The fight for Campbell Live is a fight for the value of our democracy

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Last week impromptu protests around the country occurred in support of Campbell Live. These were organised by ordinary viewers  who are shocked that TV3 would even consider shutting the show down. I was asked to speak at the Auckland one outside TV3’s Auckland HQ and the passion of those turning up left no illusion that should TV3 take Campbell Live off the air, TV3 would be facing a fairly large backlash.

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The reason for that passion was because there is still an audience in NZ who have an expectation that their current affairs shows has genuine Fourth Estate obligations as opposed to the banal Disneyland of the medicare that is Seven Sharp.

MediaWorks may say that all that matters is ratings, but seeing how this Government have given MediaWorks commercial favours and a weakly regulated  media environment that leaves MediaWorks, a foreign owned media company, in a dominant position, one could argue it is actually MediaWorks who have an obligation to us as citizens before their share holders.

The reason we need brave media with strong public broadcasting values have been spelt out last week when you consider the manner in which Rachel Glucina and the NZ Herald went about seeding defence lines for the Prime Minister while deceiving the young woman who had been brave enough to stand up to his constant touching of her. If these are the ethics of the mainstream media, we need change urgently.

If the political reasons to kill Campbell Live off are allowed to remove one of the most critical voices of the Government on TV, our Democracy will suffer.

TDB Recommends NewzEngine.com

 

7 COMMENTS

  1. TV3 is a private company. TVNZ (TV1) is govt owned. Surely the pressure should be going on TV1 to provide relevant content if it is considered that it is not.

    • @ DAN . You are right !

      But why is there TV commercials on the Government TV ?
      I know ! Lets remove commercials from the Government TV, improve content and keep it free ! Let’s see how commercial, privately owned TV3 competes then ? Lets bring Campbell Live over to a commercial-free government ( Us et al ) TV and see what comes of that ! Yay !

    • No, they have set TVNZ up as a state-owned enterprise, destroyed the charter, and thereby forced TVNZ into the same category as the scurrilous private companies. TVNZ will never improve under current conditions. The CEO is a man from the parasitic middle-man Marketing industry, for heaven’s sake.

  2. Maybe just have huge clean out and start again – with both television and the government.
    Mind with you with regards to television, someone must be getting worried, because ads seem to be popping up on ‘you tube’ now.
    …and with regards to the government…the tide has turned for sure.

  3. TVNZ – Channel one – is pro government. It is dictated to by the government and the corporations. They own it – they control it.

    TV3 has a chance to be more community based as they are not as beholding to corporations/govt’s. But they still are controlled a bit and that is a shame. Those who want to get rid of Campbell Live have their heads in the sand. They are not listening to the people.

    Ever notice how most govt. officials and the corporate owned media outlets now are not wanting folks to comment ( often not giving them the option on The Herald and Stuff etc. ) and not responding to them when they do comment or communicate with them ?
    Most politicians as well.
    They really do not care about what we think. They could care less that we want to save Campbell Live. Anything that exposes their dirty politics and has an open mind and is not owned by greed and lack of ethics is worthless to these corporate owned media pseudo-journalism outlets and greedy crooked politicians.
    They need to put out their propaganda mind control type of shows and politics that serve the corporate interests firstly. Look at John Key in Saudi Arabia right now. Can you just imagine the REAL reasons for his visit there.

    Look how many more commercial, selling products, shows are on TV now and other good programming has been cut and is presently on the chopping block.
    MONEY MONEY MONEY BEFORE PEOPLE IS THEIR MOTTO.

    Rachel Glucina and her kind of opportunist journalism is far too prevalent and they have an agenda and usually it is lacking in ethical backbone and a bit infantile and manipulative. Truth and honesty will always win out.
    Greedy and infantile sham sham ways of operating will eventually loose and be exposed and hopefully some will fall on their swords.

    Lets hope that the John Campbell show continues with even more programs like it as well.
    Lets also hope that the likes of Mike Hosking ; Rachel Glucina ; David Farrar ; Corin Dann ; Simon Dallow and some of the editors at The Herald and Stuff etc. will soon be put out to pasture.
    We deserve honest journalism based in truth and responsibility and not always in greed and money.

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