Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
Scoop Feedback: GE Mums, Paul Homes, MTV & More
Scoop Feedback received over the past few days covering a range of topics. (Please note: Our readers correspondence file on Paul Holmes is now closed…)
GE Billboard
Hi,
I take issue with the pervasive banner ads and photo of the GE bill board depicting a "modified" nude woman. That picture would be viewed as offensive in many organisations whose staff look to scoop for news info during the day.
If scoop is truly "fiercely independent" then I expect to see some balance from organisations psupporting a moderate approach to GE.
From my perspective the GE debate so far fails to recognise the real impact of GE on the ordinary citizen. For example:
Reduced prices for a wide range of food and other commodity prices due to more efficiency and less intervention in the development of products
100 years of GE in the development of higher producing sheep and cattle has given NZ its favoured economic status in the world.
The agricultural industry in NZ's highest performance industry sector with more consistent growth than any other sector. That is almost solely due to selective breeding, or GE.
Regards
Tony
MTV Internal Memo On The War
Hi folks,
Brett Hansen, the kiwi who runs a large chunk of MTV has been on a bit of a media tour in NZ recently. Perhaps if anyone was talking to him in follow up to that they could ask him some questions about
http://internalmemos.com/memos/memodetails.php?memo_id=1424
# # # # #
MTV (Europe)Recommendations for the scheduling and content of videos and programmes
Dear all
In the light of the outbreak of war in Iraq in the last 12 hours, our recommendations for the scheduling and content of videos and programmes are as follows:
1. Video recommendations
Obviously, there will be heightened public sensitivity to representations of war, soldiers, bombing, destruction of buildings and public unrest at home. The ITC Programme Code requires us not to broadcast material which offends against good taste or is offensive to public feeling. We therefore recommend that videos featuring the following are not shown at the moment:
war
soldiers
war planes
bombs
missiles
riots and social unrest
executions
other obviously sensitive material
Examples include:- System of a Down "Boom!" - anti-war video containing facts and figures about, amongst other things, the projected casualties in the war in Iraq.
- Aerosmith "Don't want to miss a thing" - contains footage from the film "Armageddon".
- Manic Street Preachers "So Why So Sad" - contains footage of soldiers being killed and man throwing a hand grenade. Passengers/U2 "Miss Sarajevo" - contains missiles, guns and buildings being blown up.
- Bon Jovi "This ain't a love song" - contains war scenes and victims in distress.
- Iggy Pop "Corruption" - contains wars, riots, guns and captions "we love guns" and "we love rifles".
- Paul Hardcastle "19" - contains war footage.
- Radiohead "Lucky" - contains war footage including injured children.
- Billy Idol "Hot in the City" - contains an atomic explosion.
- Armand van Helden "Koochy" - contains an atomic explosion and ships being blown up.
- Trick Daddy "Thug Holiday" - contains soldiers being killed at war.Furthermore, videos with words such as "bomb", "missile", "war" or other sensitive words in the artist or song title should not be shown at the moment.
Examples include:
- Outkast "B.O.B (Bombs over Baghdad)" - song title may offend.
- Radiohead "Invasion" - song title may offend.
- Megadeth "Holy Wars" - song title may offend.
- Gavin Friday "You, Me and World War Three" - song title may offend. B-52s videos.Also, please note that some evergreen tapes contain sensitive videos e.g. until recently, the MTV2 evergreen contained the Outkast "B.O.B. (Bombs over Baghdad)". We therefore recommend that music programmers ensure that inappropriate songs are removed from the evergreen tape for the duration the war.
Please note that this is not a definitive list of videos. Please use the ITC video restrictions database to check each song before broadcast. If you are aware of any other videos featuring the above images, titled with the above words or which may be unsuitable for broadcast in the light of the outbreak of war, we recommend that these are pulled from your schedules.
2. Programme recommendations
Under the ITC's rules, we have two main obligations regarding programmes:
(a) Not to broadcast material which offends against good taste or is offensive to public feeling. For example, no programme should contain:
(i) images of war, bombs, missiles, etc that are likely to be seen as insensitive or offensive at this time (see above for further guidance).
(ii) jokes about the war, about bombing Iraqis, about the American, Iraqi or UK troops.
(iii) comments about the war that are likely to be seen as insensitive or offensive.Furthermore, the content of each long-form show should be considered before scheduling. Scripts for presenters and news pieces must also be treated with great sensitivity.
(b) To ensure that our programmes treat the issue of war in Iraq with "due accuracy" and "due impartiality".
Therefore, we need to ensure that any programme which deals with issue of war in Iraq:
(i) deals fairly with each opposing view. It cannot be one-sided. Both sides of the argument need to be dealt with, and dealt with fairly.
(ii) does not give the view of MTV or the views of MTV presenters.
