Hi Henry. I appreciate you sharing your experience as a journalist. From my experience as a pleb, completely outside of journalism, and talking to other plebs, the two biggest issues with NZ news today are:
1) Errors - factual, spelling, and grammatical.
2) Extreme left-wing bias. As in never ever telling the other side/s of the story.
And if you wanted a third thing that pisses off regular people, it is the absolute distain shown towards conservative people, religious people, alternative people, and rural people. Often this is out and out discrimination now. The double standard is noticed by us regular people. Even if we are not personally conservative, religious, alternative, or rural, we don't like to see our fellow NZers treated so badly.
One push back. I'm not sure if the issue is generational or the industry structure change you describe, but journalists in historic media like TVNZ and Stuff/The Post shifted how they dealt with those they disagreed with. It's highly alienating for readers who don't agree.
My (probably poor) articulation is it feels like the sillier version of student politics took over adult institutions. So as a reader you feel journalists, at best, treat the reader as a lumpenproletariat, a semi educated herd to be led to the "correct" language of their betters... That's my interpretation of why those outside the institutions get so angry.
It's also really fascinating when you give a bit of insight into the reporting process, maybe not for everyone, but the more technical and layered with caveats and 4th-wall-breaking OIA side notes the better, I reckon.
The distrust of the feminist (i.e., main stream) media comes because they have been caught out so often telling lies and distortions, and suppressing anything but politically left-wing material.
A good example is the signing up by Stuff, NZ Herald, TVNZ, RadioNZ et al to the international agreement to suppress any material which challenges the A.G.W. agenda.
Another thought, Henry & readers. How about an annually-updated online disclosure of their political and institutional affiliations, work history synopsis AND critically, alll sources of income + assets (see George Monbiot's website as an example) for all journalists, opinion writers/columnists, politicians (national & local level), and ANYONE online presenting opinions (educated or otherwise), news stories, their own retelling or commenting on news stories, "the truth" etc. Pie in the sky stuff, I know, but anyone in agreement could start by publishing their own, just as George Monbiot does.
Good luck. I would love to see more of this approach. It works with board game projects too. Invite people in to see behind the veil and even discuss aspects of the desired outcome and people feel more connected to the work. This may not translate so well in Journalism but I've always liked Bellingcat for their nuts and bolts approach to corroborating information openly which seem somewhat consistent with your premise although I haven't been keeping up recently.
Henry, you say categorically that “the (Ardern) Government was not buying off journalists for uncritical reporting” - that is in my opinion disingenuous and intellectually dishonest because what you said is technically correct, but misleading- no sensible observer was saying that individual journalists like you and Thomas Coughlan
etc. had been paid to report uncritically on the Ardern Government- however it was transparently clear that most mainstream media organisations, had, via their publishers, CEO’s, Editors, Managers etc. taken what I, and the majority of commonsense New Zealanders categorised as a bribe, and it was also transparently clear that if reporters and writers of opinion pieces and so-called news analysis did not toe the Party line they would be disciplined, sidelined or quietly moved on - thus in a short time the Ardern Government, via its (in my opinion, criminal media bribery) turned most of NZ’s mainstream media into little more than a South Pacific version of Pravda.
I have read several times, the PIJF terms and conditions for those media that accepted the taxpayers’ money, and how you can deny that it was a blatant straitjacket on honest reporting and analysis quite frankly astounds me - reporting had to be uncritical, support was mandatory for what I and many others woujd term as left-wing policies and propaganda and while I am not looking at the strict conditions of the PIJF as I write this, I am positive that if any media organisation was interpreted by Ardern’s Government as not toeing the Party line then no more taxpayers’ money would be forthcoming and any previously received might be required to be refunded - in my opinion, and it would appear that 67% of New Zealanders agree with me, it was Bribery with a capital B, pure and simple - which is why I and 67% of New Zealanders distrust the mainstream media !
