Filed under: Journalism | Tags: Advertisements, Cessna, Google, insensitivity, Journalism, Media, New Zealand, plane crash, Stuff, Whenuapai Air base
A plane crashes at Whenuapai Airbase, two die. Stuff.co.nz run a brief story. Is it just me or is the advert below the story a little insenstive to the victims. Perhaps not as insensitive as the web media’s requests for “bad weather” footage after the Elim school tragedy, but it is another example of poor taste in internet reporting. This time the fault appears to be google’s fault, who I assume provide adverts considered relevant to the story. (more…)
Filed under: Philosophy, Science, religion | Tags: Biology, Creationism, Darwinism, Evolution, Expelled, Gaps, God, Humanity, Intelligent Design, Science
Apparently there is some film entitled “expelled” that seeks to illustrate how the scientific community are keeping the Intelligent Design movement from debating evolution on public. I have not seen the film, do not really wish to, as it can only be the type of damage control publicity stunt we have come to expect from ID proponents. ID has been dismissed by far more qualified people then myself, but clearly these people are not listening. It really is quite simple, there’s not much to not understand. So let me kindly give the ID fans the answer as to why no one takes them seriously. (more…)
Filed under: Journalism, Philosophy, Quotes, religion | Tags: An outline of Intellectual Rubbish, Anger, Bertrand Russell, Bias, Ian Wishart, Impartiality, Investigate, Investigative Journalism, Journalism, Objectivity, Pity
Yes, more Russell. I did say I would have more of old Bertrand, but I didn’t expect it to be so soon. But I had too. Whilst reading Ian Wishart’s response to a comment I made on a blog, I actually felt pity for him. Immediately I could relate to a passage I had read from Bertrand Russell’s An Outline of Intellectual Rubbish
“…If, like most of mankind, you have passionate convictions on many such matters, there are ways in which you can make yourself aware of your own bias. If an opinion contrary to your own makes you angry, that is a sign that you are subconsciously aware of having no good reason for thinking as you do. If some one maintains that two and two are five, or that Iceland is on the equator, you feel pity rather than anger, unless you know so little of arithmetic or geography that his opinion shakes your own contrary conviction. The most savage controversies are those about matters as to which there is no good evidence either way. Persecution is used in theology, not in arithmetic, because in arithmetic there is knowledge, but in theology there is only opinion. So whenever you find yourself getting angry about a difference of opinion, be on your guard; you will probably find, on examination, that your belief is going beyond what the evidence warrants.”
In fact I encourage people to read the full essay, it is a truly thought provoking piece of writing.
When I used to read Wishart’s Investigate magazine, I used to feel rage. How could a person actually believe this stuff? Why would anyone buy this filth? It was not so much that I was angry that this man had views strongly opposed to my own, it was that it encouraged others to feel the same. I was furious that this trash’s hateful pseudo-journalistic articles would incite attacks against the communities the magazine rallies against, homosexuals and Muslims in particular. I do feel the same anger, but mainly now I feel pity for the guy. He actually believes what he says! And I suppose he believes that he has some sort of truth that the world should know, but the world won’t listen. He is the boy who cried wolf. Sure, his books will sell, but it will be the same old people, and he will never be taken seriously the general public.
But then I suppose Hitler started with a small following…
No, I’m not serious. But why are these investigative journalists always so bias? Would their work not be more credible, and they would not be open to accusation, if they attack those in power on all sides of the political spectrum?
Alright, I said I wouldn’t mention Wish-hard again, but couldn’t help it this time!
Filed under: Books, Journalism, Philosophy, Politics, Science, religion | Tags: atheism, Christian Fundamentalism, Christianity, credibility, Evolution, Freud, Helen Clark, Homophobia, Homosexuality, Ian Wishart, Intelligent Design, Investigate, Investigative, Journalism, Journalist, New Zealand, Nicky Hager, Peter Davis, Political Correctness, Secularism
Polls conducted by the likes of Readers Digest magazine and others frequently find journalists alongside lawyers and used car salesmen as the publics’ least trusted professions. Considering that journalism students study ethics and are usually idealist people concerned with objectivity and impartiality (we are also naive!), from where does the public get this perception? Much of it must be for the gutter journalism that dominates the television in particular. Insensitive interviews, sensationalist stories, the hounding of victims and the pursuit of tragedy give viewers the impression of journalists as cold-hearted egocentric vampires. All it takes are a few bad eggs, and all journalists are unfairly smeared as untrustworthy. There is one I consider to be particularly rotten.
