Hard News: Extraordinary Powers
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Oh, please please please show The Daily Show and Colbert Report on free to air telly.
*Gets on knees and prays*
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Just as Comedy Central cancelled the two shows, Telstraclear doubled the traffic allowance on my cable connection to 20Gb. So timely.
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Did he just say The Daily Show – which recently disappeared from Comedy Central, along with the Colbert Report – is coming back to free-to-air TV?
Yes please!!! I'll even march for some sanity....if someone organised it... Oh look, they have!!!!
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"But The Daily Show will probably be a real slam dunk on FOUR, now that it's a broader, wider entertainment channel."
How bizarre. I think it's prefect for TV3 - right after nightline. It's some of the best news media analysis currently being made, the best I think for a popular audience, why would you hide it on your 'kids and mindless entertainment' channel?
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And, seen on CNN over the weekend
Love the "donation" of a portaloo 'cos there appeared to be a lack of them for the date of the march!!
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If they get the Daily Show they should get Bill Mahers Real Time. Bill is just as big as Jon Stewart in the US and it is huge pity he isn't better known in the rest of the world. Apart from torrent sites (which are flooded minutes after the show finishes it's live broadcast on Friday nights) his podcast is free on iTunes.
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But back to the point.
Yes I am concerned about NBR being bullied. The lack of investigative journalism is appalling here in NZ. And are the actions - or threats of action - from SFO or Police to publications to let them have the info that the reporter has acquired right? I don't think so. If they can get off their arse and do a bit of hunting and fishing and come up with a slippery eel that smells like an eel, slides like an eel and slithers it's way across the farm, then good on them. We need them.
The problem with the SFO and Police is that they have to wait for a crime or suspect a crime has occurred before they can do something or anything. Having them sniff their way around the country is not on anyway. It does take the fourth estate to do the job that we citizens demand they be allowed to do.
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It's some of the best news media analysis currently being made, the best I think for a popular audience, why would you hide it on your 'kids and mindless entertainment' channel?
It would *be* the news for that channel, which is being shifted older too.
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Bill is just as big as Jon Stewart in the US and it is huge pity he isn't better known in the rest of the world.
Just as big as John Stewart, and significantly bigger in the departments of sexism and anti-vaccine crankery. He's occasionally funny, but hardly a huge gap in New Zealand TV viewing.
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I realise that specifics will be impossible to talk about for the moment, but do we have any idea as to why the SFO went down the heavy handed route if they thought NBR had vital information, instead of trying for an informal chat instead?
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I realise that specifics will be impossible to talk about for the moment, but do we have any idea as to why the SFO went down the heavy handed route if they thought NBR had vital information, instead of trying for an informal chat instead?
Some news agencies have a policy of only releasing such things upon receipt of a formal request - search warrant, court order etc.
Keeps things clean and means that they can't be accused of passing things onto the police.
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And are the actions - or threats of action - from SFO or Police to publications
Just to clear one thing up, this is strictly the SFO and could never be the Police. The SFO, by law, are not acquainted with anything resembling a Bill of Rights right (in terms of self-incrimination or freedom of the press). The Police, on the other hand, are. The SFO can demand any document, and demand that you answer their questions, and refusal to comply is an offence to which there is no judicial come-back. The SFO Act overrides the Bill of Rights Act, both because the Bill of Rights Act says it does and because the SFO Act was there first.
Whatever one thinks of the idea of merging the Police and the SFO - and I personally think it would be a loss of some very significant institutional knowledge from the SFO along with probably a negative impact on investigations into white-collar crime - bringing in limitations in their powers could only have been a good thing. -
The lack of investigative journalism is appalling here in NZ.
You might enjoy this short "and likely unfair" history of journalism. It focuses on TV journalism, but can apply to print as well.
[T]he journalists have given up on their job of explaining the world to us.
Good on the NBR for doing some investigative legwork and getting results. In doing so, they've given the SFO more info to work with, through the article published - now they have to do more of their own legwork, and see if they can make pieces fit. Getting the NBR reporter's sources may help them this time, but if whistleblower's don't feel protected then this job will be easy but future jobs will be harder as fewer people will be willing to come forward, and those that do will spill less beans.Does NZ have any laws protecting whistleblowers?
