New Zealand blogosphere
Encyclopedia
New Zealand
's blogosphere is a small community of around 600 blogs that comment largely on New Zealand politics, society and occurrences.
's Kiwiblog
and Jordan Carter's Just Left, and many bloggers are journalists and print media commentators such as the bloggers on Russell Brown
's Public Address.
Unlike overseas counterparts, both Rodney Hide
, Red Alert and Frogblog allow comments.
Numerous politicians began blogs during the 2005 election
, but these have since ceased.
described political bloggers as being potentially the most powerful "opinion makers" in New Zealand politics. A few weeks earlier the National Business Review
had stated that, "Any realistic 'power list' produced in this country would include either [David] Farrar
or his fellow blogger and opinion leader Russell Brown
." And in 2008 The Press
said that year's election "could be the time when New Zealand's burgeoning political bloggers finally make their presence felt". The article saw the increasing influence of the Internet (as opposed to television
and radio
) on people's lives and the number of professional journalists now maintaining blogs as the reason for the blogosphere's increased significance, alongside the fact that unlike newspapers blogs can link directly to facts and sources. The blogosphere has also make an impart on parliament – Russell Brown is quoted as saying, "Every now and then you see a line from the blog turn up in a parliamentary speech" and in December 2007 then prime minister Helen Clark
accused political journalists of "rushing to judgment" on their blogs.
, an Auckland man convicted of sedition
in 2006, is also a prominent blogger, often bringing up controversial points. The pamphlet for which he was convicted and imprisoned on a charge of sedition was published on his website. Selwyn was also criticised in parliament for sending letters about his prison experiences to his co-blogger Martyn 'Bomber' Bradbury
, who posted them on the blog.
In August 2006, Sunday News
revealed a blog site set up by Wellington
-based national socialist
Nic Miller after personal details of four Jewish families living in the city were posted on it. The details were later removed from the site.
On Dec 23, 2009, Cameron Slater
was charged with five counts of breaching name suppression orders. The charges relate to two blog posts that contained pictures which reveal the identities of two New Zealanders.
On Jan 11, 2010, Slater published a blog post that used binary and hexadecimal code to reveal the identity of a person charged with indecent assault on a 13 year old girl. The Nelson
Bays police announced that they would investigate this further breach of New Zealand's name suppression laws.
On 1 June 2010, Dannevirke blogger Henk van Helmond was convicted of breaching a name suppression order and given a suspended sentence. The judge suppressed the publication of any details which might identify van Helmond's blog.
. The Ministry responded to the publication of the blog, which published the details of several social workers, by complaining to internet company Google
. The blog remained online until 22 February 2007 when Google deleted the site, due to the blog's anonymous author making death threats towards Green
MP Sue Bradford
because of her Crimes (Abolition of Force as a Justification for Child Discipline) Amendment Bill 2005.
printed an editorial that stated "[M]ost bloggers – and we're talking 95 per cent – are fly-by-night, gutless wonders who prefer to spit inarticulate venom under inarticulate pseudonyms." Since then though the newspaper has picked up multiple stories first broken on blogs (see below).
Some current and former bloggers have worked in or for the media industry, such as Russell Brown
, Keith Ng, Tze Ming Mok
and Dave Crampton.
Political scientist Bryce Edwards who maintains the liberation blog has also been a guest columnist for The New Zealand Herald as has Geoffrey Miller of Douglas to Dancing.
nor Heather Roy
had been showing up to Parliament and consequently the ACT party had not voted in the 2006 budget
debate. The story was subsequently picked up by The Dominion Post and The New Zealand Herald. In February 2008 a blog post by Russell Brown about the Wikipedia article on Bill English
being edited from a computer at parliament received coverage in The New Zealand Herald. The story had first been broken on The Standard, a blog with links to the Labour Party
. A similar story was that of a computer at Air New Zealand
being used to edit the Wikipedia article on Air New Zealand Flight 901
which was first mentioned on NZBC and later picked up by The Press. In April 2008, blogger David Farrar
revealed the Green Party
's preliminary party list. The story was subsequently picked up by NZPA and published on Stuff. In June blogger 'Skinny' made the discovery that a photo used in promotional material about the 2008 budget was of an American
family, not a New Zealand one – the story was then published in The New Zealand Herald.
to personal blogs. There are also a number of geographical based blog such as The Wellingtonista.
at Sciblogs.
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
's blogosphere is a small community of around 600 blogs that comment largely on New Zealand politics, society and occurrences.
