Hard News: Reviews: #NZGT and the Herald
95 Responses
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and a mystifying waste of space from Jem Beedoo, under the risible title 'Jem's Gems'
So they couldn't resist resurrecting Jim Hopkins after all?
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Refreshing the Herald website, mobile app and the printed paper on one day was an ambitious thing to do
They updated the mobile app? Mine's just the same as before, and no updates listed in the Marketplace.
Unless it was just the iPhone app that got a facelift. -
Jeremy Andrew, in reply to
Don't forget today's pointless, possibly actionable, Minto-slagging by Bob Jones
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I nearly biffed out The Magazine unread as it's so extremely glossy my jaded reporter's eye took it to be an ad insert for Boulgaris real estate (or similar). How long will such stock last I wonder.
While you're right, there's some meat in there (although what an odd place for it in the magazine) I was less than impressed to be greeted on the first page of the first story with a photo shoot of Our Athletes in their PJs. Two women, naturally, with the caption: "Sarah and Lisa haven't seen each other since London and meet with a hug".
I can only presume the pillow fight came later.
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Deborah Hill Cone, Rhys Darby and Jeremy Wells have all been allowed to use their New Zealand Herald columns to inform us, redundantly, that they were writing columns for the New Zealand Herald
I can understand the sheer terror of facing a blank page and an immovable deadline – who hasn’t? But the one time you abso-fraking-loutely shouldn’t be vamping until you hit your word count is your debut. What's even more mystifying about Hill Cone and Wells' feeble efforts is they’re not exactly blushing column virgins.
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hey, i'm liking the interesting infographics in the new herald.
but, can someone please teach them how to use denominators.
thanks,
reality. -
Russell Brown, in reply to
While you’re right, there’s some meat in there (although what an odd place for it in the magazine)
There is indeed: beef and lamb, to be precise. The meat ad on page 41 has cover stars Sarah and Lisa in the same orientation as the the cover pic and the feature photo. It doesn't even bother to identify them. Feels a bit odd.
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Paul Brislen, in reply to
ew, I hadn't noticed that but yes... how vile.
That aside, I quite like the redesign and the website is much cleaner.
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Interested to see the increased use of QR codes in NZH. I'd thought that these were generally a fad/on their way out but I actually find them quite useful for this sort of thing (and on billboards etc).
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organise audience participation
I had the... lets call it an experience... of being in the audience in Dunedin for about 3 hours. Not through choice, but to support my partner's nieces. It was a doubly disappointing experience because they didn't even get to perform in the afternoon so I sat through three hours and didn't get to see them - they performed in the evening.
The audience participation organising is awful. They've dragged in this reasonably decent comedian/actor and in between acts actually performing they make you act booing, standing ovations, polite clapping etc. He bounces around and apologises to you all for making you do it, and for continuity purposes they ask you to please please stay, and stay in your seat, and try and look like the room is actually full.
I didn't see the show on Sunday night as the nieces haven't been on yet, but I'm going to hate seeing how they edit it. I presumed that at least the applause might actually be filmed in relation to the performers, but when the performers were performing all cameras were pointing at the stage (except the one directly behind them), so any sweeping shots they show of Dunedin crowd applauding - nothing to do with the act you've just watched.
On the other hand, I still think this is fantastic, regardless of how I'm being manipulated. She's got some good songs on her soundcloud page as well.
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That aside, I quite like the redesign and the website is much cleaner.
There are things about website re-design that don’t work for me but nobody ever nails it straight out of the box. And to The Herald’s credit, yesterday they had people on Twitter monitoring reaction and making a serious effort to respond to qubbles and bitches in a useful way.
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Tamara, in reply to
Yeah my android app looks just as boring as before.
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Paul Williams, in reply to
Don't forget today's pointless, possibly actionable, Minto-slagging by Bob Jones
There's a nice symmetry to this, both men fighting ancient wars and struggling for relevance. A debate between them on almost every issue would resolve ultimately into (a) you're a lazy commie followed by (b) you're a wealthy prick. This is edifying?
I can't believe there are not younger, more vital and less polemical protagnonists available? Surely even Hooton and Pagani would be an improvement.
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I wouldn’t be entirely surprised if the Talent Bible says “the first show must contain an amusing one-man band and an old lady who surprises everyone.”
I watched the last series of Britain's Got Talent (thanks, auntie!) and NZGT had a lot of stylistic similarities. Vignettes of performers getting ready for their big day, the nervous backstage chatter, Tamati's lol reactions to the performers - it was all classic BGT.
