General
« Previous EntriesSupreme Court weighs in on name suppression
Thursday, May 16th, 2024Name suppression decisions can be tough sometimes. No matter your views on free speech, you have to be hard-hearted not to be torn by the tug of the competing arguments. I think you can feel the Supreme Court wrestling with that in M v The King. The case for suppression The appellant’s offending happened when […]
Media Council seeking new members
Thursday, November 11th, 2021I’ve been asked to post the following ad. If you are pillar of the community type, and interested in both free speech and media accountability, this could be for you. NEW ZEALAND MEDIA COUNCIL Public Member Appointment Do you have a passion for News and Current Affairs? Do you have an interest in Media Standards? […]
Climate action
Wednesday, July 7th, 2021This isn’t about media law. It is much more important. Lawyers for Climate Action NZ is seeking judicial review of the Climate Change Commission’s recommendations. It argues that the recommended cuts are not enough to contribute to keeping warming to 1.5 degrees as we’ve pledged to do in the Paris Accord. It also alleges that […]
Farewell Guyon
Tuesday, May 7th, 2019I’m sorry to see Guyon depart the presenter’s chair on RNZ’s Morning Report. I think he’s one of the best interviewers RNZ has ever had. He is well-informed, thoughtful and persistent. He consistently asks good questions and presses for answers. He is fearlessly independent. And I salute his use of te reo Maaori, which always […]
Hearing into Hit & Run book
Monday, November 19th, 2018The government inquiry set up to look at the allegations in Nicky Hager and Jon Stephenson’s book “Hit & Run” is holding a public hearing this week. This particular hearing won’t go into the allegations themselves: it’s about the process for running the inquiry. How will it deal with confidential or classified information? (For example, […]
Privacy lecture coming up
Friday, November 17th, 2017Dr Nicole Moreham is giving a public lecture on privacy on November 28. She is the shit. Details below. Can we have some privacy? The last decade has seen an explosion in social media, intrusive technologies and media competition all of which are putting pressure on privacy like never before. In this talk, Victoria University’s […]
BSA and ASA to political parties: “sure, lie all you like”
Thursday, September 21st, 2017When I first saw the National Party’s blatantly misleading “Let’s Tax This” ad, I thought: the Advertising Standards Authority would have to uphold a complaint about this one. And if the ad is broadcast on TV or radio, the Broadcasting Standards Authority will have to as well. Not that I think that complaints against political ads […]
What to know what’s happening in Charlottesville?
Friday, August 18th, 2017Do yourself a favour and watch this.
Check this out
Wednesday, August 16th, 2017The Spinoff has a terrific tool that lets you see and compare the leading parties’ election policies. You can tick your favourites and then see which way you lean based on your policy choices. It is beautifully done. It almost makes you feel as if we’re living in a democracy where people choose the party […]
Hammering the MC
Friday, August 11th, 2017Mike Hosking for TVNZ election debate moderator? Doesn’t look like many would vote for him, even though he’s the best person for the job according to a very well-placed source. The problem is obvious. He is, in fact, biased. Apparently this doesn’t concern TVNZ, which seems remarkable right there. On the other hand, as Bill […]
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