Hard News: Do these people even talk?
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Sport at this level is entertainment and entertainment is big business - what is the problem with government seeding money into NZ business especially a fledgling business like Maori Television?
To put it in context the Rugby Union’s 2008 annual report shows they have assets totaling 73 million – they make 11 million a year off investments alone.
It’s a business! -
Russell, I was hoping for some views
I would hope Russell has something better to do than treat the corpse of a two year old as a hobby horse on the day the poor kid was found, unlike some of the PA commenters.
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[deleted]
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Sport at this level is entertainment and entertainment is big business - what is the problem with government seeding money into NZ business especially a fledgling business like Maori Television?
Well, the government has kicked in about $300 million so far for MTS, and I'm okay with that.
What I'm not okay with is Te Puni Kokiri collaborating with its minister to raid its development money without bothering to tell the rest of the government. (I'm not sure how long Georgina Te Heuheu was planning to keep it to herself ether.)
I'd also like to be convinced that forking over millions of dollars to the IRB is the best possible use of Maori development funding. And that that's better than the taxpayer helping another publicly-owned bidder in the same auction. Hey, maybe it is -- but it would have been appropriate for the case to be made, right?
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the more intelligent can watch TV3 for higher quality commentary,
...Hamish Mackay? Sheesh. I'd rather join the morons watching on TVNZ, especially if Keith Quinn and John Macbeth get to do it. Old school!
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And where was the fat in MTS' base funding that allowed them to find some or all of the 2 million that has been suggested? Would this have meant job losses, or programme cuts?
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The TPK prop is really odd.
A good deal of it seems irrelevant to MTS winning the rights or not. And TPK isn't saying it's funding the bid, but rather the production of programmes (at $1m pa for three years) that meet its requirements. Meaning, I guess, that MTS would be able to repurpose its baseline funding to outbid other broadcasters for the rugby rights.
It's grand, audacious and, hey, maybe crazy enough to work. But TPK really needs to tell Cabinet if it's going to be a broadcast funding agency. And I'd expect an independent review of whether it really adds up. But if this hadn't become news a week ago, it could have been done and dusted two days ago, without the rest of us knowing about it.
I get Audrey Young's reference to McCully being keen to avoid risk in RWC year now.
And I have to say that the partners here are fortunate that they're working with a National government. National in Opposition would have gone mental over this.
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But my goodness, David Farrar is finding lots of other things to blog about today ...
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Oh, and this from Audrey's blog:
But the suggestion [is] that the Government sought confidential information on the MTS bid and then provided it to TVNZ and TV3 - insider trading is the word being used.
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nuts, where's the Obama thread?
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Did he do something?
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The sad thing about this whole saga is that you're right Russell, the development fund clearly isn't for this sort of project. But, Maori TV is the only channel that looks like it belongs to us, it is passionate, quirky, homegrown etc. Whereas TVNZ treat us all like fools night after night - and my Great Aunt Sheila would give a more lively and interesting rugby commentary.
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It seems to me that TVNZ and TV3 did not bid in order to force the price down - probably with the Nat govt's approval (if that's not illegal then its highly unethical I would imagine, which is why they cannot publicly admit to it.) MTS saw an opportunity to grab it from the mainstream and took it. Good on them, I say. But now their actions have forced the govt's hand and they'll be forced to pay market rates.
I mean can one really believe that the greatest sporting event to come to our shores was not going to be broadcast nationwide on free-to-air TV? I cant. The Nats have been caught with their pants down thanks to Pita Sharples.
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Did he do something?
I'm blaming my cold for the fact that I can't tell whether this is beautifully cynical commentary or a genuine query.
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But my goodness, David Farrar is finding lots of other things to blog about today ...
Yes, Russell, and you've been known to get rather pissed when folks call you a Labour hack because you don't post on matters of import (at least to them).
Back on planet Earth and stuff I actually give a shit about, if Labtests could send the results of my latest round of blood work to my GP at some point, I'd be really chuffed. This is expensive tax-payer funded incompetence that affects people's lives and safety.