And it worked! I remember those talent shows in the '80s that always seemed very very serious. NZGT comes with a big dose of good-hearted humour. The 'bad' performers seem to relish the chance they've been given and there was no sign of X Factor-style strops.
I think the Got Talent formula is much better suited to New Zealand than NZ Idol ever was (or how a local version of X Factor would be). New Zealanders take music very very seriously and so a pop talent show is going to rub a lot of people up the wrong way. But variety performance? Hey, every one loves a show! It seems even the contestants who are singers will come across more as talented amateurs (a la Homai Te Pakipaki) rather than wannabes.
By the way, I think what the show needs is a judge who is a female comedian - someone with non-musical performance experience, and someone who is funny. And as a bonus, someone who knows that Pie Jesu is Latin.
But I'm generally loving it. As things are these days, the NZGT viewing experience is aided and abetted by the hilarious Twitter back channel. This is going to be a fun series!
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And I don't like the website's font.
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Also Hunter: piled up cliche upon cliche when giving feedback to performers. Never said anything of substance. I was sorely tempted to yell out "rugby is a game of two halves" just to help her out when she ran out of things to say.
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Russell Brown, in reply to
I didn’t see the show on Sunday night as the nieces haven’t been on yet, but I’m going to hate seeing how they edit it. I presumed that at least the applause might actually be filmed in relation to the performers, but when the performers were performing all cameras were pointing at the stage (except the one directly behind them), so any sweeping shots they show of Dunedin crowd applauding – nothing to do with the act you’ve just watched.
Think of it as a rare opportunity to see how this kind of television is actually made. It's not all in the editing, but mostly.
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You also missed Liam Dann letting us know that he's been the Business Editor for nearly five years. It's a new format, not a whole new bloody paper!
Hopefully, and I'm not holding my breath, the editorial staff have taken heed of the strong resistance to tabloid content that their focus-grouping uncovered as they went about re-branding to tabloid format. I was heartened to read that they've put the newsroom through some quite intensive training on using numbers, only to see today's brain fart about the Conservative Party only needing to do 1.35 "percentage points" better than their 2011 2.65% in order to cross a 4% threshold. That may be true, but it's more enlightening to point out that it requires a 50.9% increase in the number of votes the Party receives for that to happen.
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Today's "Business Liftout" also contains the weather, sideswipe, entertainment etc. So it's actually only half business. I find that a bit silly.
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Bart Janssen, in reply to
beef and lamb
As an aside for some reason I really like that NZ beef and lamb use strong athletic women to advertise their product. A refreshing change from the usual models.
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Robyn Gallagher, in reply to
Think of it as a rare opportunity to see how this kind of television is actually made. It's not all in the editing, but mostly.
The Susan Boyle audition is a masterful example of this. It's sets up perfectly - it's noted there's been a lack of talent at the Glasgow audition, here'a a frumpy, bumbling but cheek spinster - it can't possibly be her, can it?. She sings, brings the house down and puts a smile on everyone's face, with subtle (and not so subtle) music cues guiding us along on this emotional journey.
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Hilary Stace, in reply to
I've just discovered QR codes as they are increasingly being used for academic posters. I worked out how to put one on my poster for a conference I've just attended. But don't think anyone noticed (or if so didn't have the technology). At the conference I followed a man around who had one on the back of his jacket and turns out it was advertising for his sound recording business. We decided that they aren't generally noticed or used yet, but will catch on very soon, so perhaps their use in the Herald will help. Of course, not everyone has a smart phone (including me).
QR codes are quite pretty and personal but still a bit mysterious.
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Russell Brown, in reply to
Interested to see the increased use of QR codes in NZH. I’d thought that these were generally a fad/on their way out but I actually find them quite useful for this sort of thing (and on billboards etc).
I quite like the way the Herald has set up QR codes -- with the scanner now built in to the app -- but they need to link to more useful content. Example: the QR code for the Kylee Guy story led to a pointless photogallery (we know what these people look like) when it could have led to a scan of the letter that the story was about.
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I'm not a fan of all the liftouts and inserts.
One major advantage of the compact format is being able to read without spreading it out but when you open it up now all the inserts fall out on your lap.
And yes, the "Business" liftout is something of an eclectic mix of content.
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Matthew Poole, in reply to
Unless it was just the iPhone app that got a facelift.
Probably. There is no other platform [ETA: of any significance], after all.
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