Joe Wylie who created the cover art for Patea Maori Club's Poe E

Wow, even more respec

Are you the Joe Wylie who created the cover art for Patea Maori Club's Poe E? If so, could you please email me at I want to…

Who says that house-pets aren't libertarians?

I think my cat's behaviour could be classified as such... doesn't force anyone to feed her, simply accepts that as she doesn't have the means of production begging is the only option left open, she's ruthlessly individualist, only seeking company on her own terms…

If house-pets were libertarians.

These quacking travesties who call themselves journalists are foremost among the advocates of compulsory, coercive welfarism and punitive taxation—i.e., theft from the productive to subsidise the unproductive/reproductive

Hmmm as a smoker I pay extra tax (more so now thanks to the Gummint) – I guess this makes me a raging…

And then, seeing as their hands will be busy holding the "it" you just handed to them, POW, you punch them right in the face.

Ah, so coercive force is your only possible response to the Truth? You brutish lefties are all the same.

“First, if the peccadilloes of the sour, seedy journalists responsible for headlines of this kind were exposed, they would make for far more interesting reading…

Righto. I wave the mighty sword of closure ...

Ha, I wasn't being literal Russ – just pointing out that when a conversation is reduced to literally two people grunting at each other, it probably ain't going anywhere.

But just in case someone's been away for a day or so…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXRWdySrjDc

aye?

eh?

Bugger. Actually, I meant 'ayee', in the vernacular ;-)

Sorry Damien, I didn't see your comment.

aye?

eh?

Let me be the first to declare this thread... over. :)

aye?

eh?

And oi! non-existent honour? I'll have you know...wait. Who am I kidding. I'm the stereotype

Back to scrabble, aye? A Sex Scrabble cabaret. Now that would be truly auto-erratic.

The revered Paul Henry wondered last week how a show about "ugly poor people" could do so well.

I don't watch Coro, and this is not in defence of PH, (in fact can we just forget the PH aspect to this particular issue?) merely an observation about Coro (from someone…

Philip – fire away matey. bit late but, the gear's already locked and loaded.

I'll see you there. as a private contractor and given my entry obviously got lost in the post, I'll be hanging out by the sound desk out the back.

should be good...local boys.

Kidding about the…

I'll see you there. as a private contractor and given my entry obviously got lost in the post, I'll be hanging out by the sound desk out the back.

should be good...local boys.

I get top billing!!!

You won't be so keen when you get a load of the Kiri-Hayley-Susan Boyle mash-up I've got planned. Glee? Fuck, Glee! The hills will be alive with the sound of anguished screams and diabetics pleading for insulin by the time we're done.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6nESuuLYss

And you will…

sorry for the threadjack – I've steered well clear of this one – but any of you other bastardly talentless hacks going to qantas tonight?

Pfft. I wish.

Incidentally, Russell doesn't follow me on Twitter. He has noooo idea just how manic I am. (I blame the 4am starts. And…

sorry for the threadjack – I've steered well clear of this one – but any of you other bastardly talentless hacks going to qantas tonight?

cos as an extra special treat, me, Scott Kara and Liam Dann are your designated music providers for the evening. for free and everything.

not…

But I suppose you said it with love ;-)

I totally did! :)

Being a Stealth Hippy as I am, I would probably prefer to say that Coronation Street hires a lot of 'character' actors. Because:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0a45z_HG3WU

(Wow, I've never seen this video before. It is horrid! And unintentionally hilarious!)

cos as an extra special treat, me, Scott Kara and Liam Dann are your designated music providers for the evening. for free and everything.

not…

#shanejonesporntitle!

Hey, if Megan and I are gong to be underpaid and surrounded by more arseholes than a William Burroughs novel, we might as well hit the cabaret circuit

Fifi von Spangle-Bling and Hermann Kokstrangler present
Another Opening, Another Show: The Shane Jones Story in Song

You know, I always thought I hated that guy. But now I *really* hate that guy.

Now, now Danielle. Just the other day you said this about Coronation Street:

... it allows for odd thematic things like 'ugly people on TV'

But I suppose you said it with love ;-)

I'm going to go sulkily bang on my upright

#shanejonesporntitle!

Craig is the master of #shanejonesporntitle. Even when he's not trying.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdyLOkyss_A

I'm going to go sulkily bang on my upright

#shanejonesporntitle!

Craig is the master of #shanejonesporntitle. Even when he's not trying.