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Does NZ have any laws protecting whistleblowers?
Yes, specifically the Protected Disclosures Act (2000).
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Thanks, Andre - a quick scan of the Act tells me that they are pretty well protected, so I don't see how the SFO can demand the info from NBR...
EDIT: Never mind, just saw Matthew Poole's post, which answers that question for me.
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That anti-vaccine thing was completely over-blown and Bill - the most annoyed I've ever seen him - defended himself against the misinterpretation of his comments the following week. I found it interesting the way the left attacked him more than the right over this, the self righteousness displayed was unbelievable. He and Stewart are both brilliant interviewers while maintaining the humour (they are also friends). Maher tries less to be all things to all people and does not care who he offends and has incredible guts - hence "Real Time" . Not many people will go on Bill O'Reilly and stick it straight to him. Best thing on TV.
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I'm having trouble seeing what the problem is. The NBR has information that could be useful to the investigation. No sources are at risk.
The comments I've heard from several journalists amount to churlishness over the SFO "stealing" their work.....completely losing sight of any obligation on themselves as citizens to assist in an investigation where - as far as I can tell - journlistic ethics aren't even in play.
Sorry. I don't see any "standing up" here. I see people who could help the SFO better understand what's going on being unco-operative.
There is no source being protected here.....no whistle-blower. Nothing to protect.
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The [NBR] doth protest too much, methinks
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I reckon anyone using the words bad guys should get 18 months in jail and a 40k fine.
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I don't know why, but I started watching more of The Daily Show when it moved to the Comedy Channel. Maybe it was because it was on at a more consistent time (was it?). To be honest I have gone from someone who watches a lot of C4 to practically none. I just can't stand those Laguna Beach type programs and I kinda drifted away.
I think the aiming C4 at a slightly older audience will probably see me watching more of it! I totally agree with the suggestion if putting Daily Show/Colbert Report on straight after Nightline. That would be a very strong combo.
What they really need to do is get HBO channels on air within a few days of them being broadcast in the states. Like Prime was almost doing with True Blood.
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I'm having trouble seeing what the problem is. The NBR has information that could be useful to the investigation. No sources are at risk.
Well, only because the SFO didn't end up requesting information that would have compromised Matt's sources. But yes, I can see your side of it too.
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Just as big as John Stewart, and significantly bigger in the departments of sexism and anti-vaccine crankery.
Oooh! Time for me to link to the Onion: Bill Maher Spends All Night Arguing With Republican Hooker
I understand why he's so popular in the US, because there are very few people willing to say some of the things he says. But he's also a smug sexist douchebag more than occasionally.
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Has the SFO ever heard of the notion that you catch more birds with honey than you do with a vinegar-soaked billy club? You spend all that time teaching children that "excuse me", "please" and "thank you" are magic words and it never sticks... :)
I'm sure we all want to see SCF get fed the whole just desert trolley -- including the NBR. But the SFO isn't doing itself any favours here.
@Danielle: I feel much the same about Stephen Fry when watching QI. Very clever, deservedly an enormously successful and popular chap, but just once I'd like Jo Brand to snarl "patronise me again, you tubby cock-sucker, and I'll throttle you with that hideous tie".
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It does occur to me that the way SCF is now being dealt with through the criminal law is a total failure of regulation.
Letting Timaru accountants start billion dollar banks is like letting Tokoroa car mechanics build nuclear power stations. The Reserve Bank should be involved in any bank to the point where they have immediate visibility of related party lending and the like, and can instantly move to shut it down.
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Just as big as John Stewart, and significantly bigger in the departments of sexism and anti-vaccine crankery.
In terms of influence, Jon Stewart has it all over him. Barack Obama is appearing on Comedy Central - a cable channel I believe - this week, and he's not doing it because there's a big hole in his schedule and nothing better came along. Pulling power.
I've only seen Bill Maher a few times, but he seems to mix it up between "wow that's incredibly funny", and "do you have to be an arsehole?" That's never going as far.
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