Hard News by Russell Brown

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Hard News: Radio Times

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  • simon g,

    yeah Russ hi Simon here yeah basically at the end of the day if we didn't have like you know Radio NZ the reality is it would just be people like Ralston and all the other old right-white man clones on talkback and basically I mean at the end of the day it's like about information and ideas and that because you got to think outside the square and the reality is in terms of other radio stations who have slogans like "tune your mind" its like you are listening to the permanently drunk and if you listen to that all day then the issue is sooner or later the point is you're going to shoot someone or maybe yourself so yeah I reckon Radio NZ is like good for keeping some faith in human beings and like having a functioning brain and that so if we didnt have it I'd be losing the will to live and so yeah at the end of the day the reality is yeah that's my point dont cut me off I havent fini

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1333 posts Report Reply

  • Paul Litterick,

    This isn't difficult: RNZ does not have advertisements; it does not exist to make a profit by selling its listeners to advertisers. It is public service broadcasting which treats its audience as intelligent people who deserved to be informed, educated and entertained.

    I remember when The Listener was like that.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1000 posts Report Reply

  • Craig Ranapia,

    BTW. I've always thought of Ralston as a cardie wearer.

    Don't dis' the cardie wearers, or we're going to be round your crib with furled umbrellas and rolled up copies of the Guardian Weekly to waggle our fingers at you in an agressive manner.

    Yes! Simon Morris' combination of boyish enthusiasm and scathing derision is always a treat on Sundays when I otherwise don't catch much radio.

    Meh... I'm probably the last person to talk, but W.H. Auden has a point when he said this:

    Attacking bad books is not only a waste of time but also bad for the character. If I find a book really bad, the only interest I can derive from writing about it has to come from myself, from such display of intelligence, wit and malice as I can contrive. One cannot review a bad book without showing off.

    I rather miss Jonathan Dennis, who -- when the material on offer was just too existentially angst-making for words -- would go off and make a show that ran down the by-ways of New Zealand's film history.

    North Shore, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 12370 posts Report Reply

  • Craig Ranapia,

    Russell is right about your Radio spots. It's like a different Craig pops up :-)

    Thank you, Don. I go to bed on Wednesday night, wake up on Friday morning and God only knows what my good half does in the interval. I don't really care, as long as it keeps bringing home a few rashers of bacon. :)

    North Shore, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 12370 posts Report Reply

  • Kyle Matthews,

    But even if the interview style or subject tunes me out for a bit, commercial advertising sends me but to the nation broadcaster every time.

    Hear hear. My 10 year old doesn't like national radio (which is fair enough) so when we're travelling in the car we switch to Hauraki (Japanese import, radio doesn't get any useful FM stations). I get very annoyed with their '40 minute no ad' whatevers, which are filled with adverts about their 40 minute no ad period. And then the 15 minutes between the 40 minutes and the news is stacked full of adverts to make the money for the whole hour.

    I can't say I hate Noelle at all, but she drives my mother and husband batty. I'm not sure why...

    She has a lovely accent. She could read out the phone book over the airwaves and it would take me a while to lose interest.

    Since Nov 2006 • 6243 posts Report Reply

  • Andrew Dubber,

    Credit where credit's due - they're quite good at the internet these days, aren't they?

    Umeå, Sweden • Since Nov 2006 • 23 posts Report Reply

  • AndrewD,

    Kim Hill is a force of nature! Smart, funny and aware. You can tell the good ones as they listen. Kim is also 53 today. That was on my filthy commercial radio station this morning. Sorry.

    Auckland • Since Mar 2007 • 54 posts Report Reply

  • Jonty,

    I'm at an age when Lloyd Scott and Vicky McKay are a godsend to us insomniacs, though I still eagerly await the first birdcall at 6am heralding Morning Report. Sean is a bit wooden sometimes and seems only to really come alive when he's interviewing sports people. I love the first hour or so of Kim Hill on a Saturday before she reaches the recipes. And Chris Laidlaw may be a trifle bland but I frequently enjoy his chats -- unprovocative, tactful, but still elicits interesting snippets from his guests -- the antithesis of Plunket. I dread the Nats shortchanging NatRad to the point of emasculation -- or worse, flogging it off. There'd be nowhere else to go!

    Katikati • Since Mar 2007 • 102 posts Report Reply

  • Michael Savidge,

    I'd have to say that in an age of such media diversity I am pretty impressed if RNZ is growing its audience...

    Somewhere near Wellington… • Since Nov 2006 • 324 posts Report Reply

  • Eleanor,

    I just can't STAND the story reading. I don't know what audience they're aiming for with those. I don't know a single kid who wouldn't squirm away from having to listen to them.

