None of the shows that received that sort of financial support and publicity were Charter ones to my knowledge Robyn, that is the difference.

There are many examples Michael of "private" companies being "featured" in this way and this show certainly does not set any kind of a precedent - some funded under the Charter and some funded by NZOA directly.

My guess is that each time a series was commisioned the white PC hetero males at TVNZ who commissioned it were then brow beaten by others claiming the show was a joke and they should be given the chance to make NZ's definitive gay show.

It really isn't anyone's business but you might be suprised to learn that two of "PC hetero males" who commissioned the new show were actually gay.

I do think however that there is more to the latter part of your statement than meets the eye. Anyone remember the symposium that determined the fate of Queer Nation? Some people have very short memories.

Thanks for that Russell. I'm not going to get into specifics here but I hope that things will be clarified about the contents of the show within the next couple of days when we officially go on the record (although even then we're not going to reveal all the details as there has to be some suprises for viewers and this is after all, a very competitive industry).

Once again it's more inaccurate reporting Michael perpetuated by the same rumour mill I'm sure which is suprising for a blog called "Hard News". But I'm not going to bother going into the inaccuracies - except the part that relates personally to me. I most certainly did not learn my trade from Julie Christie - she brought me to New Zealand from the UK where I'd enjoyed a successful career both as a producer and developer and as the editor of two ABC accredited gay publications.