New Zealand Terror Attacks

My 2 pence.. Personally I dont need, or have the desire for the police to define terror for me. Thats just my personal opinion. (Leaving the gun control debate aside) The idiot that walked into the Charleston Baptist Church and killed the black congregates, that wasnt (or barely) termed as an act or terror. There was rumblings of the double standard attributed to these types of acts. But for the most part the media/police mostly called it a mass shooting. The synagogue shooting near Pittburgh a few months ago, the media/police called it mass shooting, not terrorism. But the couple in San Bernardino that killed people in an office building a few years ago, once it was determined they were Muslim, the media/police immediately switched to calling it a clear act of terrorism. Same thing with the Orlando nightclub shooting. Mass shooting at first then when the identity is revealed, they switched to terrorism(though they still waver with the definition of this act). A guy literally shooting and sniping a concertgoers from a Vegas hotel room... Its still termed as a mass shooting. To me that is terrorism. (no one will convince me otherwise) The Oklahoma City Bombing, clearly terrorism....they danced around using the word terrorism for ages, then they finally settled on "domestic terrorism" after quite awhile afterwards. This is a larger discussion. BUt i do think depending on who you ask the definition of what constitutes terrorism can be different. My personal definition of terrorism is likely much larger, broader and wider than most.
Just saying...


[Steps off soapbox]

Sky did have a Sydney correspondent for a while but I think have since relied on Sky News Australia correspondents - which seems sensible as it’s typically a quiet part of the world for major international news. For the Sydney siege they used Sky News Australia quite extensively.

I haven’t seen them use anyone from there on air today - but it’s been the middle of the night there.

I believe Lorna Dunkley relocated to Australia.

But with Sky News and Sky News Australia no longer under the same ownership, will this partnership last?

I would argue that this grants too much (editorial) power to the police. Ideally, the news media should serve as a check and balance on the government and its institutions instead of just blindly parroting their official declarations, which could be problematic. (After all, the police and the press have different responsibilities and priorities. Often, the police simply want to keep things calm, but it's the duty of the press to report the truth.)

I think I'd rather the police than a journalist at The Sun (or indeed the BBC) decide what is defined as a terror attack. Agree with every word Mouseboy said though.

The special edition of 1 News Breakfast is under way with Jack Tame and Daniel Faitaua. Normally, Breakfast only airs Mon-Fri. The programme is also coming from the normal 1 News desk, rather than the desk that is typically used for Breakfast.



(Image courtesy of OnAir, from MediaSpy)

EDIT: 1 Breakfast and Newshub Nation updates:

On Newstalk ZB, Mike Hosking has come in to present a special Saturday edition, replacing what would normally be a Sports Breakfast.

Judging by some of the output that Sky News Australia broadcast, the UK operation probably wants to distance itself from them!

Our public broadcaster, RNZ (think Radio 4 as opposed opposed to LBC in ZB) has stepped up to the job very well considering the circumstances. Thus far they've cleared out their Saturday morning schedules in order to run special editions of their normal weekday schedule.



Their fledgling video team also put together a 6 hour live stream between 4-10 yesterday which I felt was pretty comparable to what was going over our main TV channels.

The New York Times has a freelance person on tap but they were in Wellington. I think it's out of sheer luck more than anything else that The Guardian happened to have someone in Christchurch at the time since it's not a media hub -- stretched dollars would in theory go to cover Auckland (largest city by far) and Wellington (political capital of the country)

https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/111331018/sky-tv-pulls-australian-news-broadcast-after-disturbing-christchurch-shootings-video-shown

She did and by chance whilst looking for a live stream shortly after the news broke I found her presenting on ABC NEWS Australia