Tuesday's Close Up featured a short look at Dakta Green, the Daktory and Mary Jane the Cannabus. Clocking in at under six minutes, the first two minutes features a strange confrontation that is never adequately explained. Over a heavy soundtrack of Bob Marley and Sublime's cover of Smoke Two Joints, a 4:20 sesh is filmed complete with blurry camera effects.
There's a brief look at the Daktory, again featuring the blurry camera work, as well as a look at Dakta's bedroom, while Cypress Hill plays over top of the commentary. Bizarrely, the final minute looks at Dakta's personal life and the effect that full time campaigning and imprisonment has had on family contact.
Dakta responded to the biased program the following day at the Daktory blog:
After the disgracefully one sided story that was shown on Tv1’s Close Up last night, we are encouraging everyone to send letters of complaint to the Broadcasting Standards Authority.To add insult to injury, the makers of that biased report are now being investigated for smoking marijuana after filming:
The Herald understands a complaint about the item included an allegation that four TVNZ staff took drugs with the Norml contingent in the bus after filming had finished for the day.Not content with abusing the trust of someone trying to rally against the stupid cannabis prohibition laws, the alleged journos did so after abusing the hospitality of their subjects. That's not just hypocritical, it's plain rude.
The complainant said the group had photos of the staff smoking the cannabis.
Last night, TVNZ spokeswoman Megan Richards would not give any details of the "serious allegations" or say how many staff were involved, but confirmed that an investigation was under way.
It's two-faced stuff like this that reinforces why I deal with the media very reluctantly. Bring back Genevieve Westcott, I say. At least she knows what investigative journalism means.