And oi! non-existent honour? I'll have you know...wait. Who am I kidding. I'm the stereotype

I'm going to go sulkily bang on my upright

#shanejonesporntitle!

Speak for yourself.

Well, that's the last time I stand up for your non-existent honour Frau von Spangle-Bling. I'm going to go sulkily bang on my upright now...

The revered Paul Henry wondered last week how a show about "ugly poor people" could do so well.

I've asked the same…

The revered Paul Henry wondered last week how a show about "ugly poor people" could do so well.

You know, I always thought I hated that guy. But now I *really* hate that guy. :)

Russell, don't poke the readers — they bite

Speak for yourself.

I rest my case.

Russell, don't poke the readers — they bite. :) But I know PA Radio isn't a five day a week operation, but I'm constantly impressed at how thoroughly zen Glynis is when everything is falling to bit hard on deadline... :)

I don't like Shane Jones persona, but I've never met him.
Why the political editor, no less, engages in panty sniffing is beyond me.

Shane wears panties? This will provide new fodder for twitter's #ShaneJonesPornTitle

Hey! :)

I rest my case.

Why the political editor, no less, engages in panty sniffing is beyond me.

There are so many important issues ignored or given scant regard, we are entertained by this circus – while Nero fiddled.

Any kind of live broadcast presenting is remarkably exhausting. That's why so many of the people who do it are maniacs.

Hey! :)

And never ever tell a taxi driver.

Every time I've told a taxi driver where I work, I get a look of glee and "So what's Paul Henry really like?" And I have to explain that they've got their telly mixed up. Never fails to disappoint and bewilder.

(I actually type this from a hotel room, on a work trip. I'd be raiding said mini bar but all I can find is some pottles of long life milk).

And a phone.;)

For you Joe Wylie, (I have 2 friends with the surname Wylie, they are off to England 2 moro) I am glad we have crossed paths and money has nothing to do with it. :)

Why thank you. Sadly enough I'm unable to claim acquaintance with any Bribiescas, but while…

I feel that so very strongly that having started to make a small, gracious, to my mind completely defensible criticism, I lack the self-control to leave it at that, and I have to sing my relentless monotonous song again.

I resent the accuracy of this description.

Well, not just the telly. Kyle declared that Paul Holmes has no talent as a broadcaster.

I'll happily concede that this might just be me and some others. He certainly was fairly leading edge in his TV work (I've never heard him on the radio). Just not my leading edge…

, it seems a perfectly fair question.

Oh dont mind me. I just comment that it's a bit trash. Of all my friends and I like to think I have a few, I have no idea what any of them earn. I have no care . To me, a lot…

But since the evidence is there in black and white, screw the lot of them and their hypocritical entitlement.

I think this is what is upsetting most people – the fact that some MPs think that they're not going to get caught, so who cares? Anyone who's ever had an…

Okay, I'll debate you there. I think there would have been a long line in front of Jones lining up to take a whack in such an event.

Heh... fair enough, but you'd think someone who's made his name railing against "iwi elites" would have been more careful than most.…

Let us conclude the day on a note of agreement.

Sorry. I've ruined that, haven't I?

So he uses this card but pays it back, and I presume they get per deims.

Do we give 'em daily expenses or do they just read the gidgeons bible everynight sucking on the complimentary hotel cracker.

He was…

I know why I feel sorry for him. Because I like him and can't believe he was so careless.

Let us conclude the day on a note of agreement.

And don't you dare tell me that Jones wouldn't have been the first one lining up to take whack if a senior civil servant was outed charging porn to a ministry-issued credit card.

Okay, I'll debate you there. I think there would have been a long line in front of…

That was far worse than the Crossfire interview. And he's had Crossfire-like moments with a lot of people, although mostly it didn't look like they started that way – in other words, he was playing good host and things just became adversarial.

It's more to do with the pace and…

Hotel Travelling is mind numbling boring.

Oh boo-fucking-hoo. Being a consular official isn't exactly fun and games 24/7, but Witi Ihimaera managed to more constructively use his time writing two novels and most of a volume of short stories during his downtime in D.C. and New York. And if he…

If people think scraping the lowest common denominator isn't a big deal, then functionally illiterate vigilante mobs speak volumes otherwise. Ditto for the shock jock egging on ultra-nationalists in Cronulla.

