Speaking of humour, that joke of a newspaper the NBR has had a crack at us again. According to them The Standard is “a blog which tests Labour lines in advance”. So much for the NBR’s self-lauded connections: we don’t test Labour’s lines, we write them with Mike and Helen in a secret bunker under Fraser House. Then we roll around in a vault full of all the money they’ve over-taxed from you over the years.
I’m actually a bit cautious about publishing the above joke, the NBR might take it seriously. Humour appears to be in short supply, judging by the way they critique our tongue-in-cheek post about Burqa Bob wanting to privatise heartland rugby as if it were entirely serious.
Anyway, it is nice to receive attention from such an august publication. We’ll be sure to return the favour if they ever write anything interesting.
Are you denying, Steve, that any of the Standard’s authors work in the PM’s office?
Oh piss off Observer. It’s pretty clear The Standard authors are not out of the PM’s office. Their MO is completely different. The word I’ve heard is they’re a mix of trade unionists, Labour party activists and one or two Green supporters.
I work in the PM’s office
I don’t think the NBR’s credibility could fall any lower if they tried. What used to be a respected business publication is now a Tory hack rag that even business owners I’ve talked to think is too right-wing.
I work in the PM’s office, and so does my wife.
i guess as yet another neoliberal msm rag the NBR doesn’t like any competition of ideas so they have to try their hardest to denigrate alternative views. it’s an understandable substitute for content and talent.
What I found interesting about that article was the NBR’s complete ignorance about how these things work. I mean, even if you wanted to, what use would there be in testing lines on a blog? In terms of an audience blog commenters are completely partisan and tribal, and form a very narrow cross-section of society. The NBR’s naivety is stunning.
I tried to get a job in the PM’s office but ended up with a restraining order instead…
I work in John Key’s office. My job is to make the coffee and threatening phone calls to journalists.
What’s more likely to be the case is that the ninth floor will be reading you and will occasionally find a line it likes and run it. That definitely happens.
Clocks?
Lol Sod.
The standard was calling John Key slippery way back in October last year. http://www.thestandard.org.nz/?p=352
Helen mentioned the tortoise and the hair in relation to the polls,
a couple of days after someone said the same here, I think it was Steve
My God Steve is Helen
Russell. Yeah, Clocks came from us and was picked up by Labour and the media. I expect the same will happen with your publishing of the journalists’ letter to APN management http://publicaddress.net/system/topic,991,hard_news_call_it_what_you_like.sm?p=44324#post44324. Labour will use the letter in Parliament today I would have thought.. we’re waiting for it to be more clearly in public domain before addressing it.
out of bed. I don’t like tortises though and I never liked that story i was all like ‘don’t go to sleep you stupid hare’.
captcha: adopt have… yes captcha sometimes they have
Wilson – I wouldn’t make too much of that. It’s one example six months ago.
My God Steve is Helen
Dad4Justice thinks I’m Annette King.
I’m surprised the claim that blogs test lines for the government or opposition is controversial. In terms of how you do it – well, you assess how the line plays with your base support, and you get a quick reality test of the likely rebuttals.
You may even get attention from journalists who think trawling blogs for stories is more legitimate than listening to PR hacks.
The ‘Key would have invaded Iraq’ line was first floated on Jordan Carter’s blog. Jordan is many things, including a very smart guy, but I doubt he’s a regular reader of three year old suburban newspapers (the source of the story). It was only after journalists started sniffing around the blog post that it became a government line of attack on Key.
Back in 2005 National used Aaron Bhatnagar’s blog to basically run informal focus groups on the “Iwi/Kiwi” Ansell billboards, before they were publicly released.
Ben, stop digging.
D4J also thinks he is a model citizen and father. I’m not sure if that is a recommendation of his powers of insight
It would have been a pretty ‘focussed’ group if based on Aaron’s blog.
Yeah obviously there’s interplay of angles between media, blogs, and politicans – when someone sees something that’s good somewhere else they might use it – but Ben, you’re trying to give the impression we sit in a smoke-free room (damn girlocracy) and get Labour’s latest ideas for lines (maybe out of one of those old-timey vacuum tubes), then we play them on the Standard and those results are somehow assessed, to be used by Labour directly or disgarded. You’re trying to give that impression to discredit us.
Fair enough. we’re not having a cry over it, just a bit of gentle ribbing back.
Ben Thomas-
Why did you try to discredit the standard by pretending the post about Burqa Bob privatising rugby was serious? That was a pretty cheap shot.
I know the NBR has little credibility left to lose but surely you have a journalistic reputation to defend?
Maybe because with the endless imaginings about how evil John Key might be that are published here, and the calls to buy back the railways, it is difficult to tell when the Standard is being serious
Here’s what the post said:
“Burqa Bob wants to buy heartland rugby.
In other news, Bill English plans to sell our sunshine hours to a Finnish consortium and Key has mooted flogging off our children’s laughter to the highest bidder.
