David Cunliffe Nomination Speech – The Opera! 27 Aug 2013 | 05:58 am

On the extremely rare danger of overestimating Labour Party stupidity! 25 Aug 2013 | 04:31 am

Normal 0 false false false EN-NZ X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 Stuff.co.nz There is rarely any danger of overestimating Labour Party stupidity. Having described myself recently...

Campbell versus Key – the wider issue. 17 Aug 2013 | 10:29 am

The wider issue is television itself. Television does not deal well with complexity. This is particularly the case with commercial television which subscribes to the view that the average viewer has a...

In the red corner John Campbell; In the blue corner John Key; Your Referee – the good doctor! 15 Aug 2013 | 11:12 am

The last time I really got stuck into John Campbell was when he interviewed ‘moon man’ Ken Ring after the February earthquake. That was on 28 February 2011. You’ll gather I find very little to critici...

Confessions of a sentimental socialist and unkind thoughts on Paula Bennett 15 Jul 2013 | 10:06 am

I generally define myself as ‘a Socialist’. This may seem at odds with living in the most expensive suburb in New Zealand, having no mortgage or other indebtedness, dining out on a regular basis, trea...

Patrick Gower Fan Club: Answer 10 simple questions and win an interview with Paddy! Starts today! 10 Jul 2013 | 01:17 am

Q1: What was the plot that Paddy famously lost? Q2. What would Paddy like to be when he grows up? a. Mary Wilson b. Handsome c. A journalist? [More questions for Paddy fans tomorrow.]

With the benefit of hindsight Charles Saatchi would probably not have choked his wife Nigella Lawson in a public place. 8 Jul 2013 | 07:06 am

Here’s a tip: The next time you hear someone use  the words ‘in hindsight’ or ‘with the benefit of hindsight’, assume they are about to try to excuse or at least mitigate some unacceptable or reprehen...

I express my disgust at prayers for Mandela’s life. 25 Jun 2013 | 06:37 am

I find it hard to contain my disgust at the response in South Africa and abroad to Nelson Mandela’s hospitalisation for what is quite clearly a terminal illness. It has been nothing short of ghoulish....

An elderly man makes a less than happy visit to Tournament Parking in Shortland Street 20 Jun 2013 | 07:05 am

For more than a decade we have run our media training courses at  the University of Auckland’s television studio complex  in the Kenneth Myers Centre in Shortland Street. There could no more appropria...

When Hekia met Rachel – a sometime interviewer’s perspective. 8 Jun 2013 | 08:55 am

  I haven’t been blogging for the past ten days or so because I fractured a bone in my left hand and can’t type. It still hurts like hell but I’ve been drawn out of this enforced temporary retirement ...