BAD NEWS

A day of very ugly headlines ...

Judge dismisses comedian sex case

4:27pm The trial of a well-known comedian charged with a child sex offence has been called off.

Two-year-old's parents sought

3:35pm LATEST: The family of a two-year-old girl found in Otara on Saturday has still not come forward.

Hard up Kiwis out in the cold

3:08pm Destitute Kiwis are being flown home in a bid to help stop a growing begging problem.

Man 'lived with corpse'

An Auckland computer programmer murdered his Thai girlfriend then lived with her decomposing body for nearly a month, a court heard.

Kiwifruit crisis grows

11 min ago Two listed companies are the first victims of a suspected incursion of a bacterial canker

TV3 - SHONKY JOURNALISM

We were pretty angry after we saw a Tv3 60 minutes segment last night on Weatherston where the journalist inferred that she had interviewed Weatherston post his conviction... It was crap journalism - a thinly veiled statement that left viewers with a clear impression that the interview had taken place post his conviction.

You see, we now have it on good authority that the reporter in question visited Weatherston with his parents sometime in March -April this year. Now Journalists require the permission of the family , the inmate and the CE of Corrections. Our snouts tell us that Corrections are not the bad guys here. Apparently no permission was sought so none was granted. So effectively it would appear T3 have broken the rules.

So we apologise to Barry Matthews and his team for casting aspersions on their judgement.

We also think that they will not let this issue rest. TV3 has done their credibility no favours. It was simply bad journalism - They could have told the truth - instead of implying they had permission.

But no - they deceived the public and we expect better.

TISSUE OF LIES

The Nation has been watching and debating in tearooms, cafes, living rooms and around dining tables throughout the nation as to "Who Did It" Robin or David Bain?
Well, we have it from a good source that the jury or parts of, were so distressed at David Bain's distress that they bought and got delivered a box of tissues to the lanky defendant.
Very irregular, we think. We ask that questions be asked.

CHERISH WAS NOT KILLED BY ST JOHNS

This headline in the Dominion is a crock.

"Cherish dies after St Johns Delay"

So there may have been delays and thats bad. But she was killed by human hand not some systemic fault.

So while St Johns may have some questions to answer, they did not kill her. Her death sentence had already been dished out by the person who bashed her tiny head in.

The Dominion needs a kick in the arse for the way they have portrayed this story.
Crap journalism, crap speculation and it takes the focus away from the perpetrator of this heinous crime.

GOOD DECISION

We are delighted by this Rex Haig wont get compensation - we covered it as a journo and had a death threat from one of the major players. It was a very sordid business.

It appears that the legal eagles think that Haig was " probably involved in the murder of Mark Roderique. We think that probably thats a bloody good analysis.

OF BLACK EYED BEASTS AND BALLERINAS

Nia Glassie could have been a ballerina but we will never know because her life was cut short by bad people .That is the real tragedy. You see we have seen the dead eyes of the lost and forgotten, many times. They are chilling, as it is not anger or sorrow you see - its is just a deep emptiness. They are simply, souless.
Those are the eyes that Nia Glassie saw every day of her little short life. To her killers she was an irrelevancy, a broken toy, a soft ball to be kicked but she was never loved, of that we are sure.
We have a society that allows children to grow up into black eyed beasts that kill our innocents. That must change. We need our children to grow up into men and women who respect life and the living.
That a disproportionate number are Maori is not something we can back away from for fear of being called racist. The Maori Party now has the portfolios that can make a difference and that may mean together we can finally find ways to stop young men becoming black eyed beasts and let little girls, with pretty names and soft brown eyes full of innocence, grow up and dance for the world.

KING TALKS BOLLOCKS

National has announced that it will be putting 300 more police into Counties Manukau.

Police Minister Annette King ( we used to respect her) has countered the announcement by saying it will create fear! Well bugger me, we know a few people in Counties Manukau and they say that fear is what they live with everyday.

I wonder if King has:

• Walked the streets of Manukau at night
• Visited local dairy owners
  
• Talked to the families of the victims of violence there
  
• Talked to her own police on the ground about how stretched they are trying to cope with what is fast becoming the criminal badlands of NZ.
  
• Talked to school teachers who see the effects of the lawlessness of the area.
• talked to families who have loved ones murdered and maimed.
  
• Talked to the Asian families who are enhancing our economy of the racism that is rife in Manukau.
  

Remember Mrs King - under Labour violent crime has soared by 47 per cent.

Key is right when he states in the Herald "For nine years, Labour has paid lip service to the citizens of Counties-Manukau while violence has soared by 65 per cent - and yet it has the second lowest police-to-population ratio of any police district in the country," Mr Key said.

He is going to put 25 more patrol cars on South Auckland streets within two years and boost overall New Zealand police numbers so there is one officer for every 500 people,"

We here at Roarprawn would like to see it higher than that - its simple arithmetic - put the money into proactive in your face coppers on the beat and you will save the money in the jails.

Mr Key also said an additional $18.5 million each year would be budgeted to recruit, train, and employ the extra police required.

"This will be funded from the allocation for new spending outlined in National's fiscal policy," Mr Key said.

He said National would also:

* Roll out Canterbury's persistent offender programme, which targets crime families, to other districts, subject to a positive evaluation of the trial;

* Ensure police work more closely with local communities to set and tackle local crime priorities and

* Ensure road safety policing concentrates on preventing accidents by focusing on those drivers and areas most at risk.

Good stuff National !

2008 or 1984 ? not all media are equal.....

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10528866

Im an old journo, and find the blogosphere a fascinating place - I can see what Harvey is trying to do but it offends my sensibilities. The press these days includes all the traditional sources print, radio, the blogs and internet news sites and e-zines etc.

Saying the internet media can not use the names in a high profile trial is a bit like saying the Herald can report the name but the Dom cant cos the Dom gives you more of a story.

It is a vexing question though and I wonder if we end up having to sequester juries away for the duration of a trial - seems to be the only way that these days you can guarantee they wont get tainted by the info that is so easily at our disposal in so many ways.

And what about email and text ?

Hey you could ask your mates via a text to find out about a defendant and in a short time you would have all the answers you want. ( I have used that one before - it works )
So I understand Harvey's reasoning - just think that its bloody impossible and wont actually achieve what he wants… ten points for trying though - tainted juries are becoming a big problem.

Food for thought - How the hell is the jury that sits in judgement on Tony Veitch going to work out whats the go after all the stuff thats available in all forms of media of which blogs and the netnews sites like Scoop are two?