It wouldn’t be a New Zealand public holiday without the obligatory reports on the dead, maimed and general carnage on our roads. Death, destruction, cars, explosions and sometimes alcohol; it’s everything we love in our media all wrapped up into one nice little news nugget, ready for nationwide consumption. It’s simply cheap, sensationalist journalism for the proles.
The reality is, it’s just such an easy news item to report on. Everybody drives, people are always going to die, the road toll is always going to increase and all the information you need is provided in New Zealand Police media releases. It’s national disaster porn on tap! Get some half-witted reporter to write “the [insert holiday name here] holiday road toll [insert your choice of ‘now stands at’, ‘has risen to’ or ‘climbs to’] [insert number]” and you’re half way home. All that’s left is an unnecessarily detailed discussion of the accident itself, a quick word by any old Police Superintendent (whoever can be found in five minutes) and some throwaway statement from the New Zealand Police (e.g. “Police are reminding motorists to take care, drive to the conditions and have extra patience when on the road this weekend”). Our Stuff.co.nz news feeds chugs along, the thirty second gap before the TV news ad brake is filled and we all stop being homophobic and racist long enough to satisfy our disaster porn addictions.
As for the so called reporting itself, what is the public relevance of a statement like “[a] man was flung from his bike at the corner of Victoria St and Karo Dr in central Wellington about 5.55pm yesterday after a collision with a car”? What is one supposed to do with such information? Gasp and exclaim “Oh gosh” and somehow make the world a safer place? It is only the close family and friends of those involved who deserve such intimate knowledge, should they request it. While I may have smiled at John from down the road from time to time, do I really need to know the mechanics and exact timing of his unfortunate collision with a late Nineties model BMW whilst riding his 250cc Kawasaki?
I realise that it is a lost cause asking for Stuff.co.nz to employ some discretion and taste, but for other organisations that claim to employ professional journalists, there is no excuse for lazy reporting. It’s not as if there’s any shortage of national or international news to go around. We still don’t even know the distance of the spacing between the pearls on Kate Middleton’s wedding dress!
Diatribe - 9
