Saturday Rant-24 May 2008

Saturday again and Adam has written his usual rant. Three short items this week, as he was pressed for time.

First Up this week

Radio New Zealand web site

Adam is irritated that every time he tries to access the Radio New Zealand web site he has to leave Firefox, bring up Internet Explorer as other wise on reaching the RNZ site Firefox crashes.

This is just not acceptable.

Other sites that Adam comes across do not function as well in Firefox, but the RNZ one is one that Adam accesses regularly so he notices it more.

Adam thinks that this situation is caused by lazy web site design, probably brought about by a desire to cut costs, rather than any inherent bias at RNZ against Firefox.

So if anyone at Radio New Zealand reads this, please take some action to rectify the situation.

In fact Adam is not irritated he is cross, very cross and fed-up with this!!

Secondly

Trevor Mallard

Adam saw Mr Mallard on TV during the budget debates.

It was appalling. The MP employed his tactics as seen in the 2005 election campaign of implying without any evidence that National was the recipient of secret backing.

In the 2005 election he said, but never produced any evidence, that National was bankrolled by wealthy Americans and that its’ policies were written in Washington.

On Thursday he said that Bill English kept looking to the parliamentary gallery for his instructions from ‘big Business’.

His performance was embarrassing.

Why does he keep on with these scurrilous assertions?

How can he be taken seriously?

After all he ran afoul of the law again recently with a breach of the EFA, one of many Labour MPS who have breached the Act.

Why do we tolerate this smear and bully boy tactics?

Thirdly

TVNZ News

What is going on at TVNZ News?

Why was Simon Dallow sent to Wellington for the Budget night bulletin?

All he did was a stand up outside Parliament with Guyon Espiner, which could just as easily been done from the Auckland studio.

Why do we so often have to have live crosses to some reporter standing in a street somewhere, which rarely offers any insight into the issue?

Do the producers have an obsession with outside broadcasts?

Given the importance of Asia to New Zealand why did they get rid of Charlotte Glennie now with ABC? This was especially notable when TVNZ sent Garth Bray to Bangkok to cool his heels and report on Myanmar?

Why spend the money to send him to Bangkok?

All too often the news is padded out with pap and promotion.

Far too much time is spent on the weather and silly badinage between presenters.

Yet TVNZ seem to think that they have a right to media dominance.

Rubbish!