No story here, says Miss New Zealand pageant

06 Apr '07

3 min read

Mr Yan equates the syndrome to jantelagen in Scandinavian countries, especially Denmark and Sweden.

Mr Yan says that international media and the blogosphere need to take care in reporting the story.

'The Miss Universe Organization should think of this as a Rosie O'Donnell moment,' he says, referring to a recent incident where TV talk show host Rosie O'Donnell attacked Miss Universe pageant owner Donald Trump.

'At the end of the day, this was a minor story by a foreign-owned newspaper,' says Mr Yan. 'The Press would probably be far happier doing a story fêting Jennifer Hawkins,' he says, referring to a former Miss Australia and Miss Universe 2004.

'Circulation of newspapers is generally falling, and just as Fairfax chose to republish the Mohammed cartoons last year, it has chosen to publish a non-story this year.'

He says the incident must be embarrassing for The Press, as he and Ms Lott have heard from New Zealand businesses that have immediately taken Miss Barrett's side.

'I think the Fairfax Press has alienated potential advertisers today and that seems to have been the first consequence.'

'The second consequence is that they have proven that Laural Barrett is a discerning young woman, and have provided her with even more grounding to be the next Miss Universe.'

Jack Yan