3 Degrees - an embarrassing failure

Promoting its self as a hard hitting investigative journalistic current affairs tackling the BIG issues that concern Kiwis today last nights 3 Degree’s gets a giant FAIL

 

Despite its line up of journalists TV 3’s new 3rd Degrees failed embarrassingly to deliver anything more than an extended ‘good morning’ show based on a sort of Fair Go concept

Anna Guy and the clamping guy -  are these really the BIG issues that concern New Zealanders or are they merely distractions ?

What are the Big issues that concern Kiwi’s ?

Asset sales

Poverty and low wages with the casualization of the workforce

Corporate Welfare - a topic few will expose

GMO in NZ stock feed and how this is endangering every thing NZ promotes it self on

The housing crisis

The rising cost of food grown in NZ

Peak oil and the rising cost of petrol –  where is a Plan B

I am sure you can add to this list. 

A quick look through the upcoming reveals  3rd Degree have nothing in their line up that address any of these.

Without any real serious open and honest reporting and revealing of a governments actions a government goes unchecked, un unscrutinised to the detriment of everyone.  Thanks 5th Estate

But really can we blame them – with ownership of NZ media in the hands of corporate globalists there is little room for journalists to expose anything other than ordinary people trying to make a go of life.
Which makes the 5th Estate little more than a lifestyle program or worse it becomes a tool of the state to distract viewers from more serious concerns by offering mindless distractions such as last nights viewing.
If this is the case with 3 Degree’s then it worked very well, because over on their FB site  the mindless are debating the merit’s of Clouts people skills and Guy’s blue eyes

" .....“There is mounting evidence that journalists are experiencing unacceptable pressure to change what they write. A 2007 survey of 514 New Zealand journalists reported in the Pacific Journalism Review 568 found that more than half of those that answered this question [on commercial pressures and media freedom] (55%, n=213) agreed that newsrooms had been pressured to do a story because it related to an advertiser, owner, or sponsor....” Quote from Bill Rosenberg's News Media Ownership in New Zealand - see link above for full report

It wouldn’t be a big deal really if they hadn’t hyped themselves up to tackle the big issues that concern New Zealanders, and then put themselves into a social media platform that houses quite a few real investigative journalists who don’t have the exposure this lot do.

What I witnessed on this not so cutting edge programme was what I would call candy floss for the masses washed down with aspartame filled diet coke – mind numbing stuff. 

As a few commentators on their FB site pointed out the where was the interview with Daniel Clouts employers – those that contracted him to clamp the wheels of peoples cars?
why wasn’t the actual law over the legality of his actions given any exposure ?
Was it legal  or not ?
Viewers watching were left none the wiser

And what can you say about the Anna Guy interview – I mean seriously who cares ?

New Zealanders are crying out in all directions for some sort  of media coverage to give their concerns voice, A real current affairs program that has the guts enough to ask the real tough questions.  This is what 3 Degree's hype suggested

Kiwis want answers from their politicians they want these so called public servants to be held accountable for their actions – they want REAL investigative reporting and exposure NOW.

When you have a government, which continues to blithely go against the wishes of the majority.  A prime Minister who coolly states he would not acknowledge any referendum on state asset sales should send a shiver down every ones spines and should be open to the 3rd degree something that I for one and many others really hopped NZ Television had come of age and addressed – but alas