Posts by simon g
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I was going to give Prime a solid silver medal for their coverage: from midnight to 6 a.m. it's only slightly delayed (depending on the event) and has both the NZ interest and a good range of other events. No complaints at all really, for a free network.
However, I've now relegated them to 4th and out of the medals, after they showed the cycling this morning with the sound completely out of synch, and then (worse) continued as if it hadn't happened. Mistakes happen, that's no biggie, but it's pretending it hasn't happened that really grates. An apology would be nice, but ... nah: "it's just the public, they won't notice".
Also minus points for the interviewers, but that's Sky's issue, not Prime.
Overall I actually think they've done a good job. As long as you remember to hit mute when the presenters introduce delayed events and give away too much ...
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A quick note: Valerie Adams will be live on PRIME in her final, around 1 pm.
According to their Facebook page, anyway. Their schedules so far have been ... flexible.
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The wider anti-siphoning debate is already lost in NZ, I fear. There's no way we can return to one-channel coverage (if we had a time machine to watch the Olympics of the 1980's we'd be amused/angry at our passive role, all viewing decisions left in the editors' mighty hands) so it's either Sky or a properly funded public broadcaster with the resources and multiple channels that would meet demand. And that requires a political will that isn't there. Even the World Cups (rugby, cricket, soccer) don't need half a dozen channels.
For insomniacs without Sky (me), the Prime coverage is not too bad. It's delayed, so as with other Sky/Prime sports, you can choose between hiding from the internet for an hour, or following the results as they happen and catching up with olde worlde telly later. I did this for the cross-country horsing, and it was worthwhile.
At least the international commentary (on Prime) is pleasingly professional. A few familiar Kiwi voices (Quinn, McBeth) but they're all talking to a global audience, so there's less shouting, more informing. If you're sick of cheerleaders behind the mike, it's a welcome change.
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This paragraph deserves highlighting:
Although linear TV still attracts more consumers than any other medium, by a large margin – 81% of us watch it on a given day – the biggest differentiator in using alternatives is age. The younger you are, the more online media you’re likely to consume.
81%. And the watchers are older, therefore they are more likely to vote.
So much media/political commentary is people online telling other people online that everyone does everything online now. Then they are shocked by election results.
For a large section of the population, their news is delivered at six on telly, their analysis at seven, and the rest on radio bulletins interrupting the music during the day. And those bulletins (two minutes of punched headlines, no nuances, often just press releases unchallenged) get scrutinised ... well, hardly ever - unlike blogs with far smaller audiences.
Yes, it's changing, but diminishing doesn't equal irrelevant, not yet, and not for a long time.
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But the President played golf with our John! We have influence, we matter! We can get the deal done, can't we?
Well, nobody seriously believes that New Zealand is even 1% as important as Congress in election year, so why do we pretend that we are? Why not acknowledge from the start that the TPP was going to live or die in Washington, and nothing we did would change that. Not even smiles at photo ops.
Local political journos, looking at you.
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Hard News: DNC 2016: Beyond weird, most…, in reply to Dennis Frank,
She resigned because she did Politics 101: the best way to end calls for you to go, is to go. Anything else would have damaged the convention and the campaign (more than already). The job that really matters is not hers.
Anyway, Michelle Obama, best first lady Ever.
(OK, since Eleanor Roosevelt).
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Trump tried to step back from the mob in his speech. Cries of "lock her up" are no longer what he wants to hear - watch his body language when they start baying.
As always, those who first stoke the fires to get attention, cannot then look convincing as the fireman (or to mix clichés: genie, bottle, reap, sow etc).
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Worse (for Trump) than the plagiarism was the reporting of it, with all visual media spending over 24 hours showing a split screen of two speeches – a confident, impressive speaker on the right and a stiff autocue reader on the left. Michelle Obama looked and sounded like somebody you’d want in the White House, not the scary fist-bumping monster who’s been Destroying America.
As for Cruz today, Patrick Gower versus Jack Tame was an amusing contrast for local eyes. One exploded with excitement, the other barely noticed the story. (But then, TVNZ have always been hopelessly slower than TV3 at responding to events, they seem to put the bulletin to bed hours before show time).
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A man has been shot dead by police in Hamilton. It would be entirely wrong to make any judgement about the circumstances of his death, and I am absolutely not doing so here.
I would note, however, that a gun has been found at the location, and this has been revealed today by police within hours of the incident.
As I pointed out in my earlier comment, this is a stark contrast to the case of David Cerven, when the police spokesman refused to answer. Even many days after the shooting. By that time, the police knew he was unarmed, so the refusal to answer was deliberately withholding information.
It is not acceptable for the police to offer only two possible responses: a) there was a weapon, or b) we cannot confirm. If the answer is c) there was no weapon, then that answer should be given. As soon as the fact is known.
To repeat - the issue here is not the circumstances of the shooting. It is the "spin" that follows. It appears to be a deliberate policy, and it is wrong.
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So Tony Blair is the answer? Or Harold Wilson.
I don't think that's what Corbyn & co have in mind.
Let's update the maths, using the calculator:
http://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/userpoll.html
(Bear in mind that Corbyn can't deliver to the SNP or Lib Dems, as long as he supports Brexit. So Labour will need 326 themselves).