Hard News by Russell Brown

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Hard News: Obscuring the News

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  • Ian Pattison,

    Case in point regarding articles from overseas that are not actually relevant to what's going on here: NZ Herald online article about the bank fee payouts happening over in Australia.

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11704205

    Apart from references to ASIC, there is nothing in this article to indicate that it is not relevant to New Zealand-based ANZ customers.

    Auckland • Since Aug 2014 • 24 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown, in reply to James Hawthorne,

    And no doubt make sure the reporting on the illegal wars and genocide in the Middle East is not being covered, not least the ethnic cleansing in Palestine.

    No. It does not.

    Any news organisation can cover what it sees fit. The nature of the Outbrain links is determined by the desire to harvest cheap clicks, not a geopolitical agenda.

    Frankly, it's a dodgy enough industry as it is – let's focus on that. Please don't bring this stuff here.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Alfie, in reply to Martin Brown,

    To be fair, I think NZME has a commercial arrangement with ODT and the ‘byline’ was not actually that – just a reporter’s email for further info. The story was also attributed to the NZ herald.

    Hmmm... I see that the ODT have since cleaned up that story, attributed it to the Herald and removed their own reporter's byline. After it was online for more than 24 hours.

    Dunedin • Since May 2014 • 1440 posts Report Reply

  • Rich Lock, in reply to Robyn Gallagher,

    Yes! I have a friend who writes for the Mail Online and I have learned so many fascinating tricks about how to create good, fun, sticky articles. The Mail knows how to make their trashy entertainment news coverage very enjoyable.

    I imagine this is more or less a perfect example.

    back in the mother countr… • Since Feb 2007 • 2728 posts Report Reply

  • andin,

    the return of the cheese would help

    Cheesus? or is it Cheesus!
    Oh well, there's new lows in human behaviour happening everyday.
    And some people think its funny.

    raglan • Since Mar 2007 • 1891 posts Report Reply

  • Robyn Gallagher,

    The Herald has not let me down. Presenting The maths question dividing the internet. It's a Daily Telegraph article based on a shitpost. It is art.

    (And of course I tried to work out the answer. But I couldn't, which left me feeling really bad.)

    Since Nov 2006 • 1946 posts Report Reply

  • st ephen, in reply to Robyn Gallagher,

    The best part is that having shown how to get the answer that "most people" get, they don't point out that you can only get that answer by swapping the multiplication sign in the final equation for a plus sign.
    (I do know an artist who thinks that if it's OK to say "Let horse = x", you might just as well say "Let x = +").

    dunedin • Since Jul 2008 • 254 posts Report Reply

  • linger,

    Yep; basically, all the article demonstrates is that "most people" don’t read carefully enough. Possibly because they’re trying to skimread too much crap in a day (e.g. that article).

    Tokyo • Since Apr 2007 • 1944 posts Report Reply

  • Steve Withers, in reply to Russell Brown,

    I rarely read either Stuff or the Herald now. They are either so fluffy it’s a waste of time or so brazenly biased (Auckland local bodies vs Bernard Orsman) as to not be worth the irritation engendered. I used to be of the view I refuse to pay for such nonsense…..now I’ve evolved to the point where I simply refuse to even read it.

    I read and listen (and watch) RNZ. I read and donate money to Scoop. I subscribe to Bernard Hickey’s “Hive News”. I put some money into The Spinoff War for Auckland. I’ve occasionally donated money to Public Address when you’ve asked. I’m happy to pay for media that’s actually doing a credible job and doing it with some semblance of intellectual integrity.

    That doesn’t include Stuff or the Herald most days…..with special exceptions for Matt Nippert and a few others. But I’ll have to catch those links on Twitter or elsewhere. I don't see them on the Herald unless they are encountered somewhere other than the Herald.

    Auckland • Since Mar 2008 • 312 posts Report Reply

  • Ian Dalziel,

    Stuff or the Herald

    Post-merger, will it be Sterald or Huff ?
    or just Me-Fax ...

    Christchurch • Since Dec 2006 • 7953 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown,

    This just in: an NZME and Fairfax update:

    Subject to fulfillment of the conditions under the agreement (including approval from the New Zealand Commerce Commission) (“NZCC”), the merger will be effected by a wholly owned subsidiary of NZME acquiring all of the shares in Fairfax NZ, in consideration for which NZME will pay NZ$55 million in cash and issue NZME shares to Fairfax Corporation Pty Limited (“Fairfax Australia”), a wholly owned subsidiary of Fairfax, equal to a 41% shareholding in NZME.