    Is it to fill an "artistic" quota perhaps?

    wellington • Since May 2007 • 81 posts Report Reply

  • Mark Graham,

    A word of dissension - Morning Report is growing boring - same topics, same interviewees, Groundhog day, blah blah blah. Tune in any time and it could be last week or the month before. Do we really need five interviews on whether Owen Glenn gave NZ First $5000 and Winston lied/forgot/never knew about it? Please - aren't there more interesting things out there? Repetitive political minutiae is mundane and banal and once I have the major topics I move on because I've heard enough!

    Weekends are (mostly) for music - sorry Craig et al. - I keep forgetting and judging by Craig's always interesting posts, I'm sure the radio thing would be a blast.

    I apologise in advance for self-promotion, but as an alternative to RNZ and the long-running children's stories on b, you can catch my enthusiastic amateur hour on http://www.georgefm.co.nz/show42.html from 7.30 to 10am.

    Fiona did call me the "...hip Chris Laidlaw." (though judging from comments regarding his show, this may be a small step up). At least the music is better.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 218 posts Report Reply

  • Marcelo Rodriguez Ferrere,

    Nine to Noon is best when Lynn Freeman's hosting it, she's just more listenable than Kathryn Ryan for me.

    I agree entirely - I hope Lynn Freeman moves onto a more regular weekday spot in the near future. Both she and Maggie Barry have a much better style than Kathryn - it's a treat on public holidays when they hold the fort.

    Dunedin • Since Nov 2006 • 33 posts Report Reply

  • Lucy Stewart,

    My favourite time to listen in is the real Geriatric Hour - Sunday evening with Sounds Historical , followed by the lovely Wayne Mowat and a barrel-full of golden oldies. Now that is vintage wireless....

    Well, this twenty-one-year-old thoroughly agrees with you. Sounds Historical always brings up some lovely little treasure from times past. Sunday in general is a great day; I've had to miss it for the past two years due to work, but I've really missed the movie reviews. In fact, the only National Radio programme I generally dislike is Jim Mora's panel in the afternoons - sometimes it hits a good spot, but mostly it meanders. Overall, though, I'm a huge fan. It's the only radio station that ever goes on in our house.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 2105 posts Report Reply

  • Mikaere Curtis,

    I listen National a lot, at home, work and in the car.

    The first thing I'd change would be to make the broadcast stereo rather than mono. It's unfortunate that they broadcast in mono - which is purely a budgetary bang-for-coverage-buck issue - because they play great music at the correct speed. I find it really hard to listen to commercial stations because they speed up all the tracks, and this kills the timbre IMO.

    I'm in general agreement with the comments with regard to Mora and Laidlaw. Give me Noelle any day.

    I much prefer Katherine Ryan to Linda Clark. Didn't Plunket take his employers to task because they continually overlook him for the Nine To Noon role ?

    Tamaki Makaurau • Since Nov 2006 • 528 posts Report Reply

  • LegBreak,

    I too find Mora extremely annoying, and I’m not totally sure why.

    And on the Mucking In show on TV, he’s even worse. “Aren’t we really helping you?”

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 1162 posts Report Reply

  • Craig Ranapia,

    I agree entirely - I hope Lynn Freeman moves onto a more regular weekday spot in the near future.

    Well, I have my doubts that she's got too many more miles on the clock as RNZ's resident Yartz mavern after this year's Montana shortlist fiasco. And sorry if this offends Graham Beattie, but the fiction shortlist would have been even shorter if I had anything to do with it, as I totally agree with Philip Larkin who said, in his prizegiving speech as chairman of the 1977 Booker jury:

    "Personally I found myself asking four questions about every book: Could I read it? If I could read it, did I believe it? If I believed it, did I care about it? And if I cared about it, what was the quality of my caring, and would it last? [...] Far too many relied on the classic formula of a beginning, a muddle, and an end.

    North Shore, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 12370 posts Report Reply

  • Michael Wynd,

    I agree with Bill Ralston. RNZ is in desperate need of refreshment and new voices. It's not known as Radio Left-Wing for nothing.

    Jim Mora, Chris Laidlaw need to go and go now. I have no idea why Noelle is there filling in but I didn't realise RNZ was a home for radio people that could not make it work at NewstalkZB. I thought Mora was bad but she's no better. The show is unfocused and needs a structure and purpose. I would even think pulling Checkpoint back to 4pm might give the show a better scope for a more informative output.

    I would like to see Sean Plunkett get the 9-12 slot to see how he performs and move Kathryn Ryan up to Morning Report. Certainly RNZ needs to groom a replacement for Geoff and I cannot think of anyone at present that they have been looking at.

    Kim Hill also needs to be replaced - she's not as clever as she thinks she is and its a very boring show. Again, its needs refreshing and with a new voice.