(iii) does not give facts, or opinions based on facts, that are incorrect e.g. an anti-war argument that states the war is bad because 50 million Iraqis will die (the official estimates are much lower than that), a pro-war argument that states Saddam Hussein should be toppled because he is going to invade Israel (there is no evidence of this). You need to ensure that any facts included in your programmes are accurate, and verified by an official source e.g. an Amnesty International report, a UN report, Reuters news service.If you are unsure about the suitability of a video or programme, please call the Broadcast Standards Managers
Mark
Mark Sunderland
Broadcast Standards Manager
MTV Networks Europe
BTW... I've no idea about the veracity of this memo.
regards
M Robinson
Paul Holmes
This man has reached his use by date, there is a limit to how long we can put up with his thinly disguised bigotry. His style of journalism is gossipy and nagging, if he were a woman this country would have dumped him years ago.
Angi Cuddihy
Paul Holmes
Although I don't think much of Paul Holmes interviewing style, I don't think he should be sacked. New Zealand is suppose to have freedom of speech. If he is sacked then we are becoming a very dictatory society.
Jeanette Erceg
Cheekie Darkie
Come one all you people who were "Offended" By Paul Holmes' remarks! GET OVER IT! He is not a racist, grow up and put more effort into solving the country's real problems.
Nathan Scott
Holmes is finished
Too old and beyond his use by date by far, has to go NOW. He went well beyond any BSA rules and needs his arse kicked out of broadcasting NOW. The station should have pulled the plug on his rantings. What he is pissed about is that Goff made a speech at the UN General assembly the previous night and he wanted to upstage and belittle the government - he should be shot for what he did.
iain morrison
Exile Holmes to deepest darket Africa!!!
Yes I think Holmes should be sacked..he has gotten away with slander before - but this is outright racism and yes snide sexism as well. I am a Waitaha female native, and object strongly to Holmes' arrogant form of journalism anyway...TVNZ has given him the power of a Hollywood star - helped by the NZ Womens' Weekly... but Holmes has obvious limited intellect, and therefore is undeserving of such merit.. SACK HIM Keep up the good work SCOOP...
Lynn Stoddart
Letter to the Editor – Hamilton Spraying
It is my understanding that Auckland's water treatment plant on the Waikato river only removes a portion of the known chemicals in the water.
It's possible that if Hamilton west is sprayed for Asian gypsy moth with Foray48B then some Aucklanders will receive another dose orally, soon if Maf (known to some anti spray protesters as the mafia) has its way. The proposed "Spray Zone" as drawn in Maf's glossy info book has straight lines around its boundary, as if there would be no spray drift period.
Some say it could go 45 Klms in even a light breeze. It is not clear whether they require a resource consent from Environment Waikato.
The affected zone from such a spaying would impact on most of the city through one form of contact or another.Guests to the city will received contact some without ever knowing.
Some of it will wash into the river from Hamilton west and up towards Auckland.
We cannot asses the health risk from this spray because some of the ingredients are commercially sensitive, the ombudsmen decided that it was ok for Maf ot spray a secret insecticide on 15,000 people minimum, their pets, plants, wild life,water supply,schools,kindies, food stores, food vendors etc,etc.
I and many others protest venomously at being subjected to a secret formula drenching from Maf.
This spray action could be in breach of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Articles 3,5,7,8,19. We must have Bio security,ok, but one single insect or organism cannot be the trigger to fumigate a population against their will, primarily to protect pine forests which are the most damaged by the Asian gypsy moth.
As with other specialists, Maf scientists are focused on a small window of reality which by its nature excludes a wholistic view. One that includes public health as a top priority.
Regards Alan Forster
EiE trust
Letter to the Editor – The Current Account
New Zealand’s Current Account is crippling us. The media has never properly communicated to voters the significance of our perpetual deficit – we are sliding into an irrecoverable debt spiral.
Three steps will save us from Economic Slavery of third world proportions:
• A job for everyone – Welfare must be time limited.
• Lower Interest Rates to stimulate capital investment and lower our exchange rate to assist exporters.
• Compulsory Superannuation to mop up consumer liquidity (and dampen down housing prices) while increasing funds for investment.
Constraining internal consumption while fostering growth in the economy by adding labour and capital will lead to an export led recovery and a net debt reduction for our Nation.
Compulsory Superannuation worked in the UK, Australia and Singapore and it will work here. Cullen’s fund won’t work because it is prone to political interference. The scheme must be private.
Yours faithfully
Michael Williams
Scoop
Scoop Independent News
Scoop is NZ's largest independent news source; respected widely in media, political, business and academic circles for being the place on the internet for publishing "what was really said", and for the quality of its analysis of issues.
Binoy Kampmark: The Australian Defence Formula, Spend! Spend! Spend!
Ian Powell: New Hospital Building Trumps ‘Yes Minister’ Hospital Without Patients
Mike Treen: Prices Are Still Rising - It's A Cost Of Living Crisis
Gordon Campbell: On When Racism Comes Disguised As Anti-racism
Peter Dunne: Newshub And TVNZ Tip Of Media Iceberg
Harry Finch: Austerity – For And Against