Yes, this evening Paul Henry fell on his sword and resigned from TVNZ.
I think this whole international incident thing was a bit over-the-top. Aren't there more important things going on in the world? More injustices, like that of poor Molly Norris who has had to disappear because of a death threat and on which no mainstream media will comment; not even the Hollywood actors and musicians who pride themselves on standing up for free speech. Silence ...
It is no longer practical in the current environment for me to do the job I was employed to do, and have so enjoyed doing," Mr Henry said tonight.
"It is also difficult for TVNZ to get on with the business of being a first class broadcaster as long as I remain."I admit that Paul could go too far sometimes, but at least he had the ability to cut through a lot of left-wing BS and could often give interview subjects a good grilling when they started spouting PC nonsense. He will be missed in that regard, while TVNZ will probably hire a forelock-tugging, "yes ma'am" broadcaster to replace him.
I think this whole international incident thing was a bit over-the-top. Aren't there more important things going on in the world? More injustices, like that of poor Molly Norris who has had to disappear because of a death threat and on which no mainstream media will comment; not even the Hollywood actors and musicians who pride themselves on standing up for free speech. Silence ...
Aha! You beat me to it.
ReplyDeletelol, only just. You probably would have editorialized better though.
ReplyDeleteNah, I was just going to deal a one line comment. And now that I've done another post, I've incorporated your post into it, at least as far as the title and link - sorry to crowd the days posts :-)
ReplyDeleteMore likely he fell on the taxpayer's wallet,Fletch.
ReplyDelete"He will be missed in that regard, while TVNZ will probably hire a forelock-tugging, "yes ma'am" broadcaster to replace him."
ReplyDeleteIs that it??
Sorry guys, but you need to do a lot better and more than that if you want to defeat the left and their mission to gradually convert this country into a totalitarian socialist state.
One thing you've gotta give the left, they know how to fight for the tyranny they believe in.
"..and their mission to gradually convert this country into a totalitarian socialist state."
ReplyDeleteThey've succeeded with the second part at least, RB.
They've succeeded with the second part at least, RB.
ReplyDeleteSure have KG. Never realised the thinking that underpins the right in NZ was so politically shallow. Its no wonder the left have been so successful. There is just no real ideological resistance.
(apart from you and me :) )
Surely, you two are enough? :-)
ReplyDeleteI can help if you need it. Just find me some-one worth defending.
Some shock jock who likes insulting New Zealanders (the other sort) working for a State owned media station doesn't cut it with me.
Just because the left go all mad-cow over the incident, doesn't mean he didn't deserve a bit of heat from other sources.
Anyway, wouldn't you see Henry quitting TVNZ rather than work as some sort of neutered mouth actually a good outcome? Let TVNZ hire safe, predictable government press release readers. That's all we expect from them with our tax payer funded money.
I'm sure he'll pop up somewhere else and be paid large sums of money to say crass things so we can continue to defend a person's right to say whatever the hell they want, as long as it generally drives ratings...but why should I defend Paul when I attack Hone for much the same stuff?
PS: So whilst I am comfortable with my reaction to the Paul Henry saga (it's consistent compared to my comments about Hone and other Maori Party utterances) I do take your point that a lot of other people have been hypocrites - happy to run a witch hunt over Paul, and content to merely go "tut-tut" to others. But we expect that from the left.
ReplyDeleteMWT makes some excellent points on the nature of the witch hunt. link
ReplyDeleteI liked the point that you could take the left's railing on about foreign ownership as a form of racism, or perhaps Nationalism?
So which radio station is going to start the Paul & Hone Hour? Match made in heaven I say. Or purgatory more like.
ReplyDelete"Just because the left go all mad-cow over the incident, doesn't mean he didn't deserve a bit of heat from other sources."
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely. But to see him get so much heat while others get a free pass, to see the feeding frenzy which those ostensibly in favour of free speech joined out of cowardice, is just sickening.
"...to see the feeding frenzy which those ostensibly in favour of free speech joined out of cowardice, is just sickening."
ReplyDeletePaul Henry _is_ free to say racist, objectionable things. That doesn't mean he is free to say them in his job as a TVNZ broadcaster. We have broadcasting standards and Paul Henry needed to work within those or face the consequences. No one is suggesting that Paul Henry must be muzzled as a citizen of New Zealand. He could start his own blog and be as racist and as offensive as he wants. But he doesn't get to do that in his job.
No one is suggesting that Paul Henry must be muzzled as a citizen of New Zealand.
ReplyDeleteI think the point is that whilst Paul Henry takes the consequences for his statements by losing his job, people like Hone and Pita, representatives of the Maori Party (is that race or culture?) get away with the same, but aren't held accountable.
We can't even vote them out, given that they hold privileged seats reserved just for Maori.
"Why are we fighting whakapapa against whakapapa? There's so much enemy that is not brown."
ReplyDelete-- Pita Sharples, to Gang Members.