A question I often posed when in groups discussing the left-wing, woke groupthink of most of NZ’s mainstream media was “where do you find honesty and independence in NZ’s mainstream media” ?
The answer was “in the dictionary” - because you rarely found it in the reporting, analysis, opinion pieces or the editorials !
I have been absorbing NZ’s mainstream media for 60 years -for many years I thought they did a fair job and we got balance but no more, now it’s all one way traffic, Ardern and her corrupt cabal undermining NZ’s democracy and driving racial division got a free pass from most of the mainstream media, which is why so many of us loathe the Herald, the Post, TVNZ & RNZ !
We are tired of smug presenters and reporters like Simon Wilson and John Campbell telling us that we voted wrongly and should have retained the Ardern Government and throwing in Maori words that we’ve never heard before that cause us to lose the thread of what is being said or written, we’re tired of silly, token duplicate Maori names for everything and everywhere -I live in Wellington, New Zealand, not te wanganui a tara, Aotearoa !
In my opinion, and 67% of us appear to agree with me, the sooner that most of our crooked, corrupt, woke, so-called “progressive” groupthink, cancel culture media goes to the wall and is replaced by fair, independent, balanced, honest news media, the better !
Henry, thank you. Is there also some sense that this MSM vs us-the-truth-tellers exists and is expanding because we've left traditional capitalism behind and now live in an attention economy, proposed by Yanis Varoufakis to be better described as technofeudalism? Scathing distrust of the MSM is not singular to NZ....
Henry, I have previously been somewhat critical of your work but your recent stuff that has talked about media itself, including this piece have been excellent, thank you.
Perhaps if journalists took a moment to review their work before pressing the big green button…. 100-33 = 67. Not 77. And there are three voices in the there homonym. Choose the right one. And then I stopped reading.
Hi Henry. I appreciate you sharing your experience as a journalist. From my experience as a pleb, completely outside of journalism, and talking to other plebs, the two biggest issues with NZ news today are:
1) Errors - factual, spelling, and grammatical.
2) Extreme left-wing bias. As in never ever telling the other side/s of the story.
And if you wanted a third thing that pisses off regular people, it is the absolute distain shown towards conservative people, religious people, alternative people, and rural people. Often this is out and out discrimination now. The double standard is noticed by us regular people. Even if we are not personally conservative, religious, alternative, or rural, we don't like to see our fellow NZers treated so badly.
Thanks Henry... this is good!
I like this, particularly your recommendation.
One push back. I'm not sure if the issue is generational or the industry structure change you describe, but journalists in historic media like TVNZ and Stuff/The Post shifted how they dealt with those they disagreed with. It's highly alienating for readers who don't agree.
My (probably poor) articulation is it feels like the sillier version of student politics took over adult institutions. So as a reader you feel journalists, at best, treat the reader as a lumpenproletariat, a semi educated herd to be led to the "correct" language of their betters... That's my interpretation of why those outside the institutions get so angry.
Anyway, thank you for such a thoughtful piece
It's also really fascinating when you give a bit of insight into the reporting process, maybe not for everyone, but the more technical and layered with caveats and 4th-wall-breaking OIA side notes the better, I reckon.
Baloney !
The distrust of the feminist (i.e., main stream) media comes because they have been caught out so often telling lies and distortions, and suppressing anything but politically left-wing material.
A good example is the signing up by Stuff, NZ Herald, TVNZ, RadioNZ et al to the international agreement to suppress any material which challenges the A.G.W. agenda.
Another thought, Henry & readers. How about an annually-updated online disclosure of their political and institutional affiliations, work history synopsis AND critically, alll sources of income + assets (see George Monbiot's website as an example) for all journalists, opinion writers/columnists, politicians (national & local level), and ANYONE online presenting opinions (educated or otherwise), news stories, their own retelling or commenting on news stories, "the truth" etc. Pie in the sky stuff, I know, but anyone in agreement could start by publishing their own, just as George Monbiot does.
