Different strokes for different folk: Regulatory distinctions in New Zealand media

For much of the past century there was broad acceptance of the stark contrast between the state’s involvement in the regulation of the content of broadcasting and its laissez-faire relationship with the columns of the press. The ‘failed market’ argument that substantiated regulation of the airwaves was difficult to counter. Fundamental changes in technology and media markets have, however, rendered the rationale open to challenge. Some aspects of the ‘failed market’, such as frequency scarcity, simply do not apply in the digital age. This article examines the nature of media regulation in New Zealand, noting its similarity to the dichotomous approach in Britain, Canada and Australia but also its divergence toward a more neoliberal market model that largely limits statutory oversight to matters that fall broadly into the categories of morals and ethics. It argues that, given the New Zealand government’s decision more than 15 years ago to forego regulation of ownership or the mechanisms that would serve the public good aspirations of a Reithian model, the continuing role of the state in regulation of broadcasting is questionable. A replacement model could be based on an effective regulatory body already present in the New Zealand media industry—the Advertising Standards Authorit

Media, the courts, and terrorism: Lessons from the Christchurch mosque attacks

Commentary: Court proceedings against the alleged perpretrator of the Christchurch mosque attacks in 2019 led to what may be ground-breaking cooperation between the judicial system and the media to balance fair trial rights and a determination to (a) avoid retraumatisation and (b) prevent the court being used as a platform for white supremacist propaganda. The case, and the willingness of media to honour these imperatives, demonstrates the centrality of publicity in acts of terrorism known as ‘propaganda of the deed’. The research outlined in this article suggests that institutional cooperation can avoid ‘giving oxygen’ to perpetrators and their causes without sacrificing journalistic integrity or a duty to bear witness in the interests of open justice. A change of plea resulted in proceedings being limited to a sentencing hearing. A lengthy trial may have tested the robustness of the measures put in place but, nonetheless, the planning processes employed in New Zealand lead to a conclusion that they could provide a basis for similar cooperation in other judicial jurisdictions, such as Australia

Taliban takeover: Charlotte Bellis faces perils outside ‘enemy territory’

New Zealand-born Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Peter Arnett was one of a handful of journalists allowed to stay in Baghdad as the American offensive against Iraq began in 1991. Reporting first from the rooftop of the Al-Rashid Hotel, he chronicled—quite literally – the impact of the bombing campaign. But on Day Four he was taken to a bombed-out building in a suburb that was then an infant milk formula factory would later gain notoriety thanks to investigative reporter Seymour Hersh—Abu Ghraib. His report was accurate. In 2003, Arnett was once again in ‘enemy territory’ and (by his own later admission, unwisely) gave an interview to Iraqi television during the Second Iraq War. In the interview, he stated that the civilian casualties inflicted by the Coalition forces were counterproductive. In August 2021, it was the turn of another New Zealand journalist, Charlotte Bellis reporting for Al Jazeera English, to tell us what she sees. And much of the world has now seen her. The author examines the pitfalls that she may face

Parton Cascade Description of Heavy-Ion Collisions at CERN ?

There seems to be a general consensus now that a first glimpse of a QGP-like effect has become visible in the beautiful NA50 data on J/\psi production and the `anomalous supression' phenomenon. On the other hand, it is still widely believed that the dynamics of heavy-ion collisions at CERN SPS energy is predominantly governed by soft, non-perturbative physics. This is ironic: after all, it is unlikely that a QGP could be formed if the underlying dynamics were essentyially soft, rather than that it requires intense quark-gluon production with sufficient cascade-like reinteractions which drive the matter to large density and equilibrium. Therefore, I advocate in this contribution that for ultra-relativistic nucleus-nucleus collisions a description based on the pQCD interactions and cascade evolution of involved partons can and should be used, owing to the claim that short-range parton interactions play an important role at sufficiently high beam energies, including CERN energy sqrt(s) = 20 A GeV. Here mini-jet production which liberates of quarks and gluons cannot be considered as an isolated rare phenomenon, but can occur quite copiously and may lead to complex multiple cascade-type processes.Comment: Proceedings for Quark Matter 97; 4 pages including 6 postscript figure

