Media ethics
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Friday, January 27th, 2012This is why I don’t like doing TV. I gave TVNZ news an interview on the teapot saga yesterday, explaining my views as below that the risk is low for anyone who publishes the contents of the tape. Their broadcast asserts as a fact that “we can’t broadcast what was said for legal reasons”. Later […]
Confessions of a tabloid journalist
Tuesday, January 17th, 2012For those who just caught be on Nine-to-Noon, those who’ve read Nick Davies’ excellent Flat Earth News, and those who are just interested in what goes on behind the scenes at UK tabs, here’s an insider’s expose, from former Daily Star journo Richard Peppiatt, who gave evidence to the Leveson inquiry. Highlights: journalists never take […]
Public expectations and media standards
Wednesday, December 14th, 2011The Law Commission suggests that its proposed independent media regulator consult with the public to establish what their expectations are of journalistic standards, so that these can be reflected in the structures and ethics codes it draws up (see paras 5.93 and 6.95). Is this really the right question? I rather doubt it. If you’re […]
Focusing on the issues
Monday, November 21st, 2011I know I’m straying from media law stuff again. Let’s call it general media ethics. But I’m staggered that we can have an election campaign without discussing the ideas in two recent and significant New Zealand books: Nicky Hager’s “Other People’s Wars”, which accuses successive governments of being much more deeply involved in the conflicts in Iraq […]
Hosking lays down the law
Sunday, November 20th, 2011At the end of his interview about cuppagate on RNZ’s MediaWatch programme today, Mike Hosking tells us that I think I have a pretty good appreciation of privacy law in this country. If he means, he’s got a pretty good understanding of those laws, I think the rest of the interview demonstrates that he’s wrong. […]
Huh?
Sunday, November 20th, 2011Michael Laws, SST column today: And it counterpoints what all Kiwis know: that there exists a uniform inability within the Fourth Estate to understand proportion and excess. Michael Laws, on Talkback earlier this week: If I had a gun, I’d shoot them [teagate journalists] – because they have gone rabid and they may infect others… […]
Of sneaky devices
Sunday, November 13th, 2011John Key’s cunning plan to send a signal to the troops by sitting down for a cuppa with Act’s John Banks may have come undone by another sneaky device. It seems that the conversation was recorded and may contain “game-changing” comments, according to the Herald on Sunday. The paper says a freelance cameraman was stopped from […]
Horsing around
Tuesday, November 1st, 2011Did the fact that the Melbourne Cup is being run within 24 hours of the leaders’ debate cause TVNZ to mix them up? There’s a terrific book called “Breaking the News” by James Fallows that excoriates the US media for treating election coverage like a horse race. When voters ask questions of politicians, he points […]
Radio NZ supports SM?
Monday, October 31st, 2011I’ve just listened to all four of Radio NZ’s primers on the various options for the referendum and noticed an interesting thing. (I found them on the Morning Report segments: the Supplementary Member on is here, for example. I couldn’t get the relevant links on the special RNZ election page to work). They are generally […]
Who slew? Who knew?
Friday, May 13th, 2011Let me go on record as saying I think Jon Stephenson’s allegations about NZ involvement in abuses in Afghanistan demand a proper independent investigation. Wayne Mapp seems to have admitted many of them, but somehow the government still seems to be saying “Move along – nothing to see here”. At the same time the PM […]
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