V thoughtful - mind if I share via linked in? ☺️
Good luck. I would love to see more of this approach. It works with board game projects too. Invite people in to see behind the veil and even discuss aspects of the desired outcome and people feel more connected to the work. This may not translate so well in Journalism but I've always liked Bellingcat for their nuts and bolts approach to corroborating information openly which seem somewhat consistent with your premise although I haven't been keeping up recently.
Cheers.
Henry, you say categorically that “the (Ardern) Government was not buying off journalists for uncritical reporting” - that is in my opinion disingenuous and intellectually dishonest because what you said is technically correct, but misleading- no sensible observer was saying that individual journalists like you and Thomas Coughlan
etc. had been paid to report uncritically on the Ardern Government- however it was transparently clear that most mainstream media organisations, had, via their publishers, CEO’s, Editors, Managers etc. taken what I, and the majority of commonsense New Zealanders categorised as a bribe, and it was also transparently clear that if reporters and writers of opinion pieces and so-called news analysis did not toe the Party line they would be disciplined, sidelined or quietly moved on - thus in a short time the Ardern Government, via its (in my opinion, criminal media bribery) turned most of NZ’s mainstream media into little more than a South Pacific version of Pravda.
I have read several times, the PIJF terms and conditions for those media that accepted the taxpayers’ money, and how you can deny that it was a blatant straitjacket on honest reporting and analysis quite frankly astounds me - reporting had to be uncritical, support was mandatory for what I and many others woujd term as left-wing policies and propaganda and while I am not looking at the strict conditions of the PIJF as I write this, I am positive that if any media organisation was interpreted by Ardern’s Government as not toeing the Party line then no more taxpayers’ money would be forthcoming and any previously received might be required to be refunded - in my opinion, and it would appear that 67% of New Zealanders agree with me, it was Bribery with a capital B, pure and simple - which is why I and 67% of New Zealanders distrust the mainstream media !
A question I often posed when in groups discussing the left-wing, woke groupthink of most of NZ’s mainstream media was “where do you find honesty and independence in NZ’s mainstream media” ?
The answer was “in the dictionary” - because you rarely found it in the reporting, analysis, opinion pieces or the editorials !
I have been absorbing NZ’s mainstream media for 60 years -for many years I thought they did a fair job and we got balance but no more, now it’s all one way traffic, Ardern and her corrupt cabal undermining NZ’s democracy and driving racial division got a free pass from most of the mainstream media, which is why so many of us loathe the Herald, the Post, TVNZ & RNZ !
We are tired of smug presenters and reporters like Simon Wilson and John Campbell telling us that we voted wrongly and should have retained the Ardern Government and throwing in Maori words that we’ve never heard before that cause us to lose the thread of what is being said or written, we’re tired of silly, token duplicate Maori names for everything and everywhere -I live in Wellington, New Zealand, not te wanganui a tara, Aotearoa !
In my opinion, and 67% of us appear to agree with me, the sooner that most of our crooked, corrupt, woke, so-called “progressive” groupthink, cancel culture media goes to the wall and is replaced by fair, independent, balanced, honest news media, the better !
This is superb! Thanks for writing!
Henry, thank you. Is there also some sense that this MSM vs us-the-truth-tellers exists and is expanding because we've left traditional capitalism behind and now live in an attention economy, proposed by Yanis Varoufakis to be better described as technofeudalism? Scathing distrust of the MSM is not singular to NZ....
Henry, I have previously been somewhat critical of your work but your recent stuff that has talked about media itself, including this piece have been excellent, thank you.
Perhaps if journalists took a moment to review their work before pressing the big green button…. 100-33 = 67. Not 77. And there are three voices in the there homonym. Choose the right one. And then I stopped reading.
Yes! An example of a blog where the authors regularly show their working and which I therefore trust is https://trusttheevidence.substack.com/?utm_campaign=pub&utm_medium=web