Ralston Addicted to Blogging
I warned Bill Ralston not to start blogging.
Unlike the second-hand smoke, we all get to benefit from this addiction as he now seems to have parked space over at his better half's blog BeSpoke Media Training so that's another one to add to your blogrolls if you haven't already.
Among Ralston's first blogs on the better half's page is one about corporate spin and our friendly DML v Labtests dispute:
Exceltium is a savvy PR company run by Matthew Hooten (sp) and it seems it has waged an extraordinarily effective campaign on behalf of their client Diagnostic Medlab Ltd (DML) against their competitor Labtests NZ Ltd.
Ralston then terminally offends Michelle Boag by going on to call Hooton the "PR Maestro of the Right".
And how about this for a picture. Key floating over Hooton's left shoulder. It should perhaps be the other way around.
Ralston is a wily fox who commenced his career in journalism in 1979 when I was three and so I guess the eternally youthful and bouncy Hooton wasn't much older. Sorry to bring that up, but there is a point to the stats.
This is precisely the advantage Hooton has in creating his vision. He doesn't have to deal with the grumpy, wily, life-experienced cynics such as the Ralston's of the world anymore. The kind of writers and journos that Hooton and myself and those of our generation (who actually read everything put in front of us and thought about it) were exposed to when we picked up the paper or watched the news in our youth. When they were all in their prime and kicking the snot anarchically out of everyone and everything and making noise, throwing chairs in hotels, rooting, drinking at lunchtimes, getting sacked and re-hired and generally having fun when they worked showing passion for what they were doing that is sadly lacking today.
All Hooton has to do is convince these young robotic children that work at TVNZ and TV3 and the more impressionable of the cranky Shakespeare Tavern patrons at the under-funded Herald that he is right and it is easier for them to sensationalise and print or produce what he wants them to and then Bob isn't just your Uncle, he's your bitch.
Those wily old geezers (women included) who can spot shit a mile off before it begins to smell have slowly disappeared out of New Zealand media, some into PR, others into oblivion, sadly some died from their excesses and we are left (odd exception granted) with impressionable children and "live cross" zombies who believe whatever the likes of Hooton spin their way without any original thought, or flair to boot. One of them (Bomber Bradbury) was even dumb enough to ruin their branding and signed up to the Hootonist Charm and fronted the campaign of nonsensical interviews with grumpy patients outside the Labtests clinics.
When you have to rely on Whaleoil and myself, utter bast-ions of right-wing blogging to warn you of the likes of our own "PR Maestro of the Right" and the mysterious brilliance of aura he is creating shooting up in a haze of Bomber, you have to worry that anyone is actually currently awake in the New Zealand media? Or are they still recovering from the bar-tab at the Qantas Awards? From 2004.
Unlike the second-hand smoke, we all get to benefit from this addiction as he now seems to have parked space over at his better half's blog BeSpoke Media Training so that's another one to add to your blogrolls if you haven't already.
Among Ralston's first blogs on the better half's page is one about corporate spin and our friendly DML v Labtests dispute:
Exceltium is a savvy PR company run by Matthew Hooten (sp) and it seems it has waged an extraordinarily effective campaign on behalf of their client Diagnostic Medlab Ltd (DML) against their competitor Labtests NZ Ltd.
Ralston then terminally offends Michelle Boag by going on to call Hooton the "PR Maestro of the Right".
And how about this for a picture. Key floating over Hooton's left shoulder. It should perhaps be the other way around.
Ralston is a wily fox who commenced his career in journalism in 1979 when I was three and so I guess the eternally youthful and bouncy Hooton wasn't much older. Sorry to bring that up, but there is a point to the stats.
This is precisely the advantage Hooton has in creating his vision. He doesn't have to deal with the grumpy, wily, life-experienced cynics such as the Ralston's of the world anymore. The kind of writers and journos that Hooton and myself and those of our generation (who actually read everything put in front of us and thought about it) were exposed to when we picked up the paper or watched the news in our youth. When they were all in their prime and kicking the snot anarchically out of everyone and everything and making noise, throwing chairs in hotels, rooting, drinking at lunchtimes, getting sacked and re-hired and generally having fun when they worked showing passion for what they were doing that is sadly lacking today.
All Hooton has to do is convince these young robotic children that work at TVNZ and TV3 and the more impressionable of the cranky Shakespeare Tavern patrons at the under-funded Herald that he is right and it is easier for them to sensationalise and print or produce what he wants them to and then Bob isn't just your Uncle, he's your bitch.
Those wily old geezers (women included) who can spot shit a mile off before it begins to smell have slowly disappeared out of New Zealand media, some into PR, others into oblivion, sadly some died from their excesses and we are left (odd exception granted) with impressionable children and "live cross" zombies who believe whatever the likes of Hooton spin their way without any original thought, or flair to boot. One of them (Bomber Bradbury) was even dumb enough to ruin their branding and signed up to the Hootonist Charm and fronted the campaign of nonsensical interviews with grumpy patients outside the Labtests clinics.
When you have to rely on Whaleoil and myself, utter bast-ions of right-wing blogging to warn you of the likes of our own "PR Maestro of the Right" and the mysterious brilliance of aura he is creating shooting up in a haze of Bomber, you have to worry that anyone is actually currently awake in the New Zealand media? Or are they still recovering from the bar-tab at the Qantas Awards? From 2004.
posted by Cactus Kate at 12:42 AM
6 Comments:
Most journalists are pretty innocent at the start of their careers. I certainly was but way back then - 1981 - there were senior journos with the news-sense, knowledge of history & current affairs and cynicism to put us right.
Now there aren't many of the older people in newsrooms to show the new ones to look beyond the obvious.
Oh dear. You don't know anything about this lab issue do you? Shoot from the hip based on who is involved and what you have heard from one side - have you ever spoken to the other side? Amazing how a PR company (sorry even MH is not that good) can get a lab to send out incorrect results, not send results, queue incoming calls, mix up M & F, and actually get the DHBs to publicly admit "all the complaints raised are genuine". Tell us how a PR company manages to create genuine adverse events that are reported to the HDC. Move on Kate, this issue is something you know nothing about.
I think 'robotic children' is an apt description of all of NZ's news media. It is, in my experience, the worst in the western world. It is certainly the most gullible and it has all the integrity of a school playground gossip circle. Thank god for the Internet.
Could you put Marius Kloppers (BHP) through the Weldon Index
US10.39 million ($A12.08 million)
Actually I've been reading about this whole saga on the labs in Auckland and it all stinks to me.
And yes I wonder everyday about the state of journalism in this country, it's shockingly bad.
A few weeks ago there was a headline on NZHerald.co.nz saying that a house was destroyed by a storm and lightning and stuff. Turns out on ly a part of a fence was taken out by some wind in the storm. I asked the herald journo about his misleading headline and he told me that the sub-editor wrote the headlines not him.
Disgraceful, would like a full inquiry so the truth can be known. Complaints by membbers of Doctors who are opposed to Labtests own family members.
Ha ha, I remember drinking and playing pool at the shakespear while talking to a mate slagging labour etc, the hairies from across the road didnt look impressed. Fuck em, they should have been at work as permie wage slaves.
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