Well said. I like how you identify the problem – publishers and the online advertising model – AND the best way to get results – contacting the publishers and advertisers. We all love a good rant on Twitter, but this is actually how you hit these people in the only place they care about: their wallet.
When Bob Jones did his racist screed in NBR (remember that? Māori should bring "us" breakfast in bed, or polish our cars, "out of gratitude for existing"? Oh, the halcyon days of 2018), I didn't write a word on Twitter. I instead sent an email to half a dozen of the companies who paid for subscriptions to NBR, as listed on their site. I pointed out what Jones had said, that he had a history with racism before he was hired by NBR, and asked if you agreed with this sort of content, and how their money could be seen as endorsing his views. Sure, most of them brushed me off, but one energy company representative wrote back with a deeply personal story of how offended he was, and I like to think it played some small part behind the scenes of putting pressure on NBR to stop publishing him. Which they did shortly after.
New Zealand is a tiny country and it doesn't take much direct protest to get things to change. I work in advertising and I've seen many, many times how scared companies get if there's just ONE complaint about an ad – yes, all those old people complaining about to the Advertising Standards Authority works, if only because it's a pain in the ass to have to deal with it. It's not as fun as getting likes on Twitter but it works.
Haha love how my first comment on your substack is about farts! I apologise! I love your writing and can't wait to read more here and on Mastodon. The bird app is dead, long live Mastodon?
"Mike Hosking’s blithe strawmen frequently contain so little substance that they barely qualify as brain-farts"
My butt-farts have more substance than Mike Hosking's strawmen and his toxic, noxious columns and comments on radio. I seriously hate this guy, and now I know why Media love him...
Well said. I like how you identify the problem – publishers and the online advertising model – AND the best way to get results – contacting the publishers and advertisers. We all love a good rant on Twitter, but this is actually how you hit these people in the only place they care about: their wallet.
When Bob Jones did his racist screed in NBR (remember that? Māori should bring "us" breakfast in bed, or polish our cars, "out of gratitude for existing"? Oh, the halcyon days of 2018), I didn't write a word on Twitter. I instead sent an email to half a dozen of the companies who paid for subscriptions to NBR, as listed on their site. I pointed out what Jones had said, that he had a history with racism before he was hired by NBR, and asked if you agreed with this sort of content, and how their money could be seen as endorsing his views. Sure, most of them brushed me off, but one energy company representative wrote back with a deeply personal story of how offended he was, and I like to think it played some small part behind the scenes of putting pressure on NBR to stop publishing him. Which they did shortly after.
New Zealand is a tiny country and it doesn't take much direct protest to get things to change. I work in advertising and I've seen many, many times how scared companies get if there's just ONE complaint about an ad – yes, all those old people complaining about to the Advertising Standards Authority works, if only because it's a pain in the ass to have to deal with it. It's not as fun as getting likes on Twitter but it works.
Haha love how my first comment on your substack is about farts! I apologise! I love your writing and can't wait to read more here and on Mastodon. The bird app is dead, long live Mastodon?
"Mike Hosking’s blithe strawmen frequently contain so little substance that they barely qualify as brain-farts"
My butt-farts have more substance than Mike Hosking's strawmen and his toxic, noxious columns and comments on radio. I seriously hate this guy, and now I know why Media love him...