Media: Don't blame the monkey, blame the organ grinder

Paul Henry. Photo / Greg Bowker

Don't attack Paul Henry for his latest orchestrated outrage - questioning whether Anand Satyanand has been "New Zealand enough" to be Governor-General.

Don't blame the monkey, blame the organ grinder.

The real question is about Television New Zealand and its cynical use of racial comments to boost publicity and profits.

Henry is on a free rein despite multiple attacks on people whose main offence is to be different to Paul Henry. It's one thing to be entertainingly offensive - another to state that some racial groups have no right to hold the country's highest office.

Presumably the job is for white people like Henry - and Maori. New Zealand Chinese who came here in the 19th century probably don't count.

Henry and TVNZ have gone beyond Paul Holmes and his "cheeky darkie" joke on Newstalk ZB back in 2003. That was due to an emotional lapse by Holmes and lax standards from Newstalk.

There have been official complaints and TVNZ says it cannot comment while the complaints process is completed. Even if it upheld, no doubt there will be another flurry of publicity and more hits to the website.

It's easy to tutt-tutt Henry's comments running alongside the Commonwealth Games. There was the naughty schoolboy act mispronouncing the name of Delhi's Chief Minister, Sheila Dikshit.

But Henry's comments betray a very small town New Zealand - not a place like Auckland with people from multiple ethnic backgrounds. The outrageous message is clear from state TV - you might be born in New Zealand, or have lived here 20 years, but if you look different you are not a New Zealander.

No doubt the hit rates will have gone up at its website. The TVNZ sales department will be laughing.

According to a TVNZ spokeswoman: "The audience tell us over and over again that one of the things they love about Paul Henry is that he's prepared to say the things we quietly think but are scared to say out loud," she said.

"The question of John Key is the same, we want the answer but are too scared to ask" the TVNZ person said.

The question I'm scared to ask is whether anything goes at TVNZ news so long as it means ratings and ad revenue.

And why does TVNZ put so much time and energy talking to Redneck New Zealand?