Political blogs
There are a considerable number of blogs that focus on the politics of New Zealand. The Tumeke! nz blogosphere lists over 200 "author-operated, public discourse" blogs in New Zealand and ranks them according to a formula of traffic, links incoming, posting frequency and comments. These rankings show a wide range of ideological positions are popular and that female bloggers are scarce. Many blogs are written by current and former party apparatchiks, such as David FarrarDavid Farrar (New Zealand)
David Peter Farrar is a New Zealand political activist, blogger, and pollster. He is a frequent commentator in the media on Internet issues. Farrar has held many roles within the New Zealand National Party and has worked in Parliament for four National Party leaders.His blog, Kiwiblog, is the most...
's Kiwiblog
Kiwiblog
Kiwiblog is a popular New Zealand right of centre politics blog written by David Farrar.Kiwiblog is one of the most widely read blogs in New Zealand...
and Jordan Carter's Just Left, and many bloggers are journalists and print media commentators such as the bloggers on Russell Brown
Russell Brown (New Zealand)
Russell Brown is a well-known New Zealand media commentator, and the owner of the Public Address community of blogs, and writes Hard News Hard News the blog is based on the Hard News radio slot spoken by Brown from 1991 to 2002 on bFM, an Auckland student radio station...
's Public Address.
Blogs from within political parties
- The ACT party leader Rodney HideRodney HideRodney Hide is a New Zealand politician who was leader of the political party ACT New Zealand from 2004 to 2011. From 2005 to 2011 he represented the electorate of Epsom as its Member of Parliament. Rodney Hide was Minister of Local Government, Associate Minister of Commerce and Minister of...
has a blog. Hide often comments from within the House of RepresentativesNew Zealand House of RepresentativesThe New Zealand House of Representatives is the sole chamber of the legislature of New Zealand. The House and the Queen of New Zealand form the New Zealand Parliament....
itself. - Craig FossCraig FossCraig Foss is a New Zealand politician, and currently serves as a Member of Parliament.-Early years:Foss was born on 4 July 1963 in Lower Hutt, and attended Victoria University of Wellington, completing a BCA...
, National MP for Tukituki, has his own personal blog. - The Green PartyGreen Party of Aotearoa New ZealandThe Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand is a political party that has seats in the New Zealand parliament. It focuses firstly on environmentalism, arguing that all other aspects of humanity will cease to be of concern if there is no environment to sustain it...
has an official blog, Frogblog, which often links to, and expands on, Green party press releases. The blog is partly written by Greens co-leader Russel NormanRussel NormanDr Russel William Norman is a New Zealand politician and environmentalist. He is a Member of Parliament and co-leader of the Green Party alongside Metiria Turei.- Early life :...
. - The LabourNew Zealand Labour PartyThe New Zealand Labour Party is a New Zealand political party. It describes itself as centre-left and socially progressive and has been one of the two primary parties of New Zealand politics since 1935....
caucus has an official blog, Red Alert, in which the MPs discuss policy and Parliamentary business.
Unlike overseas counterparts, both Rodney Hide
Rodney Hide
Rodney Hide is a New Zealand politician who was leader of the political party ACT New Zealand from 2004 to 2011. From 2005 to 2011 he represented the electorate of Epsom as its Member of Parliament. Rodney Hide was Minister of Local Government, Associate Minister of Commerce and Minister of...
, Red Alert and Frogblog allow comments.
Numerous politicians began blogs during the 2005 election
New Zealand general election, 2005
The 2005 New Zealand general election held on 17 September 2005 determined the composition of the 48th New Zealand Parliament. No party won a majority in the unicameral House of Representatives, but the Labour Party of Prime Minister Helen Clark secured two more seats than nearest rival, the...
, but these have since ceased.
Lobby group blogs
A number of political pressure groups have blogs.- Climaction, a coalition against climate change
- Coalition for Open GovernmentCoalition for Open GovernmentThe Coalition for Open Government was a political pressure group formed in the late 1970s to promote open government in New Zealand. The Coalition disbanded in the mid 1980s, but re-formed in April 2007, in response to Government plans to rewrite the election finance laws.-History:The group formed...
- The Socialist Worker (Aotearoa)Socialist Worker (Aotearoa)Socialist Worker is a socialist organisation based in Aotearoa/New Zealand.SW evolved out of the group known as the Socialist Workers Organization, the successor organisation of the Communist Party of New Zealand...
blog gives a view from the revolutionary left
Unofficial blogs
Many political activists in New Zealand maintain blogs.- Trevor LoudonTrevor LoudonTrevor Loudon is a New Zealand political activist who was vice president of the ACT New Zealand Party from 2006 to 2008. He has been involved in politics in Christchurch for many years, most notably the Campaign for a Soviet Free New Zealand a group which published dossiers on people involved in...
