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Two articles in yesterday’s Sunday Star Times broached the sensitive topic of mass-media survival. Both had some points more relevant to a decade ago than today, such has the landscape changed in the period. One piece noted that the government had failed to ‘front up’ with a media survival plan in the budget package announced this week, while both affirmed the ‘important role’ of journalism to democracy. That statement too is ten years, or more, out of date.
Media luminaries today are far too often narcissistic and tribal, inserting themselves into columns far too often, wanting to become part of the story. People tire of that quickly. Having a dose of it is fine, continually repeating it becomes nauseous, and certainly not spend-worthy.
Alison Mau‘s column today is a fine example of why people are no longer paying for her employer’s product, attacking Leo Molloy for the temerity the man displayed in criticising the prime minister this week in announcing his end-of-lockdown party at waterfront restaurant Headquarters:
“The guest list would be ‘100 of my friends’ and included former All Black’s coach Graham Henry, Destiny Church’s Brian and Hannah Tamaki, National’s deputy leader Paula Bennett, Auckland MP Nikki Kaye, Maori Party co-leader John Tamihere, former MP Hone Harawira and ‘band members from True Bliss’.
“Kaye had already shown the good taste to publicly turn the invitation down, saying she would spend the evening with her mum instead. Eminently sensible, given the conversation would almost certainly be of a much higher caliber [sic] and presumably no-one would spew or try to grab your boob on the dancefloor.”
Yes, really. What a shabby, mean-spirited and unworthy little jolt of unpleasantness for a Sunday morning.
It’s not the government needing to ‘front up’ to support such ‘journalists’ in their preferred profession, it’s for them to get their game out of the gutter-bubble of ‘media celebrity’ self-importance.
Just the news, thanks, just the facts. We don’t care what you think.
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