    I appreciate that Bill is pushing Radio Live and good on him for doing that, but it does not negate his comments. I think Noelle's 'tart' comments was a case of surprise as she normally gets a very easy ride in the media. Does anyone else think why she has a column in the Weekend Herald?

    Since Jul 2008 • 1 posts Report Reply

  • Tom Beard,

    It is public service broadcasting which treats its audience as intelligent people who deserved to be informed, educated and entertained.

    And that, in a nutshell, is presumably what Ralston doesn't like about it.

    I agree with Bill Ralston. RNZ is in desperate need of refreshment and new voices. It's not known as Radio Left-Wing for nothing.

    What's the connection between being left wing (not that RNZ seems all that left to me) and being in need of refreshment? Time for a "purge", is that what you're thinking?

    All of you people seem to listen to a lot of radio. I have Morning Report on for 45 minutes on weekday mornings, and that's about it. Otherwise I'm at work (and I find it hard to concentrate while listening to talk radio, even if I felt it appropriate to use my employer's bandwidth for streaming radio) or out, so I don't get much chance.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 1040 posts Report Reply

  • Ron Wilson,

    I think Sunday Morning is still worth listening to - if only for the nice snippets from Dougal Stevenson (!) and 'Insight'. My only lament is the loss of Tom Frewen and Max Cryer for coverage of Parliament and etymology respectively.

    Well despite Russell's reservation you can get both Frewin and Max on 'Live' courtesy of Graeme Hill. Hill arguably would be the best coverage on Radio in New Zealand. His wide range of interests leave hosts like 'Hill' for dead. How refreshing to have a host that not only is interested in his guests but can ask intelligent questions which were not prepared in advance by a producer.
    Now if we could just convince Mitch to use Graeme a bit more often say on 9:00 - noon weekdays???

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 16 posts Report Reply

  • Rich of Observationz,

    I like National Radio and have no involvement in its production or funding. Apart from my hooping friends on This Way Up at the weekend.

    On the left-wing thing, it seems to me that right-wingers are either:
    - stupid (Peters)
    - intelligent but mad (Hide)
    - intelligent but selfish (Key)
    - intelligent but mad *and* selfish (Bush).

    Everyone else is left wing, and so aside from a quota of mad and/or selfish people, an intelligent media source will be intrinsically left wing.

    Back in Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 5550 posts Report Reply

  • Anthony Hawkins,

    I like NatRad, but that smugness is there and its possibly bringing on a rightward swing in me ... National Public Radio had the same effect on David Mamet: "We were riding along and listening to NPR. I felt my facial muscles tightening, and the words beginning to form in my mind: Shut the f**k up."

    Wellington, New Zealand • Since Jul 2008 • 1 posts Report Reply

  • Sam F,

    On the left-wing thing, it seems to me that right-wingers are either:
    - stupid (Peters)
    - intelligent but mad (Hide)
    - intelligent but selfish (Key)
    - intelligent but mad *and* selfish (Bush).

    Everyone else is left wing, and so aside from a quota of mad and/or selfish people, an intelligent media source will be intrinsically left wing.

    Haha, what?

    I eagerly await the return of Craig Ranapia in light of this blasphemy.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1611 posts Report Reply

  • Paul Williams,

    One more element of Radio NZ's performance warrants mention: the internet. No other broadcaster has responded to the shift online as well as Radio NZ has under the guidance of Richard Hulse. The website delivered four million "programmes or programme parts" last year. That's really pretty good.

    And for expats, that's just fantastic. Can't say enough how much I appreciate this access to NZ news. To call it "invaluable" would be an understatement.

    Interesting comparing ABC with NatRad, there's things about the ABC (Sydney and National) that I prefer but on balance, NatRad still the favourite (it is, however, impossible to control for the NZ-content factor). ABC Sydney has some brilliant weekday (Richard Glover) and weekend (Simon Marney) presenters and has a more magazine-style format through the weekdays plus has a drive-style show in the evenings rather than a Checkpoint equivalent (ABC National however is straight news).

    I'd recommend listening to Richard Glover here for an overview - very casual with a comedy-bent but still focused on the day's events.

    Sydney • Since Nov 2006 • 2273 posts Report Reply

  • Craig Ranapia,

    I eagerly await the return of Craig Ranapia in light of this blasphemy.

    Damn it, Sam, don't disturb me when I'm trying to memorise evil shit. ""Ph'nglui something-something Cthulhu R'lyeh blah-blah fhtagn" kick, ball-change, spirit fingers, spirit fingers, twirl twirl twirl!

    North Shore, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 12370 posts Report Reply

  • Sam F,

    I was kinda expecting a dissection of the circular logic behind the post that I'd quoted, but hey, Lovecraft is always relevant...

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1611 posts Report Reply

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