It is a terrible thing for a man to find out suddenly that all his life he has been speaking nothing but the truth

Maybe I'm being petty - no, no maybe, I am - but it's recently come to my attention that me and my team (okay, my bosses and their team) really need to boost our profile.

It's more a case of what tabs our esteemed bloggers look at, but last week I stumbled across a presentation by the Treasury secretary which I dutifully wrote up.

We splashed it across the wire and Stuff and the Herald picked it up - no probs there.

Imagine my consternation the following day when I see not only Danyl, but DPF (he who knows all) attributed it as a Herald report. Hmph. I couldn't handle three hours on the Herald, let alone be a part of their politics press team.

I'm still a baby after all.....

Anyways, the curious aspect is that it was up the previous day on both the Herald and Stuff business tabs - my favourite bloggers only picked up on it 'cos the Herald ran it in its political tab too - hence the attribution (I'm looking for any excuse to excuse 'em).

Still, it would've been nice if it was "BusinessWire reported".....

Oh woe is me - will I only ever be taken seriously by the blogging world if I make it into the politcal realm......?

PB.

(Anyone know why Whitehead's out in the trenches rallying the troops....? I for one would love to see an uprising by senior executives and board directors in the coming year..... the streets would run red with Central Otago pinot noir.... 'twould be beautiful....)

Flights of fancy - I've seen 145 out of 239 films

To prove that I don't just spend my days reading blogs (and not writing my own), I've stolen DPF's facebook theft and put it up here.

(Okay - so maybe I actually wanted to see how many crap movies I've watched - there are a lot.)

(x) Rocky Horror Picture Show
(x) Grease
(x) Pirates of the Caribbean
(x) Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man’s Chest
(x) Boondock Saints
(x) Fight Club
( ) Starsky and Hutch
( ) Neverending Story
(x) Blazing Saddles
(x) Airplane (Flying High)
Total: 8

(x) The Princess Bride
(x) AnchorMan
(x) Napoleon Dynamite
(x) Labyrinth
(x) Saw
( ) Saw II
( ) White Noise
( ) White Oleander
(x) Anger Management
(x) 50 First Dates
( ) The Princess Diaries
( ) The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement
Total so far: 15

(x) Scream
(x) Scream 2
(x) Scream 3
(x) Scary Movie
(x) Scary Movie 2
(x) Scary Movie 3
( ) Scary Movie 4
(x) American Pie
(x) American Pie 2
(x) American Wedding
( ) American Pie Band Camp
Total so far: 24

(x) Harry Potter 1
(x) Harry Potter 2
(x) Harry Potter 3
(x) Harry Potter 4
(x) Harry Potter 5
(x) Resident Evil 1
(x) Resident Evil 2
(x) The Wedding Singer
( ) Little Black Book
( ) The Village
(x) Lilo & Stitch
Total so far: 33

(x) Finding Nemo
(x) Finding Neverland
(x) Signs
(x) The Grinch
(x) Texas Chainsaw Massacre
( ) Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
( ) White Chicks
(x) Butterfly Effect
( ) 13 Going on 30
( ) I, Robot
( ) Robots
Total so far: 39

( ) Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
(x) Universal Soldier
(x) Lemony Snicket: A Series Of Unfortunate Events
(x) Along Came Polly
( ) Deep Impact
(x) KingPin
(x) Never Been Kissed
(x) Meet The Parents
(x) Meet the Fockers
( ) Eight Crazy Nights
( ) Joe Dirt
( ) KING KONG
Total so far: 46

(x) A Cinderella Story
( ) The Terminal
( ) The Lizzie McGuire Movie
( ) Passport to Paris
(x) Dumb & Dumber
( ) Dumber & Dumberer
(x) Final Destination
( ) Final Destination 2
( ) Final Destination 3
(x) Halloween
(x) The Ring
(x) The Ring 2
( ) Surviving X-MAS
(x) Flubber
Total so far: 53

( ) Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
(x) Practical Magic
(x) Chicago
( ) Ghost Ship
(x) From Hell
(x) Hellboy
(x) Secret Window
( ) I Am Sam
(x) The Whole Nine Yards
( ) The Whole Ten Yards
Total so far: 59

(x) The Day After Tomorrow
(x) Child’s Play
( ) Seed of Chucky
(x) Bride of Chucky
(x) Ten Things I Hate About You
(x) Gothika
(x) Nightmare on Elm Street
(x) Sixteen Candles
(x) Remember the Titans
( ) Coach Carter
(x) The Grudge
(x) The Grudge 2
(x) The Mask
( ) Son Of The Mask
Total so far: 70

(x) Bad Boys
( ) Bad Boys 2
( ) Joy Ride
( ) Lucky Number Slevin
(x) Ocean’s Eleven
(x) Ocean’s Twelve
(x) Bourne Identity
(x) Bourne Supremecy
( ) Lone Star
(x) Bedazzled
(x) Predator I
(x) Predator II
( ) The Fog
( ) Ice Age
( ) Ice Age 2: The Meltdown
( ) Curious George
Total so far: 78

(x) Independence Day
( ) Cujo
( ) A Bronx Tale
( ) Darkness Falls
(x) Christine
(x) ET
(x) Children of the Corn
( ) My Bosses Daughter
( ) Maid in Manhattan
( ) War of the Worlds
(x) Rush Hour
(x) Rush Hour 2
Total so far: 84

( ) Best Bet
(x) How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
(x) She’s All That
( ) Calendar Girls
( ) Sideways
(x) Mars Attacks
( ) Event Horizon
(x) Ever After
(x) Wizard of Oz
(x) Forrest Gump
(x) Big Trouble in Little China
(x) The Terminator
(x) The Terminator 2
( ) The Terminator 3
Total so far: 93

(x) X-Men
(x) X-2
(x) X-3
(x) Spider-Man
(x) Spider-Man 2
( ) Sky High
( ) Jeepers Creepers
( ) Jeepers Creepers 2
(x) Catch Me If You Can
( ) The Little Mermaid
(x) Freaky Friday
( ) Reign of Fire
(x) The Skulls
(x) Cruel Intentions
( ) Cruel Intentions 2
() The Hot Chick
(x) Shrek
( ) Shrek 2
Total so far: 103

( ) Swimfan
( ) Miracle on 34th street
(x) Old School
( ) The Notebook
( ) K-Pax
( ) Krippendorf’s Tribe
( ) A Walk to Remember
( ) Ice Castles
( ) Boogeyman
(x) The 40-year-old Virgin
Total so far: 105

(x) Lord of the Rings Fellowship of the Ring
(x) Lord of the Rings The Two Towers
(x) Lord of the Rings Return Of the King
(x) Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
(x) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
(x ) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Total so far: 111

( ) Baseketball
( ) Hostel
(x) Waiting for Guffman
(x) House of 1000 Corpses
( ) Devils Rejects
( ) Elf
(x) Highlander
(x) Mothman Prophecies
(x) American History X
( ) Three
Total so Far: 116

(x) The Jacket
( ) Kung Fu Hustle
( ) Shaolin Soccer
(x) Night Watch
( ) Monsters Inc.
( ) Titanic
(x) Monty Python and the Holy Grail
(x) Shaun Of the Dead
( ) Willard
Total so far: 120

( ) Club Dread
(x) Hulk
( ) Dawn Of the Dead
(x) Hook
( ) Chronicles Of Narnia The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe
( ) 28 days later
( ) Orgazmo
( ) Phantasm
(x) Waterworld
Total so far: 123

(x) Kill Bill vol 1
(x) Kill Bill vol 2
(x) Mortal Kombat
( ) Wolf Creek
( ) Kingdom of Heaven
(x) The Hills Have Eyes
( ) I Spit on Your Grave aka the Day of the Woman
( ) The Last House on the Left
( ) Re-Animator
(x) Army of Darkness
Total so far: 128