There…

On the flip side there are others who castigate RNZ for being too pointy headed, wooly minded, PC, and having delusions of intellectual grandeur.

Intellectual grandeur sounds like a good policy to me man,and as opposed to what? Dumbfuck nowhere grandeur. I'll go with the intellectuals.

Jon Stewart

Unlike the larger US media market, NZ lacks (First Amendment-derived) fair use/satire copyright provisions. There's also a decent chance of being sued for defamation if you are honest on air.

Basically in our game it doesn't matter who you work for or what product you put out – there'll always be someone who thinks you are a pile of shit.

Maybe – and I sympathise with hard-working people who perform thankless jobs. I was a secondary school teacher for decades.…

Basically in our game it doesn't matter who you work for or what product you put out – there'll always be someone who thinks you are a pile of shit.

That's not a unique problem to your game, that's the challenge of a marketplace.

Well, not on my TV show. And neither would Stewart. Ever. Ever, ever, ever..

He has. The business guy springs to mind, whatshisname? That was pretty devastating, both in the edited version that went to air and in the unedited version that you could watch on the website. "Roll 2-12"…

My 2 cents worth is this; sure there's probably a lot of stuff on TV and Radio that a lot of people here don't like. That's understandable. But I could almost 100 percent guarantee if the…

@Andin – no I'm not linking lowest common denominator programming to poverty, and I think it's vaguely offensive you'd even assume I'd make that link.

Sorry mate wasn't saying you were doing that. I just took the opportunity to make that point. I respect your work as an even handed,…

As to this thread, it bothered/surprised me that it become inwardly focused at our hosts, even if a little indirectly. Having found most mainstream media…

Paul Holmes and Paul Henry are talented, very talented in…

I'm glad Philip noted that the original post made some useful…

Hotel Travelling is mind numbing boring.

Yes but when he was trying to decide who he'd rather have know he rented pr0n, it does speak volumes that he chose his employer (who happens to be the government, and taxpayer funded) over his wife.

Hello?

But surely they can easily afford to self-finance their masturbation-fodder from their own far from niggardly salaries?

It's hardly the great bank robbery though, these guys are travelling,
away from home, their union look after them, fair enough...use the minibar,what a crime.

Do news programmes ever make a profit?

I believe 6pm news helps fund lots of stuff that follows. Always highly rating.

@Giovanni – I also take objection to this. I know what at least one of the top anchors gets paid, and it's about the same as various salespeople I…

Oh, bullshit. If Ministers of the Crown want to exercise themselves with grossly over-priced PPV porn that's their affair. But surely they can easily afford to self-finance their masturbation-fodder from their own far from niggardly salaries?

I generally agree. I've travelled lots for work and charged meals etc when I've…

Does it mean that they had dumbed the product down enough that the face presenting it had become the only value added, the only recognisable difference? How bloody insecure is that?)

I like that point. Shallow and shallower – our main channel.

Meanwhile, on a more cerebral note, Coro is…

But never to someone *like you*. Paul Henry consistently picks on only marginalised social groups – just like other bullies do. You won’t see him putting down white business men or sports people – or anyone who he suspects could hand him his arse on a plate.

Well put Sacha,…

How are T.V ratings done anyway?

I believe it involved chicken entrails and a freshly whitewashed wall. :)

Because that's what his producers want. If they didn't like it they'd have someone else.

How are T.V ratings done anyway?

i'm just asking why the output is so poor.

Because that's what his producers want. If they didn't like it they'd have someone else.

But porn? Come on — on what Bizarro World would a sane person think that's a reasonable use of public money?

Exactly. Doesn't he have a laptop?

That was what I talk from all that "autocue reader" stuff, and various other comments in this thread.

Fair enough. It felt like it was aimed at me (although I have not claimed that any television worker works less hard than any other New Zealander).

However, I want to feel…

To me this thread is just the usual suspects throwing around some ideas and you and Damian taking the usual flow of banter very personally.

Er, I think we were entitled to take some of it personally.

Oh rubbish.

That was what I talk from all that "autocue reader" stuff, and various other comments in this thread.

The salaries were raised by damain i think, I was just curious to know what people earn at that level, I've never earnt a lot…

Poor old Shane, the scarlett letter of sex on his jacket forever. I did have sexual relations with the hotel tv.

