The Reverse Ferrets Have Started

In the media world a reverse ferret is a sudden reversal of an organisation’s editorial or political line on a certain issue. Generally, this will involve no acknowledgement of the previous position. We are about to see the political equivalent of the reverse ferret on policy. The first one to go will be the Radio NZ/TVNZ merger. Sir Peter Gluckman has produced a report on it that says it’s a dog:

Auckland University academic Sir Peter Gluckman, who previously served as the Government’s chief science adviser, has given the planned merger of TVNZ and RNZ a fail.

A parliamentary select committee released its report on a law change paving the way for the merger on Thursday, recommending amendments that are designed to better enshrine the editorial independence of the proposed new Aotearoa New Zealand Public Media entity from government interference.

But Gluckman, who now heads a think tank at Auckland University, Koi Tu, said that although the select committee had improved the legislation, it remained unfit for purpose and “unsafe”.

Gluckman said it was disappointing that the law change would still establish the new entity as an “autonomous Crown entity”, which is a type of entity that must have regard to government policy when directed by its responsible minister.

Stuff

Make no mistake, this is deliberate, and signals the beginning of the end of this policy.

What Gluckman is saying is the proposed merger, which was supposed to strengthen media, actually creates a massive propaganda outfit, directed by its Minister in accordance with the Government’s policy.

While Labour might like to think this is a good thing, eventually governments change and then National or Act could direct this new entity to be more conservative in outlook, and ditch all the woke nonsense, and there would be nothing the clowns in Labour could do about it.

The select committee has proposed amending the public media bill to include a clearer instruction that ministers could not direct the new entity with regard to any “editorial matters” and a clause stipulating they had to exercise their powers in a way that was consistent with its editorial independence.

But Gluckman said “fundamental flaws” remained in the legislation even after the proposed amendments.

In theory it was possible that future governments would have more ability to influence the new media entity through its funding arrangements than they had to influence TVNZ and RNZ through their funding arrangements today, he said.

“If the public is to place their trust in the entity that will replace TVNZ and RNZ, they need to be in no doubt that it is independent from any potential political interference.

“The bill still has a long way to go before that is achieved,” he said.

Stuff

Willie Jackson’s proposed legislation should really be named The Willie Jackson Pravda Bill for State Propaganda.

This will be the first policy ditched by a desperate Chris Hipkins, in a bid to stem the tide of discontent with his Government.

We will see more reverse ferrets coming thick and fast. They think we are stupid and, after a few quick reversals, will forget what they have done. We must not let them trick us.

Chris Hipkins is going to be very familiar with ferrets up his trousers.

Help Fund Our NewsDesk

We are building a NewsDesk, hiring journalists and taking the fight to the mainstream media. Will you help fund our NewsDesk?

• For security reasons, credit card donations require Javascript. Please enable Javascript in your browser before continuing.

Your Donation

• One Time
• Recurring

Your Recurring Donation

• $100.00
• $250.00
• $500.00
• $1,000.00
• Custom amount

Donation Period         *

• One-time
• Weekly
• Monthly
• Quarterly
• Semiannually
• Annually

Your One-Time Donation

• $100.00
• $250.00
• $500.00
• $1,000.00
• $5,000.00
• Custom amount

Details             First Name       *              Last Name       *              Email       *              Address              Address 2              City              State              Postcode              Country             Afghanistan       Åland Islands       Albania       Algeria       Andorra       Angola       Anguilla       Antarctica       Antigua and Barbuda       Argentina       Armenia       Aruba       Australia       Austria       Azerbaijan       Bahamas       Bahrain       Bangladesh       Barbados       Belarus       Belgium       Belau       Belize       Benin       Bermuda       Bhutan       Bolivia       Bonaire, Saint Eustatius and Saba       Bosnia and Herzegovina       Botswana       Bouvet Island       Brazil       British Indian Ocean Territory       British Virgin Islands       Brunei       Bulgaria       Burkina Faso       Burundi       Cambodia       Cameroon       Canada       Cape Verde       Cayman Islands       Central African Republic       Chad       Chile       China       Christmas Island       Cocos (Keeling) Islands       Colombia       Comoros       Congo (Brazzaville)       Congo (Kinshasa)       Cook Islands       Costa Rica       Croatia       Cuba       CuraÇao       Cyprus       Czech Republic       Denmark       Djibouti       Dominica       Dominican Republic       Ecuador       Egypt       El Salvador       Equatorial Guinea       Eritrea       Estonia       Eswatini       Ethiopia       Falkland Islands       Faroe Islands       Fiji       Finland       France       French Guiana       French Polynesia       French Southern Territories       Gabon       Gambia       Georgia       Germany       Ghana       Gibraltar       Greece       Greenland       Grenada       Guadeloupe       Guatemala       Guernsey       Guinea       Guinea-Bissau       Guyana       Haiti       Heard Island and McDonald Islands       Honduras       Hong Kong       Hungary       Iceland       India       Indonesia       Iran       Iraq       Republic of Ireland       Isle of Man       Israel       Italy       Ivory Coast       Jamaica       Japan       Jersey       Jordan       Kazakhstan       Kenya       Kiribati       Kuwait       Kyrgyzstan       Laos       Latvia       Lebanon       Lesotho       Liberia       Libya       Liechtenstein       Lithuania       Luxembourg       Macau       Madagascar       Malawi       Malaysia       Maldives       Mali       Malta       Marshall Islands       Martinique       Mauritania       Mauritius       Mayotte       Mexico       Micronesia       Moldova       Monaco       Mongolia       Montenegro       Montserrat       Morocco       Mozambique       Myanmar       Namibia       Nauru       Nepal       Netherlands       Netherlands Antilles       New Caledonia       New Zealand       Nicaragua       Niger       Nigeria       Niue       Norfolk Island       North Korea       North Macedonia       Norway       Oman       Pakistan       Palestinian Territories       Panama       Papua New Guinea       Paraguay       Peru       Philippines       Pitcairn       Poland       Portugal       Qatar       Reunion       Romania       Russia       Rwanda       Saint Barthélemy       Saint Helena       Saint Kitts and Nevis       Saint Lucia       Saint Martin (French part)       Saint Martin (Dutch part)       Saint Pierre and Miquelon       Saint Vincent and the Grenadines       San Marino       São Tomé and Príncipe       Saudi Arabia       Senegal       Serbia       Seychelles       Sierra Leone       Singapore       Slovakia       Slovenia       Solomon Islands       Somalia       South Africa       South Georgia/Sandwich Islands       South Korea       South Sudan       Spain       Sri Lanka       Sudan       Suriname       Svalbard and Jan Mayen       Sweden       Switzerland       Syria       Taiwan       Tajikistan       Tanzania       Thailand       Timor-Leste       Togo       Tokelau       Tonga       Trinidad and Tobago       Tunisia       Turkey       Turkmenistan       Turks and Caicos Islands       Tuvalu       Uganda       Ukraine       United Arab Emirates       United Kingdom (UK)       United States (US)       Uruguay       Uzbekistan       Vanuatu       Vatican       Venezuela       Vietnam       Wallis and Futuna       Western Sahara       Western Samoa       Yemen       Zambia       Zimbabwe           Phone Number           Payment          Name on Card       *         .StripeElement { border: 1px solid #ccc; padding: 1em; } #charitable_stripe_card_errors { color: #eb1c26; font-size: .8em; margin: .5em 0 0 0; }    Credit/Debit Card                    Donate

Please share this article so others can discover The BFD.