    This is a big shift from the original proposal, in which Fairfax took 51%.

    NZME and Fairfax have undertaken a review of expected transaction synergies, and as a result of this review, expect that the combined business could generate significant synergies. It is expected that realisation of the synergies will require one-off costs to be incurred by the combined business.

    Translation: brace for redundancies.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Rich of Observationz,

    I'm assuming they be closing one of the Star Times or the Herald On Sunday within weeks of the merger completing.

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

  • Rich of Observationz, in reply to st ephen,

    Of course you can say let x = + assuming that you allow lambdas. (I refrained from the original clickbait so I have no idea of the context).

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

  • Russell Brown, in reply to Rich of Observationz,

    I’m assuming they be closing one of the Star Times or the Herald On Sunday within weeks of the merger completing.

    I suspect the Sunday News is the most vulnerable, with the HoS going even more tabloidy.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown,

    I should note that Fairfax staff have been concerned that what looked like a merger is tilting towards an NZME takeover – and today’s announcement won’t do anything to ease those fears.

    NZME’s big advantage is the profitable radio network.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Rich of Observationz, in reply to Russell Brown,

    Is that because radio sells lots of advertising, or because it's really cheap to make - all you need is a couple of fuckwits in a studio and a grateful government that lets you off the license fees? (or smiles on you repurposing an iwi or other public benefit frequency).

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

  • Nik Dirga,

    This definitely reads like balance has tipped away from an equal parternship to Fairfax getting absorbed into NZME.

    Auckland • Since Jan 2009 • 26 posts Report Reply

  • Rich of Observationz,

    So on this story the subbing computer/serf obviously screwed up and failed to remove location information from the lede.

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

  • B Jones,

    "What happens next will move you to tears."

    I wouldn't go that f.....Oh. I see what you did there.

    There's a lot of repackaged content going on as well. I've read several times over the last few months about that poor chap who died of methanol poisoning after having a cocktail in a badly-regulated holiday spot. He's popped up again today under a totally different headline, with no obvious additional news value as far as I can tell.

    It's the sort of thing junk-advocacy channels do - you think people are dropping like flies over a particular accident or place or product, but when you look at it closely it turns out to be the same scandal, written about in a slightly different way. The effect is to make it look as if the problem is bigger than it is. It's a bit of a funny thing for a mainstream news channel to do.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 976 posts Report Reply

  • oga,

    Living overseas and consuming news through the respective iPhone apps for Stuff & NZHerald, I frequently wondered whether that was seriously the news for the day,. It's really hard to see new news if you're using the app. Obviously the app toploads with the same popular articles as the homepage, but there's no option to see an actual feed of real news. I know that there must be more articles published daily but if you regularly use the app, it looks like NZ is so quiet only 3-5 new articles are published on the apps, which are promoting the same top 10 articles as the previous day etc....

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 47 posts Report Reply

  • Ben Austin,

    I've also noticed this and have largely stopped reading the Herald or Stuff for this reason. That being said, they don't really need to care what I think, as I'm overseas and I don't buy the paper copy, or buy the products they advertise.

    The UK papers have a bit more variety and so it isn't so bad, but the Independent (digital only now sadly) sounds a lot like the Herald.

    London • Since Nov 2006 • 1027 posts Report Reply

  • Rich Lock, in reply to Ben Austin,

    the Independent (digital only now sadly) sounds a lot like the Herald.

    I followed the indy for a while on facebook a year or two ago - most of the major papers in the UK 'stream' headlines into your news feed. I specifically stopped following the indy because every single headline was crafted in a 'one weird trick, and you won't believe what happened next!' style.

    back in the mother countr… • Since Feb 2007 • 2728 posts Report Reply

  • Sacha, in reply to Ian Dalziel,

    F-Me

    Ak • Since May 2008 • 19745 posts Report Reply

  • Stephen Judd, in reply to st ephen,

    (I do know an artist who thinks that if it's OK to say "Let horse = x", you might just as well say "Let x = +").

    Maybe your artist has been studying the lambda calculus and knows that arithmetic operations are just functions that themselves can be terms...

    [update] Goddamit I just saw Rich beat me to it and won the nerd-off.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 3122 posts Report Reply

  • Stephen Judd, in reply to oga,

    Living overseas and consuming news through the respective iPhone apps for Stuff & NZHerald, I frequently wondered whether that was seriously the news for the day,. It's really hard to see new news if you're using the app.

    Suggestion: use a feed reader like Feedly and subscribe to the relevant RSS feeds.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 3122 posts Report Reply

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