[Update: Kiwiblogblog doesn’t think it’s so funny]”
Looks like a piss take to me. Ben Thomas was clearly pushing a partisan barrow while pretending to be a journalist. That’s why the NBR has no credibility.
See how easy it is to misread a piss take? ARe you sure you are not misreading Ben’s piece – I’ve not read it so can’t help.
Interesting Russell – any recent examples?
And all you lot in my office – stop goofing round on this blog and get back to work!
I never thought I’d hear you admit John Key is evil, insider. I’m proud of you man…
I’ve seen the NBR piece. Ben Thomas wasn’t joking. He was trying to discredit the standard by misrepresenting about a post on this blog. That’s not how real journalists behave. Do you reckon we’ll see an apology from him in the next edition?
If James Kearney had read past the initial post (which, by the way, was genuinely funny) he would have seen this subsequent comment by the original author:
–
Steve Pierson
Mar 4th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
rjs131. Who is going to be paying the extra money in tickets to make Bob and his mates a profit on their private rugby clubs? Who is going to put money into club rugby, and build up the next generation of all blacks, if the unions don’t?
–
Which is neither hilarious nor tongue-in-cheek, on the face of it.
You can read the column in all its barrow-pushing, partisan misrepresentation, here:
http://www.nbr.co.nz/home/column_article.asp?id=20668&cid=39&cname=NBR Comment
Yes Ben- when challenged for his actual views on whether provincial rugby should be privatised Steve offered his opinion.
That doesn’t mean the post was seriously suggesting that “Bob Clarkson’s reported wish to have privately owned provincial rugby franchises was an example of National’s real privatisation agenda”.
You got caught out on this one and reputation has suffered. Suck it up and offer an apology in the next edition.
ps, you also misrepresented Steve when you said “Rich stuff – if only rugby wasn’t already privately run in this country.” Because if you had actually read down the thread you would know Steve had addressed that point.
http://www.thestandard.org.nz/?p=1283#comment-21504
Well now that’s a very interesting letter. Read on to page 2 of the comments folks. Thanks Russell.
Oh Robin, my knees have gone all a-tremble
Where’s Bryce Edwards on this blog these days? Just saw him walk past the comp lab below the pols department with an old skool mullet. Looked like a man on a mission. (waves to Bryce).
Has he lost any weight yet?
Yeah, he’s looking pretty trim at the mo actually. A bit more buff too. Maybe he’s given up blogging for a daily work out session? Watch out you cute little fresher things!
I’d imagine he’s been inspired by Rodney Hide’s example of self-improvement as he has been by his economic agenda…
Yeah – if Cullen wants the academics back on side he’s going to have to lift the top tax bracket above $65,0000 – no two ways about it. That would get all of them except the HODs I reckon.
Then watch “the Maori Party and National are going to have wild, kinky sex” change into “Labour and the Maori Party are going to kiss, make up, and move back in together (single beds in separate rooms of course)”.
Here’s the direct link to the Herald journalists’ letter to Simons:
http://publicaddress.net/system/topic,991,hard_news_call_it_what_you_like.sm?p=44324#post44324
“the Maori Party and National are going to have wild, kinky sex’ change into “Labour and the Maori Party are going to kiss, make up, and move back in together (single beds in separate rooms of course)’.
bravo, roger
Sod, Roger, lay off the personal attacks eh?
Tane:
It’s all in good humor – I actually like Bryce, and find him, for the most part, insightful and informative. It’s just this perverse wish of his to match the Nats with the Maori Party that I find a bit strange – thus the ribbing. I do apologise for taking the thread off topic though – got a little carried away.
oh and BTW, cheers Steve.
It’s all good bro, I’m sure it was nothing malicious. I just don’t want to see this blog turn into a sewer like KB.
Tane:
Fair enough.
Tane, saying someone has an “old skool mullet” is praise where I come from.
rebellion at Herald over “love wages to drop” “retraction”
http://www.publicaddress.net/system/topic,991,hard_news_call_it_what_you_like.sm?p=44324#post44324
Yeah but you claim people spell it “bro'” where you come from – bloody funny place I’d say…
‘sod, bro’, I am ignoring you. You have hurt my feelings. Quite badly. I will not engage with you until I get a heartfelt apology.
On the blogs and their influence:
One of the funniest cases is Larry Williams on Newstalk ZB. He just reads David Farrar’s blog and recycles it, pretending that he (Larry) is well-informed or connected. For example, just now with Barry Soper, he used the phrase “it has been brought to my attention” … and then repeated Farrar’s talking point. It’s not the first time either.
Beats working.
Larry Williams really is a dreadful hack. They used to listen to him at one of my old jobs and it was just painful. He’s the epitome of the uninformed right wing bigot.
Well Ben Thomas never got back to me. There goes his reputation as a journalist I guess.