, former Vice-President of ACT New Zealand, has a blog, New Zeal, although it mainly pertains to anti-communism rather than ACT party policy. - Joe Carolan from Socialist AotearoaSocialist AotearoaSocialist Aotearoa is a socialist organisation based in Aotearoa/New Zealand. SA formed as a split from Socialist Worker in 2008. They have branches in Auckland and Wellington and work closely with the International Socialist Organisation. Although the two groups are not formally aligned with the...
updates SocialistAotearoa.org. - Peter Cresswell, former leader of the small LibertarianzLibertarianzLibertarianz is a political party in New Zealand that advocates libertarianism, favouring self-government and limiting the power of the government over the individual. Ayn Rand's philosophy of Objectivism is a major influence on the party...
Party maintains the popular Not PC blog on libertarian issues. - Academic Stephen Marshall has a blog on legal matters, and particularly copyright.
Relationship to "mainstream" politics
A 2007 New Zealand Herald article by Bill RalstonBill Ralston
Bill Ralston is a New Zealand journalist, broadcaster, and media personality, active in television, radio and print. He has worked as a political correspondent, fronted the television arts show Backch@t, and was the head of news and current affairs at TVNZ from 2003 to 2007...
described political bloggers as being potentially the most powerful "opinion makers" in New Zealand politics. A few weeks earlier the National Business Review
National Business Review
The National Business Review is a weekly New Zealand newspaper aimed at the business sector. The paper is owned by Barry Colman who also publishes the Grocers Review and several other small trade publications....
had stated that, "Any realistic 'power list' produced in this country would include either [David] Farrar
David Farrar (New Zealand)
David Peter Farrar is a New Zealand political activist, blogger, and pollster. He is a frequent commentator in the media on Internet issues. Farrar has held many roles within the New Zealand National Party and has worked in Parliament for four National Party leaders.His blog, Kiwiblog, is the most...
or his fellow blogger and opinion leader Russell Brown
Russell Brown (New Zealand)
Russell Brown is a well-known New Zealand media commentator, and the owner of the Public Address community of blogs, and writes Hard News Hard News the blog is based on the Hard News radio slot spoken by Brown from 1991 to 2002 on bFM, an Auckland student radio station...
." And in 2008 The Press
The Press
The Press is a daily broadsheet newspaper published in Christchurch, New Zealand. It is owned by Fairfax Media.- History :The Press was first published on 25 May 1861 from a small cottage in Montreal Street, making it the oldest surviving newspaper in the South Island of New Zealand. The first...
said that year's election "could be the time when New Zealand's burgeoning political bloggers finally make their presence felt". The article saw the increasing influence of the Internet (as opposed to television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
and radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
) on people's lives and the number of professional journalists now maintaining blogs as the reason for the blogosphere's increased significance, alongside the fact that unlike newspapers blogs can link directly to facts and sources. The blogosphere has also make an impart on parliament – Russell Brown is quoted as saying, "Every now and then you see a line from the blog turn up in a parliamentary speech" and in December 2007 then prime minister Helen Clark
Helen Clark
Helen Elizabeth Clark, ONZ is a New Zealand political figure who was the 37th Prime Minister of New Zealand for three consecutive terms from 1999 to 2008...
accused political journalists of "rushing to judgment" on their blogs.
Criminal charges
Tim SelwynTim Selwyn
Tim Selwyn is a New Zealand political activist who was found guilty of sedition on 8 June 2006, the first person charged with sedition in New Zealand for more than 30 years. He is also editor of magazine, has a with the same name....
, an Auckland man convicted of sedition
Sedition
In law, sedition is overt conduct, such as speech and organization, that is deemed by the legal authority to tend toward insurrection against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent to lawful authority. Sedition may include any...
in 2006, is also a prominent blogger, often bringing up controversial points. The pamphlet for which he was convicted and imprisoned on a charge of sedition was published on his website. Selwyn was also criticised in parliament for sending letters about his prison experiences to his co-blogger Martyn 'Bomber' Bradbury
Martyn 'Bomber' Bradbury
Martyn 'Bomber' Bradbury is a left-wing New Zealand media commentator, radio and TV host, and was executive producer of Alt TV - NZ's Alternative music and culture channel ALT TV. He is a blogger of the Tumeke! blog...
