so that tax credits for landlords can be put in place tells you everything you need to know about the priorities of this Government. Your blood should be boiling by this stage and it is only two days in.
The very Kafkaesque attack on Kiritapu Allan
Being subject to allegations of inappropriate behaviour the detail of which has not been released by unnamed public servants must make Kiritapu Allan think that she is living in a Franz Kafka novel.
Countering Conspiracy – the Green Party is not in a Civil War
Trust in academics is on a downslide, as is trust in general. This is exacerbated by academics hiding a personal-political agenda when they dabble in the public domain.
The Murdoch’s very bad week
The Murdoch family’s decision to pay record damages to Dominion Voting Systems and to capitulate in its defamation case against Cricky Media suggest that they have had a very bad and a very expensive week.
Sturgeon, like Ardern, a casualty of online abuse
Nicola Sturgeon’s shock resignation as Scotland’s First Minister was something of a replay of Jacinda Ardern’s resignation. While subject to widespread abuse, both were reluctant to cite this as their main reason for quitting. But the abuse undoubtedly played a major role. But the misogynist trend is endemic and needs to be quelled.