(x) Star Wars Ep. I The Phantom Menace
(x) Star Wars Ep. II Attack of the Clones
(x) Star Wars Ep. III Revenge of the Sith
(x) Star Wars Ep. IV A New Hope
(x) Star Wars Ep. V The Empire Strikes Back
(x)Star Wars Ep. VI Return of the Jedi
(x) Ewoks Caravan Of Courage
(x) Ewoks The Battle For Endor
Total so far: 136

(x) The Matrix
(x) The Matrix Reloaded
(x) The Matrix Revolutions
( ) Animatrix
(x) Evil Dead
(x) Evil Dead 2
(x) Team America: World Police
(x) Red Dragon
(x) Silence of the Lambs
(x) Hannibal
Total so far: 145

Curses - beaten by Farrar again...

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times

Like Luddite Journo and Applebyline, I've been going crazy this week.

The baby journos have been hitting the hustings chasing politicos and pundits with our election week special at NewsWire.

A glut of stories means we haven't been starved for content, and we're capping it off with live updates all night as we monitor the eleciton.

Check it out - we've got some great stories. My pick would be LJ's muzzling of the National Party candidates - I'm surprised that didn't come out earlier.

I certainly haven't been short of a story, and you should definitely check me out - I need every plug I can get. I've chatted with Don Brash, Oliver Driver, secret insiders, Chris Trotter, and David Farrar and Marian Simms to name a few.

Oh, and I've also been pretending to be a full-grown journo, writing content on ShareChat every morning. If you ever need someone to blag about the fluctations in the NZ dollar, I'm your man.

Hope y'all had a happy election day - I know I did.

PB.

Democracy encourages the majority to decide things about which the majority is ignorant.

Thank you Colin James - thank you very much.

It seems that unlike the majority of pundits, Mr James picked up on the fact that National's campaign pledge for a referendum on MMP is actually major news.

When the Nats put out their ten election pledges (August 3 - a Sunday), RNZ jumped on to the MMP aspect, as did Stuff and the Herald. Some superficial coverage followed, but no-one actually asked any questions about why they were pursuing the referendum, and why Jonkey was the under the assumption that "the country may well vote MMP out but I think they will vote in another proportional system," (my emphasis). Supplementary Member was later touted as a possible replacement, and while DPF gave us a fairly good comparison with MMP, Idiot/Savant shot it down pretty quickly.

My point is - the only people who seem to be railing against MMP are the same reactionaries who railed against it when it was voted in, and have railed against it ever since. People like Garth George.

Everyone I know (and I am aware I'm a weekend socialist) seems to be rather fond of MMP. In fact, some go as far to say that they actually like the fact that gummints can't ram through legislation willy-nilly as they could in yesteryear.

I'm no constitutional expert, I leave that to Palmer and Son, but there's something inherently wrong with either major party lobbying for a less representational system (and we all know both would love to see a return to the glory days).

Like most of my peers (unfortunately I fall into Gen Y), I can't really remember the glorious years of unbridled power, and that (ironically) makes me slightly more cynical than James, who seems to think the public has been well-served by the Fourth Estate and can make an informed decision on most matters:

So Key's self-serving referendum may actually be superfluous. The electorate is wiser than he credits it. It owns the party system and is working out how many parties it wants in Parliament.

I don't think so.

One of my guilty pleasures is listening to talkback radio, and while I think it has enormous potential in offering the wider populace a platform for their opinions and the ability to debate the issues (much like blogging), it usually falls well short, degenerating into the cynical sensationalist broadcasting that attracts the lowest common denominator, and often becomes a strong indicator of public sentiment - it's why the powers that be keep an eye on the watchmen.

If this is the case and Mr Key's assumption is correct, as George Bernard Shaw wrote, we shall be governed no better than we deserve.

The lady doth protest too much, methinks

Taking DPF's advice, I aim to do this in under 30 minutes.

Tory hack writes:

The Sunday Star-Times best efforts to re-elect the Government continue. They try a double header today.