, who posted them on the blog.
In August 2006, Sunday News
Sunday News
The Sunday News is a New Zealand tabloid newspaper published each weekend by the Fairfax group in Auckland. In addition to a self-described 'punchy' take on the news, it features coverage of weekend sport, entertainment, star gossip, fashion and TV listings.The Sunday News has editorial offices in...
revealed a blog site set up by Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
-based national socialist
Neo-Nazism
Neo-Nazism consists of post-World War II social or political movements seeking to revive Nazism or some variant thereof.The term neo-Nazism can also refer to the ideology of these movements....
Nic Miller after personal details of four Jewish families living in the city were posted on it. The details were later removed from the site.
On Dec 23, 2009, Cameron Slater
Cameron Slater
Cameron Slater is a controversial New Zealand based Internet blogger who is best known for publishing the Whale Oil Beef Hooked blog. Slater is the son of former National Party President John Slater....
was charged with five counts of breaching name suppression orders. The charges relate to two blog posts that contained pictures which reveal the identities of two New Zealanders.
On Jan 11, 2010, Slater published a blog post that used binary and hexadecimal code to reveal the identity of a person charged with indecent assault on a 13 year old girl. The Nelson
Nelson, New Zealand
Nelson is a city on the eastern shores of Tasman Bay, and is the economic and cultural centre of the Nelson-Tasman region. Established in 1841, it is the second oldest settled city in New Zealand and the oldest in the South Island....
Bays police announced that they would investigate this further breach of New Zealand's name suppression laws.
On 1 June 2010, Dannevirke blogger Henk van Helmond was convicted of breaching a name suppression order and given a suspended sentence. The judge suppressed the publication of any details which might identify van Helmond's blog.
CYFS Watch
In January 2007 another controversial blog, CYFS Watch, appeared. The blog's stated aim was unveiling examples of alleged incompetence by the Child Youth and Family Service (known by its acronym CYFS) of the Ministry of Social DevelopmentNew Zealand Ministry of Social Development
The Ministry of Social Development is a New Zealand government agency which has two main functions: providing social policy advice to the government, and providing social services. It is New Zealand’s largest government department employing people in over 200 locations around the country...
. The Ministry responded to the publication of the blog, which published the details of several social workers, by complaining to internet company Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
. The blog remained online until 22 February 2007 when Google deleted the site, due to the blog's anonymous author making death threats towards Green
Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand
The Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand is a political party that has seats in the New Zealand parliament. It focuses firstly on environmentalism, arguing that all other aspects of humanity will cease to be of concern if there is no environment to sustain it...
MP Sue Bradford
Sue Bradford
Sue Bradford is a New Zealand politician who served as a list Member of Parliament representing the Green Party from 1999 to 2009.- Early life :...
because of her Crimes (Abolition of Force as a Justification for Child Discipline) Amendment Bill 2005.
Media relationship
The majority of bloggers still rely upon the media for the provision of news stories to comment upon. However, they do not repeat the news, instead putting forward their viewpoint on it. The mainstream media at first was highly critical of bloggers. In January 2007 The New Zealand HeraldThe New Zealand Herald
- External links :* * *...
printed an editorial that stated "[M]ost bloggers – and we're talking 95 per cent – are fly-by-night, gutless wonders who prefer to spit inarticulate venom under inarticulate pseudonyms." Since then though the newspaper has picked up multiple stories first broken on blogs (see below).
Some current and former bloggers have worked in or for the media industry, such as Russell Brown
Russell Brown (New Zealand)
Russell Brown is a well-known New Zealand media commentator, and the owner of the Public Address community of blogs, and writes Hard News Hard News the blog is based on the Hard News radio slot spoken by Brown from 1991 to 2002 on bFM, an Auckland student radio station...
, Keith Ng, Tze Ming Mok
Tze Ming Mok
Tze Ming Mok , born 1978) is a fiction writer and sociopolitical commentator, and has been a prominent New Zealand Asian community advocate...
and Dave Crampton.
Political scientist Bryce Edwards who maintains the liberation blog has also been a guest columnist for The New Zealand Herald as has Geoffrey Miller of Douglas to Dancing.
