TheHerald – A Joke

The Herald’s deliberate, sustained and orchestrated campaign to slant the news has gone beyond a joke – not that it was ever a joke. In virtually every issue of the Herald, the news selection, headlining, and commentary are specifically designed to show the government in a bad light or opposition parties and politicians in a good light.

Today’s issue is a case in point. There is a piece claiming to discover in Christopher Luxon qualities that are not apparent to anyone else; and there is the somewhat pathetic attempt to associate him with his “mentor”, John Key, so that he can bask in the supposed reflected glory of someone who remains the National party’s favourite son and supposed success story.

There are other headlines about issues, such as the holiday road toll and the three waters reforms, that are seen as unhelpful to the government. In each case, it is the headline that counts – in each case, the attempt is made to stimulate in the reader the perception that nothing can go right with the government in charge.

In yesterday’s edition, for instance, there was a headline to the effect that “a report” had found that the government’s bail-out of businesses during the covid lockdowns “had not been necessary”. So, the effort made to keep businesses “in business”, it seems had been beside the point, and the government deserved no credit for the successful effort that had been made.

Surprisingly, however, “the report” referred to, which was from BERL, the reputable economic analysts, had found that the bailout had been effective, and had been well worth doing. Once again, it was the headline that mattered to the Herald – so easily was a “good news” story, that reflected well on the government, transformed into one that raised doubts about the government’s competence.

With news coverage as biased as this from our leading newspaper, what chance do we have of operating an effective and working democracy?