In the UK, the State-owned BBC is under furious attack in Parliament, and even by its own Chairman, since sports commentator Gary Lineker criticized the Conservative government's Rwanda plan (to send refugees arriving in Britain to that country). The critique wasn't even made on a BBC show - it was a personal tweet by Lineker. The BBC's Charter says it "should provide duly accurate & impartial news, current affairs & factual programming to build people’s understanding of all parts of the UK and of the wider world". Ring any bells?
Let's compare the BBC situation with TVNZ's. Bear in mind before you read the following extracts from TVNZ reporter John Campbell's article on the OneNews website that everything in the Coalition Agreement was openly & transparently put to voters by National, ACT & NZ First before the election. Over half the country voted in support of those agreed policies. Yet these phrases come from what TVNZ's Campbell had to say about them:
Let's compare the BBC situation with TVNZ's. Bear in mind before you read the following extracts from TVNZ reporter John Campbell's article on the OneNews website that everything in the Coalition Agreement was openly & transparently put to voters by National, ACT & NZ First before the election. Over half the country voted in support of those agreed policies. Yet these phrases come from what TVNZ's Campbell had to say about them:
Luxon .. brandishing the phrase “massive alignment around the goals” ... Miniature, seemed like a better ‘m’ word. Or mean ... On it went ... Like a sermon. Or a sulk made formal ... for Māori ... is the coalition's heart of darkness ... The late-night ravings of a man alone in a bar ... There is a kind of re-colonising here ... deeply regressive ... The dearth of decent & transformative hope .. wilful omissions ... A climate of denial ... the [coalition] agreements feel like they come from a time before we knew better. Before the science ... Luxon has talked ... of getting the “country moving forward”. But this doesn’t feel forward ... it feels deeply & nostalgically conservative. A winding back of the clock ... Aspiration? Not for the poor ... And the men [Luxon, Peters & Seymour], too, as it turned out. Empty of ideas. Dreams? Not really .. But what peculiar obsessions they’ve revealed ... dog whistling. What a terrible waste .. The first formal, 3-party coalition Government in our country’s history, and it somehow manages to seem small. “We cannot wait to get stuck in”, Luxon said, as he looked up from this narrow, limp vision of our future.
For goodness sakes, he attacks the conservative National Party for being ... conservative!? The coalition agreement is not in contempt of the poor, environment, nor discriminatory. It reads as an alternative approach to Labour's - an approach that was put to the public who voted and supported it. Using words like "mean", "darkness", "regressive", "limp" & "waste" to describe it unambigously breaks impartiality. And breaks TVNZ's Charter.
Sources
https://www.1news.co.nz/2023/11/25/john-campbell-i-hoped-to-be-surprised-actually-im-amazed/
Professor Robert MacCulloch holds the Matthew S. Abel Chair of Macroeconomics at Auckland University. He has previously worked at the Reserve Bank, Oxford University, and the London School of Economics. He runs the blog Down to Earth Kiwi from where this article was sourced.
7 comments:
It's all a matter of perspective. If you're inside the media/Wellington bubble you obviously have no idea what we the people want.
Calling the new coalition Government a waste after 3 weeks is a bit rich after the Terrible Waste of the last 3/6 years. When there was a majority government that passed absolutely outrageous, unmandated policy against heavy opposition and spent billions of future generations' wealth.
At least the coalition has listened and understands that we don't all want to pretend to be Maori. Maori culture is for people who want it. We can embrace it as we want to but compulsorily? Not so keen thanks Labour, Greens and TPM.
MC
The mainstream media really loved the previous government. When they locked us down, the media said not a word in protest. In fact they urged the government to lock us down and lock us down more.
Now that a centre-right government has been elected they suddenly discover they are reporters again. They spend their time pulling down every facet of the new government's policies.
The government is still funding TV NZ. So they are funding a media organisation who will not report on them accurately or fairly.
The government has to say to themselves, why are we funding this?
The perfect justification for cleaning out TVNZ.
It has broken all the rules of its charter and is no longer fit-for-purpose as a state broadcaster.
Winston should take this on.
Can you imagine the faces on all those execs, editors, and so-called reporters when they are called to a meeting to be addressed by him.
"So, you think you know how to present fair and balanced news coverage.
Oh, no you don't!"
Goes to show how each Coalition Minister - including Broadcasting - must be
very firm with a plan to control the rogue entity in question and quickly rectify the damage caused.
The RNZ Charter includes the lines "predominantly and distinctly of NZ" and "reflect NZ cultural identity including maori language and culture." These unfortunate tracts are quoted to justify the enormous publicity and biassed promotion of matters pro maori. All given great prominence above the mere stipulations for balance and appropriate coverage of topics vital to the wider audience, many of whom are not resolutely pro maori.
Maori? I'm sick of the word. Get off the news and watch Te Karere or similar shite. The next time we encounter a special interest group obsessed by one part of their lineage, tell them to bugger off. The sheer volume of crap over the past 3 years has been a nightmare. As for the MSM, drop a bomb on the bastards.
Just heard the latest Julian Wilcox of RNZ. Near an hour of encouraged unchallegend maori rant in support of te reo. All finished with a very long flourish of show off te reo by all involved.I have never heard any critic on RNZ, and certainly not near an hour of encouraged unchallenged counter te reo argument. The speakers are able in English because they have delivered the same spiel a myriad times over, always to genetically admiring audiences, or to audiences too terrified of cancellation, with or without a beating, to question.
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