Dear James Dann,
Thank you for your letter. Good to get your feedback about what some people are saying. What part did you think the media played in forming people's perceptions of the likability of Cunliffe, Labour, and their inability to run the country?
I've been following closely the crisis in the Ukraine and see clearly how the Western news media reports expectations of the establishment, embellished to make it more palatable for the audience. So we only get to hear, read and see the anti-Russian and anti Putin rhetoric and nothing could be further from the truth. My epiphany, which came about through following alternative news sources, has made me question my views shaped by 'facts' reported by the news media. This has also made me question the control corporates have over our 'news.' I would bet my bottom dollar that all people reading your letter would believe bad Russia, saviour USA and crazy killer ISIS coming to kill us any minute soon. And what about Crimea and the Chechens is the usual cry? The true stories behind the stories are not reported. In the end the Western rhetoric, served up in small sound bites, as juicy gossip and demonisation of the person is more likely to be absorbed by the public. And the nastier it is, the more the people listen and absorb.
So what I am saying to you is; mainstream news media play a huge part in shaping the perceptions and views of people. If I were a National voter I would be quite happy with the so called objectivity of the news media. However, I am not so I am furious at how reporters spin things, their middle class arrogance, their brainwashed reporting and the power they wield when shaping and forming the opinions of the populace. John Key plays it so well. Calling Greenwald and Snowden losers and henchmen, dutifully reported by MSM, and immediately - 'PM, knows what he's talking about, I understand that language so they are losers etc.'
I don't think Robertson will make any difference to Labour because the centricity of the our news media will make sure he doesn't. I am happy to be proved wrong but I will be supporting another party. Whoever wins Labour will lose people.

By the way do you have a particular bias here which may make you hear 'stuff' that you prefer to hear?

Your sincerely

A person who is so deeply Labour 'entrenched' I changed my mind and gave my party vote to Labour because they dropped so heavily in the polls.