Ian Wishart. Helen Clark was kind when she called him a creep. I can think of another word starting with C that would be more appropriate. (more…)
Filed under: Books, Philosophy, religion | Tags: atheism, Atheist, Bible, Christian, Christianity, credibility, Dialogue, Divinity, Evidence, Healthy debate, Koran, Monotheism, Polytheism, religion, Respect, Theism
This post is of a reply I wrote to another blogger’s post. Having some objections with the argument put forward, I considered a counter-argument. Hoping that my disagreements would encourage some debate, I sent the comment to her. Unfortunately she did not address my concerns. I am interested in creating healthy debate, so I’m posting both her initial post and my response. As her opinions are commonly held, I would like to know how a theist would address my response. (more…)
Filed under: Music | Tags: Australia, Blackhawks over Los Angeles, Fat wreck chords, Feel good record of the year, Gig, Live, New Zealand, No use for a name, Nufan, punk, Strung out
In light of the announcement that Californian punk heavyweights No use for a name and Strung out are making their way to New Zealand and Australia in June, I reviewed the bands’ latest releases, Strung out’s “Blackhawks over Los Angeles” and No use for a name’s “The feel good record of the year”. This is a show that punk fans should not miss, as both these bands are amazing live. (more…)
Filed under: Philosophy, Quotes | Tags: atheism, Atheist, Douglas Adams, Environmentalist, God, God Delusion, Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy, Radical Atheist, religion, Richard Dawkins
Douglas Adams, the author of Hitchhikers guide to the Galaxy, was a self proclaimed ‘radical atheist’ and a passionate environmentalist. He was also a friend of biologist Richard Dawkins. Dawkins’ God delusion was dedicated to Adams, who passed away in 2002. This great quote is from the beginning of Dawkins brilliant polemic.
“Isn’t it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?”
An eloquent rejection of those who seek to insert mysticism into the world.
Here’s another one that makes little sense!
“I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.”
And here’s a great observation from Hitchhikers:
“Space is big. You just won’t believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it’s a long way down the road to the chemists, but that’s just peanuts to space.”
Can’t disagree with that!
Filed under: Journalism | Tags: APN, atheism, Boxing Day Tsunami, Campbell Live, Canyoning, Christian, citizen journalism, Citizen photography, Elim Christian College, ethics, Fairfax, Flood, George Orwell, Journalism, Lightning, London bombings, Media, New Zealand, New Zealand Herald, Newspapers, Sensitivity, Sept 11, Stuff.co.nz, Tongirio, TV1, TV3, Virginia Tech
My heart goes out to the friends and family who lost loved ones in the Tongiriro tragedy on Tuesday 15 April. The loss of young life is always shocking, and this case was no exception. Most New Zealander’s can fondly remember their school camps and the thrill of overcoming the challeges presented in adventure courses such as the canyoning trip the Elim youth undertook. This could have happened to anyone, or to anyone’s children. I’m sure most New Zealander’s would agree that what occurred was truly awful.
Unfortunately, New Zealand’s media could not apply the tact and sensitivity required for this story. Both of the country’s leading print media companies, APN and Fairfax, were more intent on gaining any impressive exclusive footage of any weather related incidents, than reporting the tragedy with the necessary sensitive. (more…)
Filed under: Journalism, Politics | Tags: 2010 World Cup, Africa, Bad news, Crime, Epidemics, First National Bank, Football, Good news, Journalism, Mail and Guardian, Media, Morgan Tsvangirai, Poverty, Refugees, Robert Mugabe, South Africa, Thabo Mbeki, Unemployment, Zimbabwe
Every news site has a headline that reads of another atrocity. Every hour on the radio brings another depressing report. Every page of the newspaper bears another story of anguish. The television’s six o’clock bulletin blares pain and suffering from the speakers. Is reality bringing you down? Are you sick about hearing what is wrong in the world? Do you feel as though the negative gets too much coverage? Do you long for good news instead of bad?
