TVNZ7 a saviour for thoughtful New Zealanders

I discovered TVNZ7 only recently - only, in fact, when its imminent demise was announced. This was not entirely my fault. I have since discovered that many other people to whom TVNZ's programs would be of interest had not heard about it either. You can only receive it if you have Freetoair or Sky.

In my case this was because I was so disenchanted with New Zealand television that I had given up watching the existing NZ channels. I had decided to pay for Sky and extra again for the Arts Channel. That gave me BBC World, the History, Arts, Documentary and other channels - and brought me renewed interest in tv watching. It is not true that the very medium of tv has a dumbing down effect on programs. That comes of trying to bring in the most revenue by appealing to the lowest common denominator.

I was happy to be receiving programs that stimulated and entertained me but I also worried that I was becoming alienated from my country. I could hear intelligent news reporting on radio but I was never seeing any really good New Zealand programs giving me insights into what is happening in the country and what it means at a deeper level.

Then I discovered TVNZ7. To my amazement I realised there were some good New Zealand programs. Justin Paton presenting How to look at a painting, for instance or Emily Perkins hosting The Good Word or Russell Brown with Media7. Programmes of some solidity and substance. As soon as thoughtful New Zealanders are given a chance they come out of the woodwork. And the more practice they have the better they will get.

And there's another TVNZ7 program that I have come to adore: Justice - the right thing to do. It's American, it's a Havard professor lecturing on philosophy and it's captivating. Michael Sandel knows how to use the medium of tv alright but there are no concessions made to viewers. You have to be prepared to apply your own intelligence and spirit of enquiry if you want to get the most out of it. It's bliss!

It's hard not to be cynical when one discovers a channel like this only to learn that John Key's government is about to can it. He calls it 'a nice to have'. No, it's far more than that. It's a chance for thoughtful New Zealanders who care about their country and where it's heading to have a voice and to explore what is happening.

No Simple Passage: the journey of the London to New Zealand, 1842 is now on sale. A radio interview with Sounds Historical was broadcast on 8 April and is available for download for 8 weeks. For full details about No Simple Passage visit my website, www.jennyrobinjones.com. It also gives the link to Sounds Historical.

Hello Multitudes

I probably won't be posting a lot up here as most of my creative online energy is going into my website which I'd love you to visit! It's just gone live and is themed on history www.jennyrobinjones.com.

I'm using it to consider various aspects of appreciating history and also to tell people about my published work and work in progress. Currently I'm writing a book about 258 emigrants from the UK who came to Wellington, New Zealand in 1842. I seem to be congenitally incapable of writing anything as a straight history so the website attempts to give people an idea of my approach.