Playing Media Dodgeball
March 13, 2022
By NZB3
This headline is fake: ‘PM Jacinda Ardern has filled to have Ryan Bridge banned from all major platforms, and rejects any further interviews with the reporter.’ Someone with such a thick Old Kiwi accent as to pronounce, and therefore phonetically spell, “failed” as ‘filled’ apparently worked it up on their PC then took a photo with their phone. Still, the fact this homebrew meme is going around does make a point.
The Prime Minister’s imperium is chaffing against the demos at the moment; The people are not happy with their Executive Government.
This is clear to see from reading the comments to go with any social media post of a mainstream news item. Whatever the picture, the headline, or even the body of the text says you will find the ‘barometer’ of the people expressing disbelief or downright contradiction. Skepticism, as observed in an earlier post, has become a new object of worship for New Zealanders during this record time of government bullshitting.
Honkler is the patron saint of Stoicism. He tolerates the slings and arrows of Clown World abuse without complaining or flinching and will beat the attacker by suffering more pain than can be meted out to him. He make your arm tired so that you give up beating him and in doing so be triumphant.
Skepticism succeeds Honkler. It’s an active, interpretive, and outspoken rejection of what Honkler passively absorbed. As a culture we were moving toward skepticism as early as 2019 but then something came along to arrest the transition. That was the Covid Hysteria (2020-…) which extended Clown World and the need for Honkler along with Labour 6.0’s term of government.
Now skepticism is back, as this meme (left) indicates, what can Ardern’s Ministry do?
“The dramatus persona of memes has been added to in recent weeks by Daenerys Targaryen Squint and Sceptical Thor Squint. The sentiment on show here is secure, bemused, indulgent scepticism toward power. That’s big. Open scepticism toward power is a real evolution from Honkler’s fatalistic resignation.” – Meet Your New God: Scepticism Culture, NZB3 (2019)
“Every Monday morning for the last seven years I’ve jousted with Paul Holmes on his very impressive breakfast show.” – Prime Minister Helen Clark (2006)
“But no one can do everything. No one could do every single slot that’s available.- Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern (2021)
“In a statement to Newshub on Monday, the Prime Minister’s office said the change comes after a review of Ardern’s schedule. ” – Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern cancels weekly interview with Newstalk ZB’s Mike Hosking, Newshub (March 2020)
One strategy is to pay out the media some $52,000,000 in welfare money which is what Labour 6.0 has done and in turn been the beneficiary of a dream run of reporting.
Another is to combine the already complicit State media organs of Radio New Zealand and Television New Zealand and ensure the ‘right’ people fall into line if they want to find a place in the new quango.
Another is to make sure those pesky comments from the people don’t exist. Stuff News, once the greatest provider of shared and commented content on Facebook, dropped their comment facility entirely some time ago. That other outlets have not just makes one wonder if Labour 6.0 has not met the asking price.
Finally, of course, there is the no-show. Jacinda Ardern excused herself from fronting up to the largest radio audience in New Zealand, on Newstalk ZB, in 2021. The interviews on the Breakfast slot, with Mike Hosking, were getting a bit hot for her. By contrast, predecessor Helen Clark fronted up every Monday morning for the same slot during her tenure. Because Ryan Bridge has also been non-cooperative in the Prime Minister’s spin it is accepted that she will dodge his show on TV3 as well.
Ardern is also a no-show in person as well as toward media interviews. Her appearances in public are sudden and brief because wherever she shows up in public that same barometer of the demos we see in social media comments turns up in person to hiss and boo at her. In particular, Ardern refused to face up to the Freedom Protest at parliament too.
Skepticism Culture is rising once more and at long last. Comedy and Punk-Demolition are sure to follow as we start to build a post-crisis New Zealand. That is, unless there’s any more authoritarianism to come which would prolong the suffering. Surely even this Government has caused enough of that?
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Ref. p249, ZB: The Voice of an Iconic Radio Station (2006)
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