Socialist hack writes:

Tracey Watkins is said by some of her colleagues to be spending an ‘unseemly’ about of time hanging out in John Key’s office, she’s certainly spent enough time at National HQ recently to get similar with the wall hangings. So, it’s fairly safe to say we know where her loyalties lie, and it’s not with journalistic independence.

Baby hack hopes partisan communication specialists who engage in tit-for-tat games on the interwebs recognise irony.

To all the blogs I've loved before.

When I read Vernon Small's blog on blogging and journalism this morning I pegged it as rant worthy for later in the day. Unfortunately, being a baby journo, I hit the bar with some of my classmates instead, and now I've found every half decent (yes, it's an exaggeration) blogger has already covered it in much greater depth than I would have. So instead of reading my rants and raves, check out Dim, DPF, Idiot/Savant and Adam Smith, and make sure you wade through the comments too. My 2c go to Dim, purely because I/S sounded way too smart for me at this time of a Friday night.

Oh, and check this out on stuff, it's the best news for a poor beleagured (rich) girl in a long time (hey someone's gotta have a soft spot for the gal).

REDUX: Thank the blogging gods for this thread! It's finally given Queen Bee the opportunity to write something worth reading - something she's been struggling to do for quite some time (it's all Winston's fault naturally). Her coverage of Georgia is keeping me optimistic...

Stuffs' subs seize the day

Just noticed the Speaker's quote on my previous post that had been dutifully copied and pasted had a typo - "impolications" instead of implications.

It was a breaking story and the need to beat out Herald (and more importantly, DPF) was high, so the little glitch is forgiven, especially when all was rectified by the time I hit refresh.

Well done Stuff subs - it almost makes up for the dismal showing by your spokesman on the latest installment of Mediawatch.

Almost.

The Day in Review Sept 13

- Prime bucked the trend by leading with Damien O'Connor's humble return to Parliament where he offered his most sincere apologies for being rather dim. No-one else was too interested by DO'C anymore.
- Because the SIS decided Ahmed Zaoui wasn't that much of a risk anymore, and decided to leave him be. We got Zaoui's history, the background of the case, a few more tidbits that hadn't been released to the public, and an assertion that he had put any dodgy dealings behind him, swearing on the Qur'an. The PM wasn't saying too much, aside from the fact that she was confident in Warren Tucker's ability as the Director of the SIS. Winston was none too pleased, as he, unlike many other MPs, hadn't read the memo that circulated last night. As our wonderful networks tend to do, the story went into overkill, with Deborah Manning having much to say, but Amnesty was strangely silent (despite them issuing a press release and attending the hoopla).
- 3 threw in a couple of Asian P convictions and an earthquake in Indonesia into its opening segment before moving on to the RWC. One waited until it had lauded Leighton Smith (an effort in itself) for talking to a woman in the midst of a suicide attempt; reported on an inquiry into a parolee who committed a little violent crime (what's murder between friends); and ran a piece on a police pursuit, before getting into Portugal's chances against the All Blacks.
- The depositions hearing for the Edgeware Road hit and run got a little coverage, and 3 went on about Professor Keith Woodford's book on the evils A1 milk while One talked about the 1080 protesters threatening to unleash the dogs on poor unsuspecting kiwi, otherwise it was more on the McCanns.
-Apparently the Reserve Bank held the OCR as is, but you wouldn't really know.
- The wireless ran with Zaoui. Nat Radio for (sorry, RNZ). NewstalkZB against. David Farrar probably had the most sensible thing to say about it on his blog (I see the irony).
- Campbell and Close Up played milk and Zaoui tag, with John having a wonderul conversation with Ahmed and his fesity, yet lovely and attractive, lawyer Deb before talking hard and fast about the dangers of milk with Professor Woodford. Sainsbury did it in reverse.
- I'm sure I had an insipid moment, but really, the saddest thing I saw today was on the New Zealand Herald's web-site (usually a fine place to find news, despite the typos) where Simon Cowell's comment that Britney's career was over made today's top ten stories. Lamentations abound.
Good night.