Oh, bullshit. If Ministers of the Crown want to exercise themselves with grossly over-priced PPV porn that's their affair. But surely they can easily afford to self-finance their masturbation-fodder…

It's not what I said – and furthermore you know it's not what I said. Geoff Robinson does what our newsreaders do on television, and on top of that he interviews people, which is bloody hard.

It is. But in some ways, television is considerably harder. There are a lot…

Giovanni: snap.

This really has come down to hating people on the telly.

Oh rubbish.

Speaking of which.

Anyway, do feel free to be indignant when someone else (on Kiwiblog, perhaps) complains about the salary attached to a job of which you approve.

Rubbish collectors are paid a fraction of their worth.…

Can I gently point out that fronting two and a half hours of live television every day is not actually easy?

Argh! I'm not saying it's easy! I'm saying that what Geoff Robinson does is also not easy and arguably requires *even more* skill.

This really has come down to…

What are their jobs then?

Can I gently point out that fronting two and a half hours of live television every day is not actually easy? Most people couldn't do it, and certainly not in a fashion that would attract several times the audience of the opposition.

This really has…

The effect of one public broadcaster can be to raise the game- and the terms of public discussion- across the board. Worth getting passionate about :)

I'm certainly not going to argue against that Rob. I think we may have got that by stealth via TVNZ 7, but time will…

Really the narrowness of what can be questioned is quite amazing.

I've actually been educated by this thread, in a general sense. I don't mean it personally, because it's as widespread as anything – but there are norms about "what is", and questioning those norms is seen as outrageous.

Again,…

I don't accept Henry is a bully. I don't consistently see him marginalising people, like you claim. I really don't.

OK I accept that. All I can judge is what I see on the screen. To me it seems like bullying and as I’ve said I’m sensitive to it…

oh bother- about 20 posts in the last ten minutes, who can keep up? not me!

Reckon – I've been trying to post that for about 4 pages.

I don't accept Henry is a bully. I don't consistently see him marginalising people, like you claim.…

. . . but I don't generally move in those circles and really, to want to know salaries is a bit gossippy/ trash mag, don't you think?

When you can't visit the dairy/gas station/supermarket without running across at least one billboard/magazine cover touting this week's trivia about Smuggy Buzzcut's contrived…

The whole news-readers-have-no-skill-they-just-read-words-and-get-paid-too-much is really really tired an really really old

It's not what I said – and furthermore you know it's not what I said. Geoff Robinson does what our newsreaders do on television, and on top of that he interviews people, which is bloody hard. And his programme…

How about his seniority and his ability? The fact that he can actually interview people, and his job is not just to read things? Do these things no longer count? Is it all about the blasted paparazzi now?

There's no doubt Geoff's a fine journalist and an NZ institution. That…

and his job is not just to read things

What are their jobs then? And bear in mind I say that after having sat through the thing where Judy Bailey explained what her day was like.

and his job is not just to read things

@jeremy

what is this autoreader guy getting

At the risk of defending Mr Henry more than I really want to, drawing equivalnce between his actions and those of Veitch seems a bit reckless.

True. I was more thinking of the Williams/"where apes come from" type on-air behaviour than domestic violence.

There's nothing dickish about not liking great amounts of social inequality. In fact, I think that earning ten times your fellow Kiwi is pretty dickish, actually.

thanks george, i feel better now.;)

If we've seriously got to that point in the argument, the bit where we just start slagging newsreaders, then I'm out.

I'm sorry, but Television New Zealand is entirely owned by me. And the other citizens of New Zealand.

The last Government decided that it would not interfere in the…

You too Giovanni.

If we've seriously got to that point in the argument, the bit where we just start slagging newsreaders, then I'm out.

Er... you're the one for whom the differential in salary between Geoff Robinson and whoever it is who reads the news on TVOne in the evenings…

The fact that he can actually interview people, and his job is not just to read things?

You too Giovanni.

If we've seriously got to that point in the argument, the bit where we just start slagging newsreaders, then I'm out.

Have fun, someone turn the lights out when they're…

Jeremy, you're being a dick again too.

There's nothing dickish about not liking great amounts of social inequality. In fact, I think that earning ten times your fellow Kiwi is pretty dickish, actually.

I want things that have proven themselves with the stability of time, not instant emphemera. Google results turn up things I have written too…

(Sometimes he can be a dick.)

If you look closely you can make it out.

So the average wage is around 30K a year, what is this autoreader guy getting?

Jeremy, you're being a dick again too.

I don't see that Geoff Robinson has too much to worry about in terms of a loss of privacy from his job. Lie-ins maybe.