Did he do something?
How about that Nobel after a whole nine months in office, and a list of tangible achievements that has even his keenest supporters scratching their heads? I'm not the evil Chimpy McBushitler either and haven't declared war on Canada, yet -- can I have a million bucks and a medal too?
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I'm not the evil Chimpy McBushitler either and haven't declared war on Canada, yet -- can I have a million bucks and a medal too?
The best assessments I've heard mirror this - that it's sort of like when the school bully stops beating kids up; they get way more accolades for stopping than the rest of the school ever did for not starting, because everyone's hoping the positive reinforcement will work.
(Alternative explanation: the Nobel committee set it up so they could all get autographs.)
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A S,
Just in relation to
It's grand, audacious and, hey, maybe crazy enough to work. But TPK really needs to tell Cabinet if it's going to be a broadcast funding agency.
and
The sad thing about this whole saga is that you're right Russell, the development fund clearly isn't for this sort of project.
I think the important distinction here is that from my reading of the paper republished in the Herald, TPK wasn't getting into broadcasting, it would have been purchasing a broad (maybe overly broad) range of Maori development opportunities/outcomes.
Achieving that range of outcomes (or even a proportion of the intended outcomes) would pretty much exactly fit the bill for what that funding is intended to do.
>rant<
While I personally couldn't care less about NZ hosting the RWC, the MTS bid did look like a genuine chance for Maori to actually get some domestic and maybe even international exposure in terms of Maori culture, and an opportunity for Maori to showcase themselves economically and socially, rather than continue to be stuck in the tokenistic dancing natives routine that this country routinely pigeon holes Maori into.Seeing the MTS getting shafted by TVNZ apparently to keep the redneck masses happy and ensure that 'teh ma-oris can't make us watch their channel' must be a bit hard to swallow for Maori throughout NZ today....
<end rant> -
I think the important distinction here is that from my reading of the paper republished in the Herald, TPK wasn't getting into broadcasting, it would have been purchasing a broad (maybe overly broad) range of Maori development opportunities/outcomes.
It's proposing to fund the production of "hundreds" of TV programmes to support a venture Te Mangai Paho says it doesn't want a part of. I think they could have told Cabinet about that.
Sharples is now saying some iwi are prepared to get behind the MTS bid. It's a damn shame that wasn't what happened in the first place.
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Did he do something?
Brilliant.
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Did he do something?
nothing more really needs to be said, thanks Russell on the pulse. Craig, you got a whole lot out of my system with that.
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A S,
It's proposing to fund the production of "hundreds" of TV programmes to support a venture Te Mangai Paho says it doesn't want a part of. I think they could have told Cabinet about that.
It is only proposing to do that in amongst a pretty broad range of other things, a lot of which seem to fit the Maori development bill.
The in-fill production mentioned doesn't seem to feature prominently, and to me (and based on the total amount of funding involved and the sheer range of calls on that funding as presented in the paper), it looked more like funding for a few infomercials, which probably goes to show how much I know about broadcasting production.
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Seeing the MTS getting shafted by TVNZ...
I think your beef should be with the Government, rather than TVNZ. I know putting the boot into the Big, Bad Broadcaster (tm) is a favoured past-time that almost rivals kicking the All Black coach every time they lose, but I think you need to adjust your sights here. MTS got shafted, but Coleman and McCully and Sharples are the ones who look like they are playing with their own personal TV channels.
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A S,
I think your beef should be with the Government, rather than TVNZ
When TVNZ comes out and says thanks, but no thanks to the proposed additional cash to put their revised bid in, I'll happily agree with you.
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we now have our government bidding against itself in a rights auction
IRB must be pretty happy.
And here we are again - NZ getting rooted up the anal passage by international Rugby. Again!
Can't wait for the British newspapers.
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I guess TVNZ will turn down the additional money right after MTS does the same.
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