She might have saved us from Covid but she does not drink beer with Soper

Written By: - Date published: 7:45 am, March 9th, 2021 - 99 comments
Categories: covid-19, health, jacinda ardern, labour, Media, social media lolz, spin, uncategorized, you couldn't make this shit up - Tags: ,

So Newstalk ZB is shocked, I tell you, shocked that Jacinda Ardern will no longer regularly appear on the Mike Hosking show.

For me I am shocked that she took so long to make this decision.

His show is the closest equivalent we have to Fox News, at least the more insane part of the spectrum of Fox News.

He is an unmitigated partisan hack.  He used to worship the ground that John Key used to walk on.  For years this site has poked fun at him for doing so.

His columns are basically social media for old reactionaries.  His pearls of wisdom show how superficial yet how confident rich white men can be.

Why Jacinda Arden spent regular time on his show I could never work out.  She spent less time on National Radio.  If she wants proper questioning on current issues then Hosking is the last person she should have been talking to.  Instead of this she was subject to the most partisan biased questioning you can imagine.

So the decision to no longer grant Newstalk ZB the privilege of a regular slot in her already overcrowded diary was completely rational and completely unsurprising.

And Hosking’s public shock at the way he has been treated causes me to experience unwarranted levels of smugness.

The rest of Newstalk ZB’s stable have predictably backed Hosking.

Like Barry Soper.  He is the reporter the description “avuncular” applies to.  Only if it means wedded to a view of the world that has well and truly passed and someone who thinks that uber confidence and having regular drinks with the protagonists and being a good old boy is what is required to be successful.

Because his latest effort, basically attacking Jacinda for attacking Newstalk ZB’s bottom line by deciding to no longer put up with Hosking’s crap, is a doozie.

Here is the post.  Click on it at your peril.

Soper trots all of National’s attack lines in one article.  This is quite a feat.  Like:

Jacinda Ardern’s the accidental Prime Minister.

She achieved the most remarkable election result under MMP ever and had levels of support not seen since Micky Savage but you think that.

Without Peters or Covid chances are she’d be leading the Opposition, although even that’s doubtful.

She caused Labour support in 2017 to surge 15% in a short few weeks and has since led the country into a remarkable position envied by all.  She led the country through a terrorist attack and a natural disaster and a global pandemic and clearly thrives on adversity.

Having worked with the past 10 Prime Ministers, Jacinda Ardern would be the most removed from the media than any of them.

Your media only.  She has a social media outreach envied by all other Kiwi politicians.

She’s commanded the Covid pulpit to such an extent that the virus has become her security blanket; without it, she’d be forced to face the reality that her Government has been moribund.

Dealing successfully with the health and economic effects of a global pandemic successfully is moribund?

The Prime Minister’s press conferences usually begin with a sermon – it took eight minutes for her to get to the fact that she was moving the country down an alert level last Friday.

This was her allowing others space to talk about the earthquake and tsunami crisis that happened that day.  Not hogging the limelight is the sign of a leader.

Ardern doesn’t relate to the messenger, the team of journalists who make up the parliamentary Press Gallery – they don’t know her.

She has not had drinks with you?

All of her predecessors got to know the parliamentary media by inviting them to their ninth floor Beehive office, at least a couple of times a year.  It puts a human face on the public performer.

Tough.

Compare Ardern to the last populist Prime Minister, John Key. The National leader liked to be liked and he was because he was self-deprecating, posing for selfies with students on University campuses, falling off stages and mincing along catwalks.

Believe me, and I have witnessed it, Jacinda has probably posed for more selfies than all other NZ Politicians combined.

The closest Ardern’s got to silliness was admitting she did a dance with her daughter when the country had no active cases of Covid last June.  That admission flashed around the world as do most things when it comes to Ardern.

We need more silly leaders to get us through a pandemic …

She’s a celebrity leader and she’s determined to keep it that way …

Please make your mind up.  Is she too populist or not populist enough.

Leaders have in the past become exasperated with the media, and at times with good reason, but few, if any, have shied away from the tough questions.  The regular Newstalk ZB slot for Prime Ministers has been jealously guarded by them for the past 35 years.  This is the only regular slot she’s bowing out on.

Newstalk ZB needs to realise that, in part thanks to the ultra partisan approach it has taken to the news its relevance is decreasing.

Ardern’s phobia is much more deep seated. She’s treading water.

With an economy and a Covid response that is the envy of the world if this is treading water I would hate to see what swimming was.  I can hear Barry hoping and praying that the Government fails.

