44 Comments
User's avatar
Simon Sweetman's avatar

What a fucking shitshow. Them - not you.

Expand full comment
David Farrier's avatar

Ha, thanks Simon. 7 word message... I calculate that will generate an article of a least 10 paragraphs.

Expand full comment
Lauren's avatar

Love the photo of you in a domanatrix’s dungeon, really illustrates how your swimming experience was dominated by this guy and his video call... joking, at least it’s made the news a bit lighter than the covid cycle of news at the minute! That being said if you’re ever swimming and that guy is on a video call again I’d avoid standing behind him on the call because that could generate one hell of a follow up article 😂

Expand full comment
Sam L.'s avatar

I thought he SHOULD stand behind him on the next video call just to fuck with them. Imagine the clicks and head explosion emoji usage!

Expand full comment
Lauren's avatar

I can see the headline now “Media personality causes a storm gate crashing unsuspecting man’s video call NAKED🍆” 😂😭

Expand full comment
Christina's avatar

Hamilton Woman Receives Nude-Referencing Email From NZ Media Personality!

Expand full comment
David Farrier's avatar

Now THAT'S a headline

Expand full comment
Henry Maddocks's avatar

I'm curious about the process that leads to these articles. Do they have some software that scrapes Twitter and BookFace for keywords or rely on staff? Do they have an editorial meeting in the morning where the pick the "best" tweets or do the staff write any old rubbish and it gets published on the website? Do senior journalists write these while they're on the loo or do they out source it to the Philippines?

Expand full comment
David Farrier's avatar

I think just some new reporters who are just pressured to come up with stuff, trawling twitter. There's software also that tracks what tweets are currently "heating up" so you can predict which ones will go viral. Then you write the article before it hits peak viral, so you become part of the conversation.

Expand full comment
octopusworm (she/they)'s avatar

I'm always of two minds about these clickbait articles - on the one hand the lazy journalism annoys me (although I realise that there's a lot of pressure for instant stories/controversies), and on the other hand I'm usually impressed at how much can be made from so little, there's definitely a skill in that!

Expand full comment
David Farrier's avatar

I think that's a great way to look at it in order to maintain your sanity

Expand full comment
ktw's avatar

It is impressive how far they took it! Or is it depressing? My only concern is the never nude part. It's like when people tell me they don't eat eggplants or mushrooms... You're missing out on one of the joys of life! When the borders open up I highly recommend finding a nude beach in a foreign land where it's normal. It's very liberating! (And I guess easier in a land where you're not a well known media personality.

Expand full comment
David Farrier's avatar

NEVER! Ha!

Expand full comment
Sara Farmer's avatar

I'm a never-nude too, I'm glad there are others out there. I thought I was weird.

Expand full comment
Lucy-Jane Walsh's avatar

And now you have written an article about an article written about a tweet. Gotta love it

Expand full comment
David Farrier's avatar

This is very true. It's article inception!

Expand full comment
Melissa's avatar

Glad you survived this shocking event so you can come be a media personality for our entertainment.

Expand full comment
David Farrier's avatar

I am #blessed

Expand full comment
Tenille's avatar

NZ journalism is so random, such low hanging fruit and terrible stories. Then you have people like Paula Penfold and the amazing investigative journalism she is doing at Stuff. Personally I choose never to go to NZ Herald, it is such a cesspit of negativity. What a time we live in, an article and media circus from one small event in your day 🤦🏼‍♀️

Expand full comment
David Farrier's avatar

Stuff really flipped over when Sinead bought it, as well. There is a great episode of The Fold podcast with her, talking about her purchase of Stuff and the changes she made. And yeah, Paula's team there is so, so good.

Expand full comment
AngC's avatar

I'm surprised the NZ Herald didn't manage to cram something about Harry and Meghan into the article about your tweet as well...

Expand full comment
David Farrier's avatar

They really missed a trick

Expand full comment
Sarah Munn's avatar

No, bringing nothing to the world other than, in this case, being hilarious. Aww David Farrier, my favourite Media Personality. 😭💀

Expand full comment
Mothy's avatar

Hello Dave I’m doing a little piece for the herald about how the basketball in the changing room belonged to Steve Adams. Can you confirm it was Larry David who accidentally tripped him up at a game due to leg cramp? Xo

Expand full comment
David Farrier's avatar

I think I know a place that's hiring... !

Expand full comment
Mauricio Freitas's avatar

About four years ago I made this list...

https://www.freitasm.com/8888

Expand full comment
David Farrier's avatar

LOVE this, Mauricio!

Expand full comment
Sleve McDichael's avatar

Congrats on your promotion to media personality, David! You're mainstream now!!

Do you think there should be some effort in isolating shit "news" like this so it doesn't fill the same feed as Things That Matter? Or do you think this would obstruct our freedoms as... Journalists...? Although this isn't as shameless as say, completely falsifying something (the future of news is inevitably full of audio and video fakes) and the stakes here were pretty low, but it feels very dystopian...

Expand full comment
David Farrier's avatar

I think there should be no reporting on tweets. Single tweets. I think that should be the rule. Simple, and clear. I don't mind some fluff, but I have my limits!

Expand full comment
Andra Jenkin's avatar

Unless Biden tweets that Area 51 really does contain a dead alien.

Expand full comment
Tania's avatar

Hahaha, this was amazing!!!

I have noticed so much lazy "journalism" of late, where people's twitter/insta pages are turned into articles, so bizarre...

There mustn't be enough covid/scaremongering news around at the moment 😂

Expand full comment
David Farrier's avatar

There is just no budget or time to allow journalists to do old fashioned stuff like get outside or make calls. So Twitter is like this instant string of "facts" that can be latched onto. Easy stories. I hate it!

Expand full comment