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| The tools of indepth journalism |
Among the reasons given for the decline in Labour's popularity are concerns about the ever rising cost of living and law and order, in particular gangs and violent crimes (see links below). Labour has, and is, doing a lot about both but the public seems uninformed.
There is also, apparently —and Chris Luxon agrees. Indeed, this might have been his argument repeated in the media— a feeling that Labour's good at talking but not at doing.
What the media has not said is that the drop in Labour's fortunes is also due the obvious bias in much reporting (witness Mike Hosking Newstalk ZB and the NZ Herald), and perhaps, even more important, the lack of any indepth news without which the public has difficulty forming any real opinions based in fact.
Take 1News, for example.
In tonight's one hour programme 13 news items shared 25 minutes, Three, lasting 6½ minutes, were overseas news on the Ukraine, Afghanistan and Northern Ireland, and the last 3, lasting 5 minutes, were light non-political entertainment, on trash in Wellington Harbour, an Auckland choir and a humourous ditch obstacle course.
That left 14 minutes for 7 significant NZ news items.
The remaining 35 minutes were advertising, sport and the weather. I learnt more about the Warriors v. Sharks game than I did about most other news items.
The longest "news" item was 5 minutes on the Budget 2022 which had the making of being informative. but five minutes shared between the Ministers of Police, Corrections and Justice and opposition speakers gave none time to elaborate or develop an argument. I suspect many viewers would, like me, have more questions than answers at the end of this item. The Budget will of course be a news item again but if it is not handled any better we may be none the wiser the next time.
The other news items lasted between 1 and 3 minutes and were little more than headlines. You had time to learn what had happened and who it had happened to, sometimes to learn how, when and where but no time to have answers to the all-important question — why.
What is lacking is a block of time when important issues can be aired in depth, something like the Breakdown programme analysing Ruby games. I wonder whether such a programme for sports but not for the news tells us more about New Zealanders or the media.
There was a time when I thought Jack Tame's Q & A programme could meet this need. This morning's 9am programme (when many people would have been in bed) had a useful interview with the Māori Party co-leaders (who could decide who forms government if the next election results are as close as presently indicated), and on Auckland Council spending, but the other items were "retrospecitve" (on Trevor Mallard's record as Speaker, with negative comments from Sir David Parker the former National Party Speaker) and Don Brash and the rights of free speech. It concluded with a long 10 minutes on US abortion law reforms which we could have done without.
One last word, I remember seeing TV in American Samoa schools in the 1960s. Classrooms were shaped like orange segments with a TV at the point. Programmes were made by the best teachers in Pagopago for viewing by classes and further explained by teachers in the classrooms. I remember thinking what a great educational medium with such potential!
Unfortunately, our news TV does not use a fraction of this educational potential. It cannot even include a insert map on Ukraine news!
-- ACW
Related
https://www.1news.co.nz/2022/05/08/600m-for-police-to-tackle-gangs-more-officers-rehabilitation/
https://www.1news.co.nz/2022/05/08/live-stream-governments-pre-budget-announcement-on-law-and-order/\
\boys behabvoiur https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/128502590/boys-brains-are-beautiful-but-theyre-leading-them-into-trouble
TV3 news https://www.threenow.co.nz/shows/newshub-6pm/sunday-8-may-2022-/122217/M56706-566
1 comment:
Please comment and share. Croz
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