To Soper and Hosking and co, your sense of privilege is showing.  Stand in line with the rest of the reporters.  I am sure that if the subject is important enough Ardern will engage with you.

99 comments on “She might have saved us from Covid but she does not drink beer with Soper ”

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  1. Paul Campbell 1
    9 March 2021 at 8:23 am

    As someone who doesn't live in Auckland and doesn't listen to AM radio why is this guy relevant?

  2. Sanctuary 2
    9 March 2021 at 8:29 am

    Couple of things leap out. "…Having worked with the last 10 Prime Ministers…"

    By my count that takes us back to the Kirk/Rowling era. That was fifty years and a couple of generations ago. The world he lives in is gone. Long, long gone. Ardern's comms team has realised that the Herald/ZB audience that consumes traditional media is an aging boomer one who father time is starting to winnow away in importance. Magic radio is already nibbling the erratic, oldest end of the boomer generation as it descends into the reactionary politics of great age and hardly anyone under fifty takes the herald seriously – they've got no memory of it as a good broadsheet.

    "…Ardern doesn’t relate to the messenger, the team of journalists who make up the parliamentary Press Gallery – they don’t know her.

    All of her predecessors got to know the parliamentary media by inviting them to their ninth floor Beehive office, at least a couple of times a year. It puts a human face on the public performer…."

    This is the nub of the matter. The press gallery loathed the COVID stand ups for the way Ardern bypassed them to speak directly to the public and they hated the pasting they got from the public when it saw "how the sausage was made". It hates the way the PM uses social media to sidestep them as the conduits of news to the public. This is the bitterness of court jesters who have discovered the Queen is joshing around with the public on open mic night down at the comedy club. Their power as censors of what we see and arbiters of the overton window is under attack. it is the anger of purveyors of banter politics discovering banter politics can these days be done better on Instagram than in the Herald. It is a cry of man who has been around long enough to see privilege lost.

    • I Feel Love 2.1
      9 March 2021 at 9:11 am

      Your last paragraph, absolutely!

    • Treetop 2.2
      9 March 2021 at 9:18 am

      Has Hosking's morning slot become a social platform to have a political dig?

    • woodart 2.3
      9 March 2021 at 9:21 am

      great post sanctuary

    • Enough is Enough 2.4
      9 March 2021 at 9:22 am

      Ardern, English, Key, Clark, Shipley, Bolger, Moore, Palmer, Lange, Muldoon is the 10 I think.

      "The press gallery loathed the COVID stand ups for the way Ardern bypassed them to speak directly to the public"

      You might be correct that they loathed that, but don't you think the media has a vitally critical roll in a democracy to question our politicians? Speaking directly to the public and side stepping any critical scrutiny was a stratgy employed by a certain orange man who never allowed himself to be questioned by critical media.

      Thankfully Jacinda hasn't gone down that track and cancelling a weekly slot with Hosking isn't an indication that she will.

      But can you imagine if a future National PM only communicated via social media which you seem to be suggesting is a good thing.

      • woodart 2.4.1
        9 March 2021 at 9:41 am

        a three minute phone in on monday morning is NOT critical scrutiny. a half hour on morning report with a journo is. big difference.

        • Enough is Enough 2.4.1.1
          9 March 2021 at 9:46 am

          Who are you replying to?

          Maybe you didn't make it to my 4th paragraph

        • alwyn 2.4.1.2
          9 March 2021 at 12:52 pm

          "a half hour on morning report with a journo is".

          And when did that ever happen? I cannot remember Morning Report ever having an interview that long with any New Zealand PM.

          • woodart 2.4.1.2.1
            9 March 2021 at 3:10 pm

            reply to alwyn,,, never said it ever happened. jumping to false conclusions…again! obviously ,you need your hand held while somebody explains things, not me though.

            • alwyn 2.4.1.2.1.1
              10 March 2021 at 4:17 pm

              Can I suggest that you should have said "… with a journo would be" instead of "is". Putting "is" really does imply it happens.

    • Bearded Git 2.5
      9 March 2021 at 9:47 am

      Nicely put Sanc.

      It is for thought provoking writing like this that I love The Standard.

    • KJT 2.6
      9 March 2021 at 10:07 am

      https://thestandard.org.nz/reporters/

      “Once upon a time, in a world far away” we had these people called “reporters”.
      An honourable profession, who considered it their job to keep the public accurately and completely informed".

      Covid, and the direct communication from the PM, has totally exposed the incompetence and partisan lying, sorry, spin, our media have been indulging in since Journalists were sacked in favour of opinionated ignorant twits, decades ago.