ON T CELL FATE DECISIONS: RETINOL, METABOLISM AND ITREG DIFFERENTIATION

The mammalian immune system is equipped to both eliminate pathogenic microorganisms and tumors, while remaining in homeostasis with commensal species at mucosal surfaces and tolerant towards self. Suppressor regulatory T cells (Tregs) are a major sentinel of this immunological tolerance. Induced Tregs (iTregs) arise in the periphery following the integration of cues from the metabolites, cytokines, etc. which make up its milieu. Dysregulation of iTreg development, function or homing underlies the etiology of many autoimmune diseases and immunopathologies. The amelioration or prevention of multiple murine disease models by boosting Treg cell numbers foreshadows clinical efficacy of iTreg therapy, but an incomplete understanding of Treg development has thus far prevented successful translation. Therefore, we considered the basic biology of T cell fate decision making from two unique, but integrated angles. First, we show that the stimulation of PPARγ in human T cells upregulates RDH10, a molecule which catalyzes the rate limiting step in the oxidation of retinol to transcriptionally active all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA), a positive regulator of iTreg development. This functionally intact pathway endows T cells the ability to autonomously sense and respond to retinoid signals present during Treg development and at tissue sites. Next, we asked questions about how T cells sense nutrient and oxygen availability as they differentiate. Tregs lacking the serine/threonine kinase PINK1 have limited activation-induced phosphorylation of Akt and oxidative phosphorylation rates, and reduced suppressor function. Notably, the uncoupling of iTreg function from normal FoxP3 expression reinforces the recent hypothesis that the PI3K/Akt/mTORC1 axis and metabolic checkpoints are decisive players in the acquisition of suppressor activity. Ultimately, the studies described herein converge on Akt and metabolism, and contribute to our understanding of how T cells integrate diverse signals present during fate determinism, provoking future Treg based therapeutics

Discovering baryon-number violating neutralino decays at the LHC.

Recently there has been much interest in the use of single-jet mass and jet substructure to identify boosted particles decaying hadronically at the LHC. We develop these ideas to address the challenging case of a neutralino decaying to three quarks in models with baryonic violation of R parity. These decays have previously been found to be swamped by QCD backgrounds. We demonstrate for the first time that such a decay might be observed directly at the LHC with high significance, by exploiting characteristics of the scales at which its composite jet breaks up into subjets

Restoring civic values to the news media ecology

The emergence of converged digital media platforms has seen a proliferation of new services, but also a disruption to value chains and business models, especially in a small, highly deregulated media market like New Zealand’s. Although consumer choice has expanded in some respects (e.g. subscriber video on demand via smart tablets), this does not fundamentally alter the information needs of citizens if they are to participate in a democratic society. Although digital media also provide spaces for citizen journalism and informed blogging, these complement, rather than replace, mainstream news production.&nbsp

Adventist Views on Creation

Abstract – Where do Adventist laity stand on the controversial issue of Creation and teaching Creation science in public schools? Key findings from a survey of Adventists and one of Adventist pastors in 2016 addressing these questions are shared along with comparisons by demographics and implications for the church

The Adventist Vote: Responses to the 2020 National Pre- Election Survey

The relationship between Adventism and the social-political world has implications for understanding how Adventists relate to politics and society. Researchers present the findings from a 2020 National Pre-Election Survey on politics and social issues as well as reasons for voting decisions, the importance, and positions on social issues

2014 UNESCO Lecture: ‘No-one died covering celebrity news’

Commentary: We enjoy freedom of speech in New Zealand, even though the Bill of Rights Act guarantee can be over-ridden. We have a variety of privately owned news media, even though the vast majority are owned by overseas interests. We have state-owned radio and television, even though our major television network was freed of its public service broadcasting obligations in order to pursue commercial goals. We have high quality tertiary institutions to train our future journalists, even though the ranks of our newsrooms have been systematically depleted. We have sophisticated telecommunications services, even though only 1 percent of us have optical broadband. The qualifications will not be lost on you. In other words, when I reflect on our good fortune I see that it is tempered by shortcomings, actual and potential. In this address I argue that the shortcomings are increasing and, if unchecked, ultimately threaten the way we function as a society