Mediaworks hearts Key

Written By: - Date published: 7:05 pm, June 11th, 2011 - 33 comments
Categories: spin - Tags:

Remember John Key’s Hardtalk interview? He wilted under real questioning. How would he handle 22 minutes with New Zealand’s most feared interviewer, Sean Plunket? Seems the $43 million bailout of Mediaworks bought a lot of soft questions. 22 minutes of pap. If you can be bothered, don’t watch, just listen. Picture Plunket cradling Key like a newborn. [cheers for the pic, William Joyce]

33 comments on “Mediaworks hearts Key ”

  1. Clipbox 1

    How can anyone watch him talk for anymore than a soundbite…

    • Treetop 1.1

      I can assure you it was not easy listening for 22 minutes.

    • Zetetic 1.2

      with a great deal of pain in my case.

      the first 15 minutes was ‘gee, aren’t you a wonderful guy to have got where you are’. The last 7 minutes was Plunket prompting Key to run his lines on asset sales and beneficiary bashing and not mentioning a single criticism of them.

  2. ianmac 2

    Really a continuation of Plunket’s line on Morning Report. Yet Plunket managed to spend his entire time grilling Goff a few weeks ago over important stuff like history from over 20 years ago. Phil handled it well but since we are in Election year you would think the questioning would be about contemporary matters. Consistency? Fair go?
    A good ref is evenhanded and fair. But Plunket would be an awful ref.

    • The difference ianmac is that Goff is slagging Key off about the very things that Goff himself was doing 1984-1990; selling state assets.

      • Armchair Critic 2.1.1

        That’ll be because Labour learned that selling state assets off was a bad idea after they were voted out in 1990, partially because state assets sales weren’t popular back then. National then spent some terms in government demonstrating to Labour that asset sales aren’t popular.
        Based on this education, Labour changed their behaviour and spent several terms buying back some of the assets that were sold.
        I understand that you have had some changes in your beliefs since 1984-1990. If it is good enough for you to see the light and change your mind, it must be okay for Mr Goff, to do so too. I form my opinion of you based on your most recent behaviour (i.e. I’m sure there will be a Christian music post on your blog tomorrow), just like I do Mr Goff, and most recently he’s been in a government that buys back state assets.

      • Draco T Bastard 2.1.2

        Actually, the difference is that Goff has learned that selling state assets is bad for the economy and Jonkey and National haven’t.

      • RedLogix 2.1.3

        Is that the best you can do Inv2?

        Thirty years ago Goff was a young man, at the beginning of his political career, in a govt dominated by now notorious figures such as Douglas and Prebble.

        Trying to pin the Cabinet collective responsibility of that era onto the Leader of the Labour Party in 2011, a party that whose avowed sentiment and policies are opposed to asset sales .. is desperately weak argument.

        • Colonial Viper 2.1.3.1

          Desperation and weakness in the Righty camp is going to be a recurring trait in the next few months.

          They know that they haven’t done anything to deserve their current approval ratings, and they also know that the tide of those ratings is going out on them right now.

  3. aj 3

    Woman’s Weekly stuff. I thought, a National Party infomercial.

  4. aj 4

    Oh – and as I was slipping into a coma I thought I heard him wishing we could be like Singapore? Hasn’t someone (Dimpost?) already picked that bizzare idea to peices?
    I guess he can’t use the Ireland expereience anymore…

    • Colonial Viper 4.1

      Wishing we could be more like Singapore? A country which goes out of its way to acquire assets not sell them, and which directs masses of public money into advanced science and technology?

      A country which recognises the importance of good leadership at all levels of Government and a strong active public service.

      A country which knows that its economic future cannot lie in hort/ag and which knows that water resources are precious and must be carefully used and cared for?

      John Key = lol

      • Draco T Bastard 4.1.1

        If Jonkey and National say that we should be more like any other country in the world then what they mean is that we should be more like what they think those other countries are like.

        Personally, I think we should just be ourselves and back ourselves with our resources rather than selling them off for fictional numbers in a machine. Stop the exploitation of our people that NAct champion and we’ll all be a lot better off.

