"New Zealand's MainStream Media should take a look at itself and realise a majority of the public don't like it and don't trust it. For many of the people who now work in the media industry, their main concern is to build a personal cult of celebrity around themselves for their own material and societal gain, at least in my experience. Their aim is not to inform the public. Their biased & manipulative opinions are dressed up as 'analysis' & 'fact checks.'~ Auckland University economics professor Robert McCulloch from his post 'NZ's MainStream Media is deeply manipulative. It now wants to overthrow the new gov't..' He cites examples:
- When I argued on this blog Labour had ordered the Covid vaccine late, resulting in the lockdown at the end of 2021, which is responsible for many of our present economic problems, the MSM ran a campaign to discredit me.... NZ for a long time was bottom of about 40 OECD nations in terms of vaccine rollout. I was right about the late vaccine order, and Sir John Key cited this blog's argument in his "hermit kingdom" speech. Meanwhile, the MSM was having none of it. It was in cahoots with Ardern & Hipkins throughout that period.
- Recently Newshub ran the headline 'Brooke van Velden unconcerned by lack of diversity in Government.' The article took down the ACT Deputy who was simply arguing the best person should get the job....
- The NZ Mainstream Media relentlessly paints inequality as a scourge on this country, and being at unacceptable levels. However it is not remotely at US or Chinese levels. What's more, many countries, like the US, are built on the ideal of opportunity, of the American Dream, which surveys prove is real. In a nation where a poor, yet hard-working & smart kid, can become rich using their own ingenuity and product innovations, there will be inequality. Many cultures support this way of running things. Why doesn't our MSM report this view?
- On the environment, our MainStream Media relentlessly supports Green policies. But one cannot ban fossil fuels right now because it would throw a billion people into poverty in India & China who rely on these fuels for heating & cooking. Until an alternative green energy source is discovered that is cheaper than coal those folks must - and will - continue to use coal to survive. However this "narrative" is not supported by our MainStream media. Again, why doesn't our MSM report this alternative not-so-green view?
- Our MainStream Media is now waging war on NZ First, National and ACT, much in the way the media turned on Trump and is presently turning on Musk. Our MSM no longer respects democracy and holds the view our present government is illegitimate.
Wednesday, 6 December 2023
"New Zealand's MainStream Media should take a look at itself and realise a majority of the public don't like it and don't trust it."
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Robert McCulloch's conclusions are all made with faulty reasoning and/or false 'facts'.
The vaccine was not ordered late. It was ordered early in 2021 within weeks of it being passed for public use. Pfizer had limited manufacturing capacity and NZ was not considered a priority as we had no covid in the population. Our success put us to the back of the queue.
The best person for the job should not be made with a one on one comparison. I has been proved many times that the more diverse a group of people is, the better the decision making. It is a flaw that neoliberals fail to understand. The neoliberal view leads to groupthink which is more often avoided with a more diverse group. The difference in individual ability between men and women is very small and the notion of the old boys club is very real and likely to lead to gender discrimination.
MSM is correct about MSM being a scourge. The happiest, most productive people are those in a society with a low GINI coefficient. You can find many studies that prove this and will struggle to prove otherwise. Even the idea of anyone being able to succeed is misleading in the extreme. While it is true that anyone can make it rich it it also true that the wealthier you are born, the wealthier you can become. Very few poor people will make it rich. It is a false dream.
The point about the environment is that anthropomorphic climate change is real. Anyone saying otherwise is either deluded or trying to get rich out of denial. It is clear that reducing emissions as much as possible now will be cheaper than dealing with the consequences later. As emissions rise, the cost of climate change will rise exponentially on any number of fronts. That is what the experts, those who actually understand the science, tell us. The opinions of any politician, left or right, is irrelevant. Economics tells us we must act as soon as possible which means now.
Of course MSM are attacking the coalition. That's their job. They are there to hold government to account. They did exacting the same to Labour. The fact that the coalition are incompetent is hardly MSM's fault. The use of urgency by the coalition is an abuse of parliamentary process. They have passed more urgent bills in 3 months than most governments do in three years, Personally I think that urgency should only be allowed if a super majority, say two thirds or three quarters, of MPs agree that the bill should be debated in urgency. This allows for national emergencies such as the Christchurch earthquake or the pandemic to have urgent legislation as it is clearly critical that legislation be passed as the opposition would probably support such bills with minimal negotiation. Passing a bill in urgency often results in bad legislation. It also bypasses public input via select committee. Almost every bill is improved, usually for the better, in select committee so bypassing this not only denies the public a say but it also produces poorer legislation. Don't accuse MSM of being undemocratic when they are just doing their job. It is the coalition that is being undemocratic by rushing all of its legislation through under urgency.
Post a Comment