How about his seniority and his ability? The fact that he can actually interview people, and his job is not just to read things? Do these…

I know it's hard not to take that criticism personally, but it really is a critique of the constraints and not the people. Even the rotten behaviour of the Henrys and the Veitches in this environment is ultimately the result of a system of selection pressures.

At the risk of…

I think it's perfectly consistent to rate TV news as crap, and yet also think that many of the people engaged in producing it are working miracles, given the constraints that they labour under, which prevent it from being even more crap.

Agreed.

Mary Wilson and Geoff Robinson cost us money. In theory, Paul Henry and all those dreadful newsreader people make us money. Crazy, I know.

Meanwhile, the news media is reporting on Tim Groser's unexceptional use of the hotel minibar, because that's so much easier than reporting on what he's doing…

Poor old Shane

Hardly. Pay for your pron yourself = no problem.

I don't see that Geoff Robinson has too much to worry about in terms of a…

I know what at least one of the top anchors gets paid, and it's about the same as various salespeople I know, less than ad people and lawyers I know.

So the average wage is around 30K a year, what is this autoreader guy getting?

I do think to some extent we are at cross purposes. I think it's perfectly consistent to rate TV news as crap, and yet also think that many of…

Poor old Shane, the scarlett letter of sex on his jacket forever. I did have sexual relations with the hotel tv.

Mary Wilson and Geoff Robinson cost us money. In theory, Paul Henry and all those dreadful newsreader people make us money. Crazy, I know.

Damian proposed that it was a budget issue, and I'm making the point that the news on TV cost a lot more money to produce than…

In a sense, yeah it does. Because the ratings indicate more people want to watch the latter. And if a show rates less, the cost of the ads go down.

Absolutely true, but the public's tastes aren't handed down from God; they change over time as a function of what's…

That's a relief. I think Paul Henry's salary did become public knowledge at one point, didn't it? and I seem to recall it wasn't peanuts. Either way, they get more money than Mary Wilson or Geoff Robinson, yes? It's a genuine question, not rhetorical.

Mary Wilson and Geoff Robinson cost…

There's a real question here about whether somebody's worth is appropriately measured by the amount they're paid.

I don't have answers, but it may be that a person will do their job for reasons other than money.

I certainly haven't found that the size of a person's salary correlates…

I also take objection to this. I know what at least one of the top anchors gets paid, and it's about the same as various salespeople I know, less than ad people and lawyers I know. It certainly ain't the grand old days of Judy Bailey.

That's a relief. I…

Er, what? Didn't I just make your point? That's not what you claimed I said.

I remembered you saying that Veitch was a talented broadcaster, but in fact I had the context all wrong – that's why I pasted it once I found the actual quote. You did in fact…

that he was a workplace bully of the kind who drove people to suicide

aw come on Russell, that's what you hassled me for

I said I think Paul Henry is a bully. I said I think his behaviour towards guests and co-workers is bullying.

And I said, when told…

And yes Sofie I did exercise the choice to watch Sunrise instead and now I watch Sky News in the morning instead.

I don't get how you can bear to watch TV in the morning at all ;-)

Is there any reason why an article about the resignation of Germany's president costs more than one about a goat up a tree

In a sense, yeah it does. Because the ratings indicate more people want to watch the latter. And if a show rates less, the cost of the…

In fact, Russell, I found that Veitch quote of yours and you made exactly that point:

It's not easy, not everyone can do it and Veitch certainly has talent as a broadcaster (although my only direct contact with him on a story, in the 1990s, did not give me a…

Ha! You sure it was blank?

Well, I didn't watch the whole thing, but yeah, pretty sure.

I'm very happy to criticise his work, and have repeatedly done so.

I don't even watch television, it's just like you can't escape this guys idiot statements in this country , I don't know him as a person and don't pretend to know him. He certainly didn't show the kind…

Why not just ignore him as one of the very few you don't find agreeable or up to your standard.

So, asking that our broadcasters not bully people on television has become my standard? That's handy to know.

Curse me and my high standards!

I do sometimes wonder about even the BBC

You're not the only one. Their TV news operation is not as awesome as it once was.

I'm less keen on standing on the moral high ground calling people monsters.

I think part of the problem is exactly that he's not a monster, in the same way that Paul Holmes is not racist. It's the characters they allow themselves to play, because they know they can profit…

I have many more questions than ideas.

