The Day in Review Oct 1

- There wasn't much consensus on tonight's broadcasters, with Prime kicking us off with the latest crime stats, One starting the night with the mystery of the missing Hastings man and the burnt out car, and 3 opening with a preview of of the ongoing Pumpkin saga.
- One kept the mystery going with a report on a $75k reward for an old murder of a Japanese murder. 3 picked it upafter it's piece on Myanmar.
- Pumpkin's return (and the meeting to determine the wee girl's custody) got a fair hearing on the big two.
- One went on with the Government's condemnation of the National Party's proposal to allow public-private partnerships to build and maintain schools. The indignance of Steve Maharey was well-contrasted by John Key's simple assumption that New Zealand parents just want good facilities and don't care where they come from. Guyon Espiner pointed out that the Nats were picking the wrong battles to fight.
- Myanmar continues to unfold.
- While One wrapped up its opening with the Rugby World Cup (fitting, since Bernie was on board for Wendy Petrie), 3 went with a volcanic eruption off Yemen, and the climate scientists' research into the the shrinking Southern Alps.
- One had a Hannah Hodson special on the half-hour, breaking the story that there is opposition to the Government's Electoral Funding Bill from groups like Greenpeace. 3's hidden gem was a study into the needs and wants of dairy cows being conducted by AgResearch.
- Close Up had Louise Nicholas, Campbell had John Hart and Laurie Mains (not in the same room obviously).
- I'm guessing the news was, like me, struggling to come to grips with Daylight Saving. Thank you Mr. Dunne.
- The Wireless did more of the same, although it gave some credence to the failed negotiations between dock workers at the Port of Auckland and their employer which will see a waterfront strike. Where will the industrial anarchy end?
- While 3 could have claimed tonight's award for its moment of insipid brilliance with the cow study, opening (in essence) with the fact that Alinghi sailor Simon Daubney tested positive for cocaine, not cannabis, at the America's Cup has a strong claim on the supreme annual award for non-event of the decade.
Good night.