      • aj 4.1.2

        Exactly. I meant bizarre that the leader of a government with stated opposite intentions would make that comparison. And of course Plunket didn’t call him on it, that is if he actually knows anything about Singapore

  5. marsman 5

    ‘NZ’s most feared interviewer ‘? Is he like Garner ? Smarmy, and a bit of a schoolyard bully? A man-child in a job only an adult should be in ?
    PS don’t want to watch or listen to the clip, don’t want to spoil my evening.

  6. marsman 6

    Basically Joyce has bought Key an even easier ride with tax-payer dollars.

  7. Jum 7

    And when Key touched his hand to his ‘heart’ like the Americans do (like America’s stooge now does); sickmaking.

  8. Jum 8

    What’s the bet Plunket’s about to run out of job sources and Key offered to buy him…?

  9. RedLogix 9

    Plunket’s credibility was blown years ago. For years he enjoyed the limelight as this high profile hard-hitting political journo but much of it was really just a free ride off the back of hard-working RNZ researchers… the ones who do the real work.

    I’ll always recall one Morning Report in the lead up to the 2008 Election, he’d given Dr Cullen, and some other left wing figure, several grossly rude and pointless interviews. He interupted, sneered and denigrated constantly.

    But then ten minutes later he gave the softest suckup of an interview to Key. The contrast was complete and stark. You knew then without a trace of a doubt where his loyalties lay.

    • Armchair Critic 9.1

      Plunket’s credibility was blown years ago. For years he enjoyed the limelight as this high profile hard-hitting political journo but much of it was really just a free ride off the back of hard-working RNZ researchers… the ones who do the real work.
      I’ll always recall one Morning Report in the lead up to the 2008 Election, he’d given Dr Cullen, and some other left wing figure, several grossly rude and pointless interviews. He interupted, sneered and denigrated constantly.
      But then ten minutes later he gave the softest suckup of an interview to
      Key. The contrast was complete and stark. You knew then without a trace of a doubt where his loyalties lay.

    • felix 9.2

      Yep, and also seeing him on telly on election night. Kind of a celeb show rather than a news show so he didn’t even have to feign impartiality and he really let the colours fly.

    • Geoff 9.3

      Very true – Plunket just waltzed in and picked up the background notes and questions done by journos and producers overnight – that why he could sometimes be seen in bars on Courtney Place in the early hours , just a few hours before he was due at work !

  10. Rodel 10

    Watched as much as I could….. Shame on you Plonket….. You’ve gone down with sycophantism. So sad….. I once respected you .

    • Lazy Susan 10.1

      Agreed. I used to respect Plunket but like so many others he’s sold out. I even remember having respect for Holmes many moons ago but he got wealthy, comfortable and now is a sloppy partisan right wing hack.

      An insider at The Nation tells me the right wing editorial bias on the show is unbearable but the need to put food on the table keeps them in the job until something better comes along.

  11. freedom 11

    The Nation has some quick cutaway shots during their interviews and i wondered how does Plunket get back into his seat so fast and mange to wipe his chin at the same time?

  12. ghostwhowalksnz 12

    In the US for the 2008 presidential campaign, to analyse the interviewers questions they ran ONLY the first question side by side. The difference was stark .

  13. William Joyce 13

    “Picture Plunket cradling Key like a newborn” – thanks Zetetic for the suggestion.
    I’ve done just that
     

  14. happynz 14

    Excellent photoshop piccie.

    ‘One more thing Prime Minister…’

    ‘Nom nom nom nom…’

  15. Rodel 15

    I guess Sean Plunket will soon be vying for a candidature for the nats in an election . Shame to see him descend into the Barry, Jones, Tuigamala, Daffy Duck sycophants.
    He used to be good regardless of which side of the political spectrum he challenged, but he seems to have lost it.
    Anyone know why?.

  16. kathy tuakau 16

    are we going to be able to see the hardtalk programn on bbc i slept through it

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