Bloggers breaking news
There have been many notable examples of bloggers breaking news stories and then having the media pick it up. For instance, Idiot/Savant discovered that neither Rodney HideRodney Hide
Rodney Hide is a New Zealand politician who was leader of the political party ACT New Zealand from 2004 to 2011. From 2005 to 2011 he represented the electorate of Epsom as its Member of Parliament. Rodney Hide was Minister of Local Government, Associate Minister of Commerce and Minister of...
nor Heather Roy
Heather Roy
Heather Roy , is a New Zealand politician and has served as an ACT Member of Parliament since 2002. From 2006 until 17 August 2010, Roy was ACT's Deputy Leader...
had been showing up to Parliament and consequently the ACT party had not voted in the 2006 budget
2006 New Zealand budget
The New Zealand budget for fiscal year 2006-2007 was presented to the New Zealand House of Representatives by Finance Minister Hon. Dr Michael Cullen on 18 May 2006.This was the seventh budget Michael Cullen has presented as Minister of Finance...
debate. The story was subsequently picked up by The Dominion Post and The New Zealand Herald. In February 2008 a blog post by Russell Brown about the Wikipedia article on Bill English
Bill English
Simon William "Bill" English is the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance and Minister of Infrastructure of New Zealand.English entered parliament in 1990 as a National party MP representing the Wallace electorate...
being edited from a computer at parliament received coverage in The New Zealand Herald. The story had first been broken on The Standard, a blog with links to the Labour Party
New Zealand Labour Party
The New Zealand Labour Party is a New Zealand political party. It describes itself as centre-left and socially progressive and has been one of the two primary parties of New Zealand politics since 1935....
. A similar story was that of a computer at Air New Zealand
Air New Zealand
Air New Zealand Limited is the national airline and flag carrier of New Zealand. Based in Auckland, New Zealand, the airline operates scheduled passenger flights to 26 domestic destinations and 24 international destinations in 15 countries across Asia, Europe, North America and Oceania, and is...
being used to edit the Wikipedia article on Air New Zealand Flight 901
Air New Zealand Flight 901
Air New Zealand Flight 901 was a scheduled Air New Zealand Antarctic sightseeing flight that operated between 1977 and 1979, from Auckland Airport to Antarctica and return via Christchurch...
which was first mentioned on NZBC and later picked up by The Press. In April 2008, blogger David Farrar
David Farrar (New Zealand)
David Peter Farrar is a New Zealand political activist, blogger, and pollster. He is a frequent commentator in the media on Internet issues. Farrar has held many roles within the New Zealand National Party and has worked in Parliament for four National Party leaders.His blog, Kiwiblog, is the most...
revealed the Green Party
Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand
The Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand is a political party that has seats in the New Zealand parliament. It focuses firstly on environmentalism, arguing that all other aspects of humanity will cease to be of concern if there is no environment to sustain it...
's preliminary party list. The story was subsequently picked up by NZPA and published on Stuff. In June blogger 'Skinny' made the discovery that a photo used in promotional material about the 2008 budget was of an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
family, not a New Zealand one – the story was then published in The New Zealand Herald.
Non-political blogs
There are numerous non-political blogs. They range from music blogs to group blogsCollaborative blog
A collaborative blog is a type of weblog in which posts are written and published by more than one author. The majority of high profile collaborative blogs are based around a single uniting theme, such as politics or technology....
to personal blogs. There are also a number of geographical based blog such as The Wellingtonista.
Personal blogs
There are many long-running personal blogs, which have been around since the mid- or late-1990s.- Hubris - Joanna McLeod (1998)
- PeoplePoints - Paul ReynoldsPaul Reynolds (commentator)Paul Reynolds was a New Zealand internet advocate in the cultural sector. He was notable as an early advocate of IT systems and the Internet in the cultural sector in New Zealand....
(1997–2010) - Robyn Gallagher (1996)
- Aardvark - Bruce SimpsonBruce SimpsonFor the Canadian pole vaulter with the same name see Bruce Simpson Bruce Simpson is an internet celebrity and activist from New Zealand best known for his long running blog and his 2003 attempt to build a missile with parts ordered from internet retailers.-Aardvark Daily:Simpson's personal website...
(1995)
Fashion blogs
With the development of the fashion industry in New Zealand, a lot of fashion blogs have appeared, most of them being online magazines.Science blogs
A group of science, technology and medical bloggers are operating under the auspices of the Science media centre Royal Society of New ZealandRoyal Society of New Zealand
The Royal Society of New Zealand , known as the New Zealand Institute before 1933, was established in 1867 to co-ordinate and assist the activities of a number of regional research societies including the Auckland Institute, the Wellington Philosophical Society, the Philosophical Institute of...
at Sciblogs.