Looking back over the past weeks and to the weeks ahead – to rate the noteworthy, the cringeworthy, the good, the bad, the ugly, and the truly amazing.
Not a level playing field – Overseas Monopolies in NZ
One entity is a state owned broadcaster forced to cancel or curtail news and current affairs shows because of falling advertising revenue – the other is a foreign owned monopoly that pays a pittance of tax in New Zealand and hoovers its profits overseas. Competition needs to be fair – not so one sided that monopolies are rewarded and encouraged to flourish to the detriment of others.
This week, YouTube – owned by global online monopoly, Google was awarded sponsorship rights to the NZ Marketing Awards. For three decades the awards had been sponsored by TVNZ but this year, in an exercise of tunnel vision, Kiwi made was pushed aside to make room for an overseas company.
“A blindsided TVNZ confirmed to Media Insider it wanted to continue its sponsorship this year. ‘We were disappointed to learn the NZ Marketing Awards had appointed a global tech giant as its naming partner, in favour of a local media organisation,’ says a TVNZ spokeswoman.” (Source: “NZ Marketing Awards: TVNZ ditched as main sponsor for Google’s YouTube; Big MediaWorks share changes as former CEO Cam Wallace sells down – midweek Media Insider,” by Shayne Currie, 16th April, www.nzherald.co.nz).
The fourth estate is an essential part of a vibrant democracy and it needs to be preserved. We also need to protect what is ours above the interests of overseas companies that give us little in return. Google started out as a search engine that morphed into the world’s largest advertising platform. It makes billions and billions and billions of dollars each year. It is helped by countries allowing it to get away with tax avoidance. Kiwi companies can’t do that – so how is it a level playing field? How is it fair? Of course YouTube can pay sponsorship rights for a New Zealand Awards show. Perhaps if it paid fair tax here it wouldn’t.
0 stars – awarding the rights to Google – weak and detrimental to local broadcasting.
Once homeless – now in business
I read about this gentleman a few weeks ago – an Aucklander living on the streets, selling coffee. Now he has crowd funded to obtain enough capital – with the further help of investors – to secure a space to open his own business – with rooms for his own accommodation as well.
Jon Low (aka Patchy) is an inspirational chap who has refused to let circumstances drag him down.
“Having to work through the day to organise a business together, then end the night sleeping in a car park would be tough for anyone, but bringing to life his idea of a cheap coffee empire has been Patchy’s driving force in the last month. ‘What inspiration does is it just motivates you to do whatever the hell it takes to make something happen,’ he said.” (Source: “Homeless coffee entrepreneur raises $10k to jump start business,” by Lyric Waiwiri-Smith, 18th April, www.stuff.co.nz).
5 stars – got to admire the pluck and determination of anyone faced with extremely challenging circumstances.
Too good to be true turns out to be too good to be true
There’s a thing about clichés – in the end they’re all true. So imagine if you will, you’re a punter at a casino in Sydney – you’ve won – you put your ticket in the auto payment machine – it spits out your winnings . . . and the ticket. You put the ticket in again – it spits out more cash and . . . the ticket. You keep putting in the ticket, it keeps returning the ticket and doling out cash.
A glitch in the system at the Star casino in Sydney last year saw $3.4 million handed out to smart/unscrupulous types who took advantage of the error to line their own pockets. The original discoverer told one person, who told one person, who – well, you get the idea. Before you know it ordinary citizens and criminal types were visiting the casino to take advantage of what they thought may well be free cash.
By the time the casino cottoned on, millions had been paid out and the casino passed information of the ‘offenders’ to the police. The casino could well find itself in trouble for perhaps failing to adhere to money laundering regulation but as well all know, the house always wins.
3 stars – hard to call this, so I’m going down the middle.