Filed under: Journalism | Tags: Blogs, citizen journalism, credibility, ethics, I-report, Journalism, Media, you-tube
Debate is raging within journalism as to the effect the internet will have over the future of conventional sources of media. The internet has of course been around for a long while now, and newspapers and television do not appear to be drawing their last breath. But the technology keeps improving; the internet is faster for most of us and we can watch exclusive video footage taken on mobile phones from the heart of a breaking news story. Anyone can now report on news, becoming so called ‘citizen journalists’. Stories can be posted on youtube, I-report, or on your very own blog. But how much credibility do these posters have? (more…)
Filed under: Books | Tags: Agnostic, atheism, Atheist, bad religion, Bertrand Russell, Big Bang, Biology, Books, Brief history of time, Buddhism, Christianity, Christopher Hitchens, Daniell Dennett, Darwin, Darwin's Dangerous Idea, Darwinism, David Sloan Wilson, Deism, End of Faith, Ethical, ethics, Evangelical, Evolution, Fundamentalism, God, God Delusion, God is not Great, Greg Graffin, Guns germs and steel, Hinduism, History, ID, Intelligent Design, Islam, Jared Diamond, John Safran vs God, Judaism, Lewis Wolpert, Liberalism, Materialism, Michael Shermer, morality, Morals, mysticism, Naturalism, Pascal's wager, Philosophy, Physics, Portable Atheist, Preston Jones, religion, Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Science, Scientist, Scripture, Secularism, Six impossible things before breakfast, Stephen Hawking, Theism, Theist, Theology, Third Chimpanzee, Time travel, Why Darwin Matters
As the onslaught of atheist book releases continues, I will attempt to briefly review those books that I have tackled in my pursuit of knowing exactly what I do believe as an atheist.
It was an Australian comedian who alerted me to my own ignorance. In the hilarious TV series “John Safran vs God“, John goes around taking the piss out of various religions, all in a fairly good-natured manner. He highlights the absurdity of some faiths and the hypocrisy of others. Great viewing for people of all faiths and no faith. After years of being out of bounds, religions finally got the satirical critique they deserve. Atheism did not get off easy though either. In one stinging segment, he singled out atheists for their arrogance, pointing out that most atheists happily ridicule fantastical creation myths, but have no grasp of their own belief in the beginning of the universe or man. Could they describe the Big Bang theory or evolution?
At the time I was a convinced atheist, but although I knew what I did not believe in and why, I had little to no idea what I did believe in. A dozen books later, I think I might be a little a closer to knowing what I believe. (more…)
Filed under: Journalism | Tags: Advertisers, Audience, Celebrity, Corporate media, Media, News values, Pornography, Smut
Originally a comment on a message board, I think this short piece sums up my disdain for celebrity culture.
On Celebrity
I think there are several parties to blame for this crap swamping our news.
Firstly the audience. If no one cared, there would be no story. But people are voyeuristic, insecure and impressionable. They want to feel better about themselves by seeing famous people suffer. However they would not feel crap about themselves if they didn’t idolise these talentless morons to begin with.
Secondly, you have to blame the celebrities. They crave the fame when they’re up, and they shun the fame when they’re down. They are all effectively whores who must sell themselves in order to further their careers. Why can’t talent sell an album, movie, etc, rather than exposure? Brittany, get a real job.
Finally, the media is also culpable. Ideally they should report the news, of which I hardly see celebrity included. But I think these stories are too easy for them. No background required, no real investigative work, just some stalker with a camera. And unfortunately as corporate enterprises, the media need to make money. Audiences wants smut, advertisers want an audience and media want advertisers. So media want smut.
Of course Brittany is sick, but arguably all involved are. What will be the panacea?
See you in the tower,
Paul
Filed under: Philosophy, Quotes | Tags: Bertrand Russell, Philosophy, Quotes, War
This week’s quote is from one of my heroes, Bertrand Russell. Not only does most of what he has to say make perfect sense to me, he has a fantastic way with words. I think Bertrand Russell quotes are going to become a large part of this blog’s content!
“War does not determine who is right – only who is left.”
So simple and so true.
To anyone interested in philosophy, religion or mathematics, Russell is well worth a read.
