Author and Investigative Journalist
I will be talking tonight about the history and characteristics of propaganda, starting with the WWII versions as seen in the “Towards the Precipice” poster exhibition here at the museum and moving on to contemporary examples that together help us to understand the world we live in.
The Baubles of Office, The New Zealand General Election of 2005, edited by Stephen Levine and Nigel S. Roberts, Victoria University Press, March 2007, 600pp, $49.95.
reviewed by Nicky Hager
I would like to propose a New Year’s resolution for news organisations: sorting out the difference between genuine media commentators and giving regular media space to political party spin doctors….
Michael Bassett and Richard Long used their recent columns to criticise me and my book The Hollow Men but they barely mentioned, much less debated, the contents of the book. Nor did they acknowledge that they both feature prominently…..
Today, Tuesday 21 November 2006, was to be the day of the launch of my new book. The books are printed, preparations for the launch were finalised and then we learnt of Friday afternoon that an injunction had been granted that has blocked release of the book.
The book shows the internal working of New Zealand’s main conservative party (the National Party) from the election of a new leader, through two years of election campaigning, up to that leaders demise. Based on 1000s of internal communications, strategy papers, itineraries and meeting minutes, it gives an unprecedented insight into modern politics. After exposing numerous lies told to the public, revealing the cynical use of racism to woo redneck voters, secret relations with millionaire donors and much more, the party leader resigned on the day the book was published.
So, you do most of your banking online? Maybe you shouldn’t. As a computer hacker tells Nicky Hager, it is alarmingly easy for scamsters to break into your accounts….