This personal question arose on the back of my comments regarding the demise of Radio Live.
Hosts I like and listen to are genuine. Others are taking a pay cheque to be a mouthpiece and channel the chat. It's not hard to discern the difference.
Which led me to reflect on a parallel with MPs.
I aspired to the House of Representatives twice (with less enthusiasm on the second occasion).
My action was driven by my convictions about how destructive the welfare state is.
But many successful aspirants are purely concerned with the machinery of governing and representing. They are practitioners. It's comfortable (though not for the lazy) to assume this role. These aren't troubled questioners. They are cogs in the machine.
But what happens when we have too many cogs and not enough questioners?
Worse, what happens when the questioners turn into cogs overpowered by the sheer size of the machine?
I fear that would have been my fate if I had become an MP.
Word of the day
1 hour ago
3 comments:
"It's not hard to discern the difference."
Even for people who think they're very clever (me) it's difficult to discern the difference. My default is to assume that anyone in the Forth Estate (that term's a clue) is part of The State. The so-called 'news' can be paid in money or favours to stay silent or be on-message on a given political/commercial issue. The 'correspondents' or 'callers' are part of that. The ostensibly ad lib comments about what a Mike or a Leighton likes or where they eat or what they drive are all well rehearsed. Not just anyone can do their job, or be an MP; You need to be in on The Game. You need to be in proper Double Think to do this job. That's why those who can make the big bucks and are retained.
The late Merv Smith commented about this practise a bit...things were different in his era. His career did not survive the changing of the guard. In my opinion, if Mrs Mitchell went to Washington, her system would reject the hazing and socialisation into sausage-making culture and come out disillusioned rather than part of Big Brother.
"Worse, what happens when the questioners turn into cogs overpowered by the sheer size of the machine?"
Think of it this way. Twenty years ago or more the likes of Ian Wishart and George Balani were household names in broadcast journalism. Now they're regular features on the radio *but* only to flog mobile phones and beds respectively! That's what happens, that's what happened.
Having established the brand. " Twenty years ago or more the likes of Ian Wishart and George Balani were household names in broadcast journalism." they then capitalise on the market potential of the product they have become. Which, by most accounts is when they have reached their use by date.
Richard Griffin becomes the PM's press secretary then evolves into the RNZ Board Chairman. High Commissioner for Pitcairn looms large on the horizon for this Fletcher Christian from the world of broadcasting.......
Esteemed journo's Brian Edwards and Judy Callahan evolved into creatures which train the politico's and business highflyers in how to avoid answering the difficult questions and prevaricate about that pain in the butt thing called truth.
The News and the people selling it became a product a long time ago. I'd go back to reading comics, but they have become too expensive.
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