      And they hate it.

    • Patricia Bremner 2.7
      9 March 2021 at 9:37 pm
        +1000 Sanctuary. Nailed it.
  3. Treetop 3
    9 March 2021 at 8:39 am

    Hosking reminds me of Slater, he has his own agenda when it comes to supporting the opposition. Slater ran a blog and Hosking is a radio host. Checks and balances were not Slaters strong point, the same can be said for Hosking.

    I would not be surprised if there is a behind the scenes collaboration between Slater and Hosking.

    • mpledger 3.1
      9 March 2021 at 11:41 am

      More likely the people who were feeding Slater are the same people feeding Hosking.

      The problem is the National govt gave mediaworks a sweet deal and then were vested in their success so Key did them a huge favour by doing a weekly slot and in return getting patsy questions.

      Jacinda should never have bought into any of that in the first place but I am glad she has said "see ya later" now.

      • Treetop 3.1.1
        9 March 2021 at 3:58 pm

        Key would not have been able to stand up to the same scrutiny that Ardern has stood up to.

  4. Tiger Mountain 4
    9 March 2021 at 8:45 am

    “She has a social media outreach envied by all other Kiwi politicians.”

    Heh, you are not wrong there Micky. I get regular notifications on my phone from Jacinda, any time of the day, she likes to let me know what she has been up to–oh, apparently she contacts other people too…

    The PM gave Hosking a well deserved kick in the nuts, and predictably he did not like it, nor did his Nat masters who have paid him well for many years to push their lines.

    With digital technology, and the rise of the successor generations–X, millenial and Z–“Maserati Mike” has become increasingly superfluous. Happy Days.

  5. Obtrectator 5
    9 March 2021 at 9:21 am

    And let's not forget how their sainted John Key regularly sidestepped Morning Report.

  6. woodart 6
    9 March 2021 at 9:37 am

    as repulsive as he is, trump showed how to talk directly to voters. social media is that way. parliamentary press reporters are desparate to remain relevant.

  7. Ad 7
    9 March 2021 at 9:39 am

    If either of them had penetrating analysis like Matthew Hooten in the NZHerald I would be able to take their complaints seriously. But our PM deplatforming herself from a major media entity in the middle of pandemic rollout is a big deal.

    Note Ardern has never appeared on The Standard either – and this is her most resounding Party base on line. She should.

    At least three things should happen from the Ardern government's media management:

    1. Ardern giving other Ministers more airtime. Both Ardern and Hipkins are way over-exposed. The Cabinet looks brittle for competent media performers. And towards her third term she needs to start lining up proper successors, and currently there's not a glimmer.
    2. Ardern promoting this government's successes. Her brand is as crisis manager which is all about cleaning up after failure. Even Clark had more strings to her communicative bow than that.
    3. Ardern doing something beyond being stolid and boring. Competence is a minimum requirement, and that's what she shows she does. You can't subcontract out human interest and narrative width to Husband and Baby.

    Ardern can and should improve her media performance. While Soper and Hoskins are no loss, Ardern needs to be critqued hard and often. She's got too much power and way too much popularity not to be.

    • David 7.1
      9 March 2021 at 9:51 am

      The other consequence when you back away from the MSM is to leave a void which the MSM are very happy to fill with their own narrative – something they are happy to do with frightening speed.

      Even in the last week the MSM tide appears to have gone out on the PM more quickly than an ebb tide on the Kaipara harbour exposing the mud flats that lie beneath.

      • woodart 7.1.1
        9 March 2021 at 10:09 am

        think you are attaching importance to a dying platform. even at my advanced age of sixtiemumble , I dont much bother with msm, havent bought a newspaper for nearly ten years, havent watched tv news for five years, only listen to radio for background music. was getting most news off stuff and granny, but since granny decided to put up a paywall, they have dissappeared from my laptop. the good thing about internet news is that we can quickly scroll through the headlice , and decide if there is anything worthwhile, opinion columns and anything with the words" experts think" usually get the brush. the question of critical scrutiny of polies is an interesting one. soundbites and short phone-ins are not critical scrutiny, but who is to blame? I would answer, mostly msm, because they want to push adverts ,and have a fast paced show.

        • Ad 7.1.1.1
          9 March 2021 at 10:30 am

          Most people over 60 still get most of their news from the tv and from radio.

          Those are the people with the assets, the big networks, the earned influence. They may not be twerking their asses on Instagram with the kids, but the MSM is the power-tail that would not die.

          • Barfly 7.1.1.1.1