Between kilometres and shots
There are times I wonder at how much hoodwinking guff we are exposed to and how much education the writers of our newscasts have. How many of you, the readership or viewing listening public, actually take note of what the media, in its wisdom, dish up. How much do you listen or hear? This is an old acorn I suppose.
Speaking of old acorns, in September the Northern Advocate mentioned an ancient oak tree falling over somewhere north of the Bombay hill. It was 194 years old and planted by some wellknown colonial immigrant. Both are now consigned to the archives of memory. Longevity obviously comes from deep roots in fertile ground. I doubt that the calibre of what we are currently fed on the airwaves will stand the test of time unless it is well thought out and planted responsibly. Isn’t the question one of grammar, syntax and relevance?
Who writes the script for modern day presenters? What have toilet rolls to do with beer? Is this all, as the British would say, small beer? Has anyone else noted the latest Tiger Beer ad? There’s the slogan, at an almost subliminal level stating “ice cold”. The set and costumes are stark plaster white and then there are the explosions of blue and orange paint splattering everything in slow motion. The camera tracks a stooped male from left to right then halts on a back view of a figure with tin foil skirt and a toilet rolled contraption to its ear operating a record player which spins from white to rainbow shades, and all hell breaks loose. Has anyone else noted sports teams and countries being referred to in the plural sense when a sports team is a singular group entity, not a plural collection? TV3 Newshub 6pm, September 17, reported on the first ever survey of homeless numbers on Auckland’s streets with 1000 volunteers covering 5000 square metres — really? Staggering stuff. Were they searching shoulder to shoulder? I think the area covered was 5000 square kilometres. Now that is notable. The observations of whales from a satellite in a groundbreaking population count. The satellite was reported to be at 600 metres altitude. What? More recently “two shorts” were fired in a gang related incident in Hawke’s Bay. Is that really newsworthy? The idea of setting one’s pants on fire is an ancient token of passion. Perhaps medieval warmongering isn’t dead.
The truth is out there. It’s kilometres and shots, not metres and shorts. We need to stay awake and keep alert.