Hard News by Russell Brown

Loved that Get Your Arse Off the Table programme last night. A light and entertaining look at the very serious issue of tikanga which causes all sorts of anxiety, tension and misunderstanding. Should be compulsory viewing for schools, hospitals, businesses, organisations, or anyone anywhere across NZ. (Might need to change the title to get into schools, though).

Should be compulsory viewing

Following your directive Hilary....

It is programmes of this quality which almost make me feel disadvantaged not having a telly.

Toi has talent.

It was great.

Toi doesn't like gettng out of that suit, does he?

Excellent Media Take this year, with Russell and Toi. My students were all abuzz about being part of the audience last week.

Yes, Get Your Arse Off The Table is definitely worth watching, very well-made, engaging, thought-provoking.

engaging, thought-provoking.

and then there's that thing he keeps doing with his hat.....

his hat

A simple, effective, and very well used device for making a point. I also liked the Wai Worry ads. Not so simple, just just as effective.

Loss adjustment…
Sad that Maori TV / NZ on Air (?) can only see their way clear to support 20 weeks of excellent analysis and the reading-between-the-lines that our connected 24/7/365 electronic news and current affairs culture needs – so we’ll just have to struggle through the other 32 weeks as best we can – does any other Maori TV show pick up the slack or take a watching brief?
The ever reliable Media Watch is the last (radio) show standing it seems…
(and__ Q+A__ and The Nation I suppose, but the more the merrier…)

Those who live by the Saud…
Case in point – listening to bloody Guyon Espiner trying to act as an Apologist for National in his ‘discussion’ with David Parker this morning, regarding the Saudi sheep millions bribe debacle… grrr, who now holds his heels to the fire on the public’s behalf?
listen:
http://www.radionz.co.nz/audio/player/201765191

But, but, later on GE interviewed Nikki http://www.propellorproperties.co.nz/ Connors,
and just when we were wondering how much she paid to get on Natrad...Espiner cut her off. http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/201765211/as-auckland-prices-rise,-investors-look-to-other-nz-centres

Fight club, that’s an unfortunate phrase – for anyone remanded in custody. It’s domestic violence. But it’s a remand prision, everyone detained there is presumed to have done something wrong, so it’s less not ok:(

It’s also unfortunate that it takes the use smuggled technology to illegaly film the domestic violence, for it to be taken seriously. Can’t we be a little bit more egalitarian?:(

Fight club certainly packages it as occurring within a tidily defined and dehumanised social caste. The contrast with attitudes to the 2006 prison van murder of Liam Ashley is disturbing. Once the victim was portrayed as a North Shore boy gone astray, the Kiwiblog condemnation of the "oxygen thief" who'd had it coming abruptly switched to a kind of tribal grief.

It’s also unfortunate that it takes the use smuggled technology to illegaly film the domestic violence, for it to be taken seriously. Can’t we be a little bit more egalitarian?

How about "Prison TV"?
I'm sure Julie Christie and TV3 could put a package together, after all, their studios are just over the road from the prison, live feed even.
Imagine, people could watch and gloat at the "Purp" who pinched their car, as he suffers at the hands of the "Felon" that sold him drugs that he didn't pay for.
It would also make the likes of Serco clean up their act to make them look good on TV.
What could possibly go wrong?.

Ihug founder Tim Wood and his wife Sasha, have brought private money and business sense. It’s very notable that the Woods’ $500,000 investment in The Dark Horse has already been returned.

The Dark Horse is also a film that's had a low-key but pretty astute international release -- just getting the basics right, What should be really interesting is how the U.S. release on December 11th is going to go. I'm hoping Fear The Walking Dead is going to be the hit AMC expects, and Cliff Curtis can leverage some attention off that and onto this.

One interesting point on which both Ant and Tom agreed was that the video-on-demand market is undeveloped in New Zealand. In larger markets, it's already a key element of distribution.

Good to see some more coverage on the prisons issue, Russell. I too, have had a chat with those who know MECF well, and the place isn't designed well enough to afford understaffing. Prisons are places with high risks, but not to the point that you just succumb to them rather than attempt to mitigate them in every way possible. Glad to see the discussion about what prisons are for, whether or not the way they operate is what's best for society, and the voices of those who have been speaking without amplification being heard at the minute.

https://www.maoritelevision.com/tv/shows/pakipumeka-aotearoa-new-zealand-documentaries/S06E001/get-your-arse-table

OK, that looks really good from the first couple of minutes watched at work. And even better, I can apparently watch Maori TV from Oz. By the look of it that might double my TV time for the next week or two.