Do news programmes ever make a profit? Would a newspaper make a profit if it didn't include lifestyle segments etc.?

If it doesn't make a profit, then who will pay for it? If someone is paying for it, will the news programme…

"At the other end of town MediaWorks is emerging from dark days as private equity owner Ironbridge has restructured to cope with its debt load.

Broadcasting bosses are struggling to predict the state of their industry in 10 years' time…

"He's a talented broadcaster" and "he's fun to be around" seem to me to be red herrings.

In fact, Russell, I found that Veitch quote of yours and you made exactly that point:

It's not easy, not everyone can do it and Veitch certainly has talent as a broadcaster (although…

How do you explain TV3 news successfully challenging TVNZ without a taxpayer funded monolith behind it?

Good point. Mainly, it's by having a much smaller budget.

Still, I think it's a fair call to say that today's TVNZ news operation stands on the shoulders of what came before. It's a…

Couldn't that mean we finally get RNZ but with pictures?

I think that's a more reasonable suggestion, and one that might be worth seeding in the minds of progressive politicians. Fund RNZ to allow them to provide a greater spectrum of formats, including "television". It already happens, to an extent,…

from wiki,

TV3 failed to gain ground against a recently revitalised TVNZ and was placed into receivership on 2 May 1990.

TV3 badly needed investment during a climate of economic recession, the Government liberalised the rules on foreign ownership of television stations…

but the idiot you see on screen is actually a person.

But why should we care? I mean I care when Damian says that he actually likes his work and his programme. But I neither have any difficulty believing that Paul Henry is a very affable person and fun to…

Taxpayers built the organisation. Whatever happens now would've been impossible without that.

How do you explain TV3 news successfully challenging TVNZ without a taxpayer funded monolith behind it?

That's not such an outrageous suggestion on a discussion thread.

Bullying? Depends on who you ask see.You can suggest all you like. Go for it. I don't sweat the small shit. My life depends on that.My curious mind however.....:)
Shit this moves along at a pace eh?
@ Marcus, jump…

And what frustrates me about media discussions in NZ – at least the one's I've had – is that they are underlied by this idea that it's the way things are and nothing can be done. As if deregulation was a naturally occurring phenomenon or something.

Quite. Things are the…

It assumes increasing revenues from advertising which isn't going to happen, in fact when broadband explodes here it will decimate the local t.v spend.

Couldn't that mean we finally get RNZ but with pictures?

That's plenty outlandish.

Okay, you got me there. But it doesn't/shouldn't have to be.

it's not outlandish to think that the next Labour government – if enough pressure is put on it by the likes of, you know, us – could decide

That's plenty outlandish. I don't think there is a single member of Parliament who wears red with the guts to stand up…

I was just checking out the upcoming Flyers vs Blackhawks game on NHL Ice Time.

Er... upcoming? I think you may have been misinformed!

How is the present system set up for failure? And how is success/failure measured, in this view?

Patience is a virtue,

I admire in other people.

I don't think this is the fault of individual journalists. I know journalists, and they work hard within the very considerable constraints they are given. The problem is structural.

And if there is one person in this country who I blame, it is Michael Cullen, who made the Government's decision…

Thank you. Thank you for saying these things. They resonate with my own thoughts, and prejudices.

How's ice hockey?

Not enough of it on TV. Funny you should mention hockey, though. I was just checking out the upcoming Flyers vs Blackhawks game on NHL Ice Time. Best iPhone app eva!.

I don't friggin watch it. DC can think as he likes about PH. RB can too.It's a democracy isn't it?

You can't watch what isn't there.

Television and papers aren't a democracy. They exist not for the pleasure of their watchers, but for the pleasure of their advertisers.

It's not about indulding in crap in front of the telly – that's what Coronation Street is for.

Hey!

We're still pitifully served by the state television broadcaster, to say nothing of the only available newspapers, and that hurts us.

Giovanni is absolutely right. The state of "public discourse" in New Zealand is abysmal, and it hurts New Zealanders on every level. We're very much used to it by…

You don't have to agree with them but honestly to suggest their personal view needs correcting

That's not such an outrageous suggestion on a discussion thread.

Seriously, Justine came to NZ for a trip in 1995, brought a tape of the TV One evening news back to Italy and I thought it was satire. I took some convincing.

Some Australian friends visited Golden Bay last summer, and had to be told by the bach-owner that the…