What the hell! Because he is so good, here’s another, also on war:
“Either man will abolish war, or war will abolish man.”
Bertrand Russell 1872-1970 (98 years old!)
Filed under: Journalism, Politics | Tags: ABC, Afganistan, al Jazeera, Associated Press, Australian, BBC, Bias, Charlie Reina, CNN, Coalition of the willing, Conflict, Conservative, Dave Marash, Donald Rumsfeld, Fair and balanced, Fox, Fox News, George Bush, Georgetown University, Guardian, Homicide bombers, Impartiality, Iraq, Jihad Ballout, John Pilger, Journalism, Ken Jarecke, Liberal, Media, Middle East, New York Times, North America, Objectivity, Orwell, Osama bin Laden, Outfoxed, Palestine, Politics, Qatar, Republican, Reuters, Riz Khan, Robert Murdoch, Saddam Hussein, Steven Poole, Suicide bombers, Terrorism, Terrorist, Tony Blair, United States, Unspeak, Wadah Khanfar, War, War on Terrorism, Washington Post, Will Stebbins, Zdenek Urbánek
The following article was an assignment for a Public Affairs Reporting paper as part of my graduate diploma in Journalism. It is a commentary on the challenge of maintaining impartiality when reporting on conflict.
The first casualty of war is truth.
Issues of balance and fairness in war reporting
By Paul Harper
Objectivity as a goal has largely been dismissed by journalists as unrealistic, if not impossible. Impartiality, however, is regarded by many to be attainable. It is an ideal that journalists strive for.
But in wartime the game changes. The constraints of commercial interests ensure the packaged news is palatable to their audience and to advertisers. There are things audiences do not want to see and hear. When a nation is at war the media files in behind the troops, another cog in the war machine, patriotically flying flags, they become the cheerleaders repeating the official line.
Impartiality, balance and fairness go out the window. (more…)
Filed under: Journalism | Tags: BBC, Business, China, Economics, Free trade agreement, FTA, Hedgehog, Journalism, New Zealand, News, Politics
New Zealand has become the first developed country to sign a free trade agreement with China. Whether or not you agree with the politics or economics of the FTA, you would expect it to be a big story internationally. Well I would have thought it might receive a mention. Well it hardly did! Search BBC. Try find the story. Its buried in Asia-Pacific news.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7333983.stm
However an awful story about a hedgehog being used as a weapon is much more prominent.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7334233.stm
Certainly gives this guy something to write about!
Filed under: Uncategorised | Tags: Edmund Hillary, Everest, Hate-blog, Joke, New Zealand, New Zeeland, Racism, Racist
“About 414,000 people (ten percent of New Zealand’s 2-legged population) watched four hours of live coverage of Edmund Hillary’s state (!) funeral on a NZ TV channel, while another 55,500 watched a two-and-a-half hour long coverage on another channel, according to a report. [Edmund Hillary was one of the first people to glorify the littering of Mount Everest, the first steps in destroying one of Earth's remotest ecosystem, and be praised for it.]“
Whilst surfing through various blogs, clicking on tags and seeing what comes my way I ended up here. (more…)
Filed under: New Zealand Election 08, Politics | Tags: Anne Tolley, Cake, Education, Labour, National, New Zealand, Oteha Valley school, PC, Political Correctness, politicians
Forget house prices. Forget problems in the health sector. Forget teachers’ wages, inflation rates and free trade agreements. Let them eat cake. Let the poor children have their birthday cake and eat it too.
Despite leading in the polls, National seems incredibly desperate to smear Labour. Despite having absolutely nothing to do with the government, previously unknown politician Anne Tolley has accused Labour of outlawing birthday cakes at a North Shore school in Auckland. National must be short of policies, and must consider New Zealand’s education system to be perfectly fine, because this hysterical politician is National’s Education spokeswoman. (more…)
Filed under: Philosophy, Quotes | Tags: David Hume, Miracle, On miracles, Philosophy, religion
There is something about this line that I love. It seems complex yet simple in the way it argues such a fascinating thought.
David Hume on miracles, in his Enquiry concerning human understanding, in 1748:
“No testimony is sufficient to establish a miracle, unless the testimony be of such a kind that its falsehood would be more miraculous than the fact it endeavours to establish.”
Brilliant.
