Hard News by Russell Brown

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Hard News: Changing news

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  • Steve Withers,

    The format of the Herald hardly matters. Their editorials in recent days have seen them trenchantly ridiculed in the comments, their credibility as a ‘journal of record’ very much in doubt for many. For example, they opposed plain packaging of cigarettes on the grounds of intellectual property? The same argument being run by the tobacco peddlars. The Herald slammed Julian Assange as one-eyed and self-interested. Similar clangers have appeared in recent leaders. The irony is often overwhelmingly delicious. Will they have any more insight or integrity in a new format? No breath being held here.

    Auckland • Since Mar 2008 • 312 posts Report Reply

  • Bart Janssen, in reply to Ben Curran,

    Autonomic reflex is not the quite the phrase I’m looking for

    Anally pedantic is the phrase I use to describe myself, especially on days when my brain appears to notice the silly more than usual.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 4461 posts Report Reply

  • Bart Janssen, in reply to Russell Brown,

    And when they’ve been kind enough to get us their two star guests, I’m hardly about to rudely refuse to use it.

    Quite rightly too. It indeed would be entirely inappropriate for you to comment on it.

    But it is a bit sad that an institute of higher education would allow its marketing department to use such a tautology. They are after all trying to present themselves as a place where people can become more educated and knowledgable.

    On a closer note to home my own institute is fond of such statements as 1+1=3 or even 1+1+1=10 to imply synergistic responses when combining research teams. While the language may excite the managers and marketing teams it causes severe forehead bruising for the scientists in those teams.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 4461 posts Report Reply

  • Sacha, in reply to thegirlstefan,

    some of the abuses

    Yesterday's trumpeting of transport funding plans is a classic.

    Ak • Since May 2008 • 19745 posts Report Reply

  • Sacha, in reply to Bart Janssen,

    Aspie is fine :)

    Ak • Since May 2008 • 19745 posts Report Reply

  • BenWilson, in reply to Bart Janssen,

    While the language may excite the managers and marketing teams it causes severe forehead bruising for the scientists in those teams.

    You're giving me an idea for a smartphone app. It does management maths - looks like a calculator, but produces much more exciting results.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 10657 posts Report Reply

  • Rich of Observationz, in reply to Bart Janssen,

    1+1=3

    True if plus is a binary string concatenation operator and inputs/outputs are in decimal.

    1+1+1=10

    True in base 3

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

  • Bart Janssen, in reply to Rich of Observationz,

    True in base 3

    Pretty certain our management think base 3 is on Mt Everest

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 4461 posts Report Reply

  • Sacha, in reply to Bart Janssen,

    that's the high-minded ones :)

    Ak • Since May 2008 • 19745 posts Report Reply

  • Dave Howell, in reply to Russell Brown,

    they do ask that people they deal with use their marketing name

    It's all a bit "People's Democratic Republic of X", innit? If you need to ram it down our throats in your name, you're probably not....

    Auckland • Since Jun 2008 • 16 posts Report Reply

  • Chris Waugh,

    Did anybody else see this? (And: Does every radio station do online news as badly as Newstalk ZB?) On the one hand, no surprise. But on the other hand, how are we to reconcile this:

    Trust in media organisations appears to be dropping as a result of the rise of social media use.

    with this:

    "As you might expect, news that they receive via social media is at the bottom of that list, they trust the information from there the least."

    Seems on the face of it to be a tad contradictory.

    Wellington • Since Jan 2007 • 2401 posts Report Reply

  • tussock, in reply to Chris Waugh,

    Natural enough. Social media gives light to alternative perspectives from those of the mainstream consensus. A presentation of genuinely varying opinion makes people see that some of it must be wrong.

    What is wrong is still normally the random musings of the common folk, but not always, and the times they are right tends toward pointing out the foibles of the mainstream.

    It's like "everything you learnt in school is wrong", which lists many untruths taught to school children, but doesn't invalidate algebra, literacy, or the scientific method, and is quite flawed in many ways itself.

    Since Nov 2006 • 611 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown,

    Hi folks.

    THis week’s Media3 is now online.

    We dropped Alec Ross for Barry Colman. Good show.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Lilith __, in reply to Bart Janssen,

    Pretty certain our management think base 3 is on Mt Everest

    They've never played baseball then ;-)

    Dunedin • Since Jul 2010 • 3895 posts Report Reply

  • Lilith __, in reply to BenWilson,

    While the language may excite the managers and marketing teams it causes severe forehead bruising for the scientists in those teams.

    You’re giving me an idea for a smartphone app. It does management maths – looks like a calculator, but produces much more exciting results.

    Sure to be a winner with "creative" accountants. :-)

    Dunedin • Since Jul 2010 • 3895 posts Report Reply

  • Cecelia, in reply to Russell Brown,

    Watched the show on TV this morning and enjoyed it. Very lucid.

    Hibiscus Coast • Since Apr 2008 • 559 posts Report Reply

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