Rachel Smalley is not only right when she decries the manner in which rich white men dominate the media landscape of NZ, but I’d go further by saying it is rich, straight, white, right wing men who dominate our media landscape.
The total lack of diversity in our mainstream media is done on purpose. The mythology of the right needs to be mouthed by its most devout acolytes and this framing means the masses are never allowed to see any issue through any other prism.
This sets the parameters of debate and everything else is ignored.
This full spectrum dominance of the discussion means Leighton Smith’s bigotry, Mike Hosking’s arrogance, Paul Henry’s ignorance, Duncan Garner’s bloke routine, John Roughan’s bias, Patrick Gower’s ‘journalism’, Cameron Slater’s hate speech and the mainstream media’s ‘balance’ are all simply an echo chamber for right wing myths.
In this media environment, Key is ‘moderate’, NZ’s poverty is the self created fault of the individual and any abuse of political power by the National Party is completely justifiable.
A priority of this blog site is to provide a space where those voices that rarely get heard have space to be heard. We are the most diverse blog in NZ, we have Maori, Christian, Muslim, Pacific Island, Union, Activist, Academic, Disabled, Feminist, Green, Labour, MANA, Trans, Bi and Environmentalist voices and our diversity I think is one of our greatest strengths as a blog.
The cruel backlash thrown at Rachel Smalley for speaking an unpalatable truth shows how right she was. We should not allow our love and genuine respect for John Campbell – a broadcaster I have supported and helped with the save Campbell Live and the boycott TV3 social media movement – to blind us to the validity of Rachel’s point, that we desperately lack a diverse media.
The terrible decision by the NZ Herald to sack Dita De Boni is further evidence of this sad lack of diversity and Jane Kelsey dismantling Mike Hosking in less than 8 minutes highlights how hollow the current rich white male privileged media echo chamber has become.
While John Campbell’s appointment to RNZ will mean it’s the only time I tune into RNZ now, and while I support him being there as a broadcaster who has done more to enable those voices relegated to the fringes to be heard, his appointment does paint a bleak picture of the current state of our media from a diversity perspective and from the way he himself has been forced out to the fringes.
It’s a truly unbalanced MSM in this country and something any party who is not National will have to turn their collective minds to should they win the next election. However apart from ZB and I’d argue even its potential audience numbers are stunted by such an association, cosying up to National by businesses is bad for business.
But Dita De Boni, sacked? When and was there an “official” reason given? Apart from the bleeding obvious that is!
There needs to be an immediate media revolution when a Labour Green government finally gets into power. First things to be done within a month is replace all the top dogs at Television New Zealand (and maybe some at Radio New Zealand). Give Hosking the boot and tell him to go to commercial media where he belongs, Turn TV One into a no-ads public broadcaster and start pumping money into Radio New Zealand.
Whoah, hold on, when did Dita de Boni get sacked? I must have missed it.
I’d like to hear the story if we could? Was it your fault for Martyn for complimenting her in public?
“We are the most diverse blog in NZ, we have Maori, Christian, Muslim, Pacific Island, Union, Activist, Academic, Disabled, Feminist, Green, Labour, MANA, Trans, Bi and Environmentalist voices and our diversity I think is one of our greatest strengths as a blog.”
Well spoken, Martyn.
Since Government aren’t prepared to engage or simply wont listen to our Environmental issues we need this medium.
This is shown from after we sent from our Environmental centre a total of 105 Emails to PM John Key over four years and never received a single reply from Him!!!
Thus we are so reflected in your statements above as a voice for all when we say Government has forced us all to levitate towards this medium as our only way to be heard.
Good for you Martyn for providing a balanced platform to which we can represent what Government wont provide for which is a truly public open forum as all we see Government doing is to close down any public debate about issues that government lacks the will or need to address.
they sacked Dita????, she was the best thing on herald. well that’s it for me no more herald.
Rachel didn’t point out anything that wasn’t factually accurate.
It is entirely accurate that prime time radio is dominated by white men in New Zealand.
But whenever those who criticise it choose to make their criticisms, it usually includes the concept of merit.
Which falls down on the simplest logic, entirely.
If those appointments were truly made on the basis of merit and nothing else is happening in that process, then the result would be expected to reflect the wider make up of society.
But it doesn’t. And not only in prime time mainstream radio. In many other areas too, like boards of directors and political leaders.
The logic is simple. Either white men are much better at all those things in which they clearly dominate numerically…. OR…. something else is going on which makes those fields dominated by white men.
And that something else as those of us who are not white men keep pointing out is sexism and racism to start with.
It’s not hard people.
And it’s usually white men who insist there’s no sexism or racism. Probably because they aren’t the recipients of it, so they don’t see it.
Didn’t know Dita de Boni had been sacked fro NZH! She was an intelligent journalist and always had something constructive to write.
Can you elaborate more on Dita’s position please Martyn.
Yes, I’d like to hear more too please.
NZ Media are absolute crap, most are graduates of the Grey Lynn Kindergarden Journalism School.
The quality of journalism in this country is shite, it appears to mirror the quality of our sh*t useless politicans and business leaders. The ones leading our stellar “Rock Star Economy”, give us a f****n break from all the BS.
We can not even do the basics right in this country, bunch of no hoppers with a fanatical cheerleading media headed by the w*** Mike Hoskings being paid megabucks as a State Broadcaster and Key’s pet w*** John Armstrong, ffs give us all a break.
When there is a woman on TV, why are they always blonde?
If they are not blond they soon lighten their hair, strange but true.
Miriama Kamo did for a bit
The tvnz reporter recently at chunik bair. (spelling?)
Various other female NZ reporters have too but I don’t watch enough to know names sorry.
I’ve wondered the same thing. There appears to be a cloning factory.
“We are the most diverse blog in NZ, we have Maori, Christian, Muslim, Pacific Island, Union, Activist, Academic, Disabled, Feminist, Green, Labour, MANA, Trans, Bi and Environmentalist voices and our diversity I think is one of our greatest strengths as a blog.”
Curwen’s going to be sad that you forgot him.
John Key has a fettish for blondes especially with pony tails and blondes have more fun, however most blondes are airheads. These are generalisations not facts.
Rachel Smalley only goes so far. For instance, if she were, along with John Campbell, Mihingarangi Forbes and Chris Trotter et al to report on the Trans-Pacific Partnership mega cartel deal as one giant leap toward the construction of huge massive monopolistic trade bloc centred on the United States.
Read: “Almost Fully Operational: The Mega Cartel Death Star” at http://snoopman.net.nz/2015/08/01/almost-fully-operational-the-mega-cartel-death-star/
Gender balance in the media is a worthy ideal. Even more important for me is that the reporting is intelligent, insightful, and unbiased.
Our news is being dumbed down at an ever increasing rate. I only watch TV1’s news now, (A habit I will have to break) and last night the longest item, baring the All Blacks, was an item on Buskers in London! Speaking if overseas news, in 12 months there will be an election in the USA for the most powerful political position in the world, one that in this neo-liberalism world will effect us all. And what does our MSM give us! Donald Trumps spat with that Fox reporter, (shades of Gowers carry on with the Mana party).
I don’t think TVNZ has a news camera crew left. And why should they when all there news seems to come of You Tube.
Finally, GO BERNIE SANDERS!!!!!!!
Rachel Smalley is as snivelling and compliant with the Right wing narrative as any of them. She knows what is needed to get the plum jobs; so yeah, she is right to be miffed that she and her kind get passed over because of genitalia.
However they wouldn’t anything one iota different to the penis brigade when they get in the big chair. It wasn’t even a deafening silence when David Cunliffe apologised on behalf of men; the righty women were as raucous in their vitriol as any of them.
So I couldn’t care less if female “journos ” are losing the corporate rat race. Welcome to the life of everyone else who wants or believes in something different to National Party donors.
Why Rachel Smalley is wrong.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/audio/player/201766538
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