The trivialisation of the News and consequences

7
0

.

Foot In Mouth

.

Patrick Gower recently wrote on the TV3 website,

“The Labour Party has been putting voters wrong about its baby bonus.

Labour has been deliberately misleading, and in my view dishonest by omission.

On Monday night I told 3 News viewers that under Labour’s $60 a week baby bonus policy, families would get $3120 a year for their baby’s first year.

A simple calculation you might think, of $60 mutiplied by 52 weeks, given David Cunliffe announced in his State of the Nation speech: “That’s why today, I am announcing that for 59,000 families with new-born babies, they will all receive a Best Start payment of $60 per week, for the first year of their child’s life.

Now most normal people would think that means “all” those parents will get the payment “for the first year of their child’s life”.

But it wasn’t true – not that you would know that from Cunliffe’s speech, media stand-up, the MPs who were there to “help” and all the glossy material handed out to us.

Because buried in the material was a website link that takes you to a more detailed explanation policy.

And on page six of that policy document, in paragraph 3, it revealed the payment would commence at the “end of the household’s time of using Paid Parental Leave, ie. after 26 weeks in most cases.”

So translated, in most cases, the $60 a week payment is not for the first year, but for the second six months.”

Gower then went on with this eye-brow raising bit,

“Most journalists, like our office, only had time to find this overnight on Monday.”

So. Gower was obviously miffed. He had reported Cunliffe’s speech – and got it embarrassingly wrong.

So, it was all Cunliffe’s fault, right?

Well, yes. Partially.

TDB Recommends NewzEngine.com

But Three News team and especially Patrick Gower also need to take a measure of responsibility for incorrectly reporting this story. In fact, Gower is the one who took time to ask the wrong questions, when interviewing Cunliffe on 27 January,

@ 7:05

Gower: [voice over] And no controls on how the money is spent!

To Cunliffe: Some parents will just end up spending this on themselves on alcohol and cigarettes, though [unintelligible]?

Now aside from the obvious;  what the hell kind of question was that?!?! Why did Gower automatically assume that, with an extra $60 a week, parents would spend it on “alcohol and cigarettes” ?

Does Gower have friends and family who regularly spend up large on “alcohol and cigarettes“?

Is there excessive alcohol and tobacco consumption in Gower’s own home, and he believes it to be the norm for other Kiwi households?!

No?

Then why assume the worst for other households, some of which could be his friends, family members, work colleagues, neighbours, etc

It beggars belief that, when a government transfers funds, that journos automatically assume that it will be spent on vices.

I hope Gower asked the same question of Gerry Brownlee when it was revealed that former National Prime Minister, Jenny Shipley,was  one of several Government appointees being paid $1,000 (per day!) to “monitor” the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (Cera). Was that money spent on alcohol and cigarettes by the CERA Review Panel? (Who knows – maybe it was.)

Perhaps if Gower had not been so lazy as to resort to  posing such a vapid and inane question, and instead spent an extra hour or so researching the  the matter more in-depth – by simply checking the website links he referred to in his opinion piece! –  he and TV3 would not have been embarrassed at mis-reporting Labour’s sloppy policy release. (And by the gods, it was sloppy!)

After all, Cunliffe’s speech was released at 1pm on the day,  giving Gower and his production team, five hours before the 6PM News Bulletin that evening. What was Gower doing during all that time? Having a fag down at the local pub?

So please, Patrick – don’t get all toey, mate. Writing pissy little “opinion pieces” does not excuse  your sloppiness.

Maybe next time, try a little less of the sensationalising, moralistic “booze’n’baccy” questions, and do your job properly with real analysis.

Blaming others because you chose to trivialise a major news story with a superficial, cliched question is your responsibility.

Just as David Cunliffe’s  right-royal screw-up with Labour’s “Best Start” policy launch was his.

Any questions? (Make them good.)

.

*

.

References

Dominion Post: Govt spent $500,000 on boozy functions

The Press: Jenny Shipley on Cera review panel

TV3: Opinion: Labour dishonest on ‘baby bonus

TV3 News: January 27 6PM Bulletin

.

*

.

National out

Above image acknowledgment: Francis Owen

.

.

= fs =

7 COMMENTS

  1. According to Karol at The Standard, after the speech Gower was insistently asking Cunliffe what he thought of the Greens’ stance on marijuana – a subject which played no part in the speech.
    http://thestandard.org.nz/cunliffe-state-of-the-nation-speech/#comment-763752
    The mere asking of the question, however, allowed Tova O’Brien to speculate about a “rift” between Labour & the Greens on the news that same evening. Put this together with the booze and baccy suggestion and you see the context in which you are able to call a couple of unclear claims a “right royal screw-up.”

    For one thing, it is true that everyone whose income is lower than the stated amount will be at least $60 better off than they would otherwise have been. There was absolutely no sense that a sugar coating was being used to conceal a bitter pill, or any other such ruse as we have come to expect from the National Party – the “fiscally neutral” tax switch for example.

    It was a “right royal screw-up” only in the sense that an unclear claim gives an opening to journalists like Patrick Gower. Which, as the “rift” story shows, he is quite capable of creating for himself.

    • So basically, Olwyn, Gower focused on irrelevancies such as booze’n’baccy and pot – instead of doing his job, which was to look behind Labour’s policy.

      It’s interesting that when I research something on the ‘net, it can take hours simply to find the right link to the right website.

      In this case, however, the link to Labour’s “Best Start” policy was handed to Gower on a plate. Half the work was done for him. All he needed to do was (1) click and (2) read.

      That he didn’t, and instead focused on irrelevant issues (booze, baccy, and pot), shows he was just plain lazy. And it’s not the first time for TV3 journos either; http://fmacskasy.wordpress.com/2013/06/18/the-gcsb-law-oh-ffs-2/

      As for the policy stuff-up. I’m afraid the left will just have to wear that one. Own it and move on.

      The good thing is that we’re about eight months out from an election and this episode will be forgotten in eight days.

      Labour (as well as Mana and the Greens) just have to be more careful in future.

    • The same rift that exists between National and ACT; National are against decriminalisation, but ACT are for it.
      Is every policy difference on the left a ‘rift’?
      Tova O’Brian has sold her soul and dignity to Gower. She’s a sad little poodle with no journalistic integrity.

  2. @ Paul . Dead right . Kick out the Banks and write off mortgage debt . ( Did I just write that out loud ? )
    Create something like a Ministry of Public Infrastructure to re public-ize our essential services and amenities back into our hands then fire-wall our economy against it being manipulated by those off shore-fuckers douglas and jonkey sold our stuff and things to . And more than a few on-shore fuckers as well .

    ( I wrote that out loud too didn’t I ? )

    And Re Cunliffe . WTF ? I mean really , WTF ? That Best Start policy is trite and insulting and tactically fucking disastrous . In an election year . W.T.F ?
    It’s like going up to junky-stien with your severed head in a bucket with a note reading . Please take this , I freshly hacked it off just for you .
    I smell the stink of sameness .
    This election will be won on truth , morals , integrity , honesty and open debate . Not bribery .
    Good post @ Frank .

Comments are closed.