Mediawatch Midweek 30 January 2019

Remembering Rob

NBRs much-admired political reporter Rob Hosking died last week after an illness.

Friends and colleagues will be at the Backbencher Pub across the road from Parliament for a farewell tipple at 5.30 on Thursday.

Among the many tributes to him was this moving one from David Cohen, fellow NBR contributor.

As has been said in many tributes in recent days, no-one has ever heard a bad word said about him  - but plenty of good words about his sense of humour which came through in his writing.

That was in evidence the last time he appeared on Mediawatch after the 2017 election. (He always helped Mediawatch when we asked for a steer on a story or a comment).

During the post-election coalition negotiations the media was thick with reports of a push for a so-called Teal Deal - a last minute marriage between the Greens and National  which would mean NZ First and Labour couldn’t take power.

At the time, several political journalists reported that money might be changing hands to promote the idea - though none would who might be paying whom - or what for.  

Were they playing into the hands of people seeking to influence the formation of the government?

Rob gave us an enlightening and entertaining answer back then - that’s proved to be spot on.

“I call it the 'Sex Pistols Rule'. They had a song called 'No-one Is Innocent' and that should be emblazoned on the wall of every newsroom. Everyone has an agenda. That's not a cop-out for journalists. You've got to evaluate everything on its merits. It is an interesting idea that wasn't happening at this election, but it's an idea that's worth discussing and it will come up again and again."

How right he was. A Blue-Green hook-up is back in the headlines right now.

That was also the only time a guest has referenced the pioneers of punk on Mediawatch, I think . . .

Outing Sarah Dowie

When rogue MP Jami-Lee Ross first told the Herald of his affair with the Invercargill MP Sarah Dowie, they bleeped her name out of the interview and didn’t report this private detail.  

 

Other media followed suit - and took the same line when the now-notorious “you deserve to die” text message was leaked to media.

 

But the Herald named her once it learned she was under Police investigation for a possible breach of the Harmful Digital Communications Act - and other media followed suit.  

Newstalk ZB political editor Barry Soper said "it's not the Parliamentary Press Gallery's job to protect MPs when a police investigation is underway."
 

But doesn’t that open up the possibility of people using police complaints as a tool to guarantee uncomfortable, unwanted exposure in the media.  

 

The prospect of a charge being laid - let alone a conviction may be slim, but the reputational damage will be done as soon as the person concerned is named.

Dowie’s local paper Southland Times had already published pointed editorials criticising her (nbut not naming her) for not fronting up. Today it says the possibility of her breaking the law is serious:

“It is those four words that need to be front-and-centre in public assessment of this unhappy mess.  Police have received a complaint - not from him, Ross says - and must now look into the real significance and sting of the words in that  text message and whether they should trigger prosecution under legislation aimed at penalising those who incite suicide, regardless of whether an attempt is made. This recent law was passed under a National government, with Dowie herself voting in support of it.

Metro / North and South writer Graham Adams was also uncompromising.

 

In this piece he went through her maiden speech to parliament and concluded her professed commitment to personal responsibility was incompatible with her failure to front up.

Four years later, it seems that her emphasis on personal responsibility was merely a handy slogan used to impress her House mates and not a guide to live by.

The day after naming her, the Otago Daily Times said Sarah Dowie's "short-lived political career looks all but over." Two political editors said so too. But why?

Another argument for not naming the MP: her wellbeing.  

 

She has not been seen since being named.

 

We know that her marriage broke up in the midst of this affair playing out in public. There was much debate about the ethics of naming Jami -Lee Ross when media were told the mental health of the person at the centre of the story was in jeopardy.

 

There doesn't seem to be any concern about that now.

Slow TV train coming

Prime’s slow TV experiment Going South seems to have been a minor success.

It was made from hundreds of hours of real-time footage and $260,000 from New Zealand on Air.

Picking up on similar televised train ride broadcasts in Norway and Australia, Prime screened a three-hour version on Sat 19 Jan - then the full 12-hour one overnight.

Steve Braunias liked it:

"When there's too much of nothing," Bob Dylan sang, "nobody should look." But you may not be able to tear yourself away.

Who watched? Night-time talkback callers I reckon.

When ZB’s overnights guy last Sunday asked what people thought in the wee small hours, several elderly callers rang in and raved about it the show.

Mary rang in to say a previous train journey had been filmed in 1988  - she recalled it in great detail I found soothing in a way that the slow TV Go South is supposed to be.

Jane watched the whole thing overnight to factcheck it.

FYI: the 3 hour version is on Prime’s site for on demand vieweing - Prime  is rescreening the whole thing again on Good Friday. Perfect for channel with no ads.   

Headline of the week - no contest.

Kate Newton’s piece about curling world champs qualifiers in Central Otago:

Ice, Ice Naseby.

An ntidote to a week of headlines about heat - and a great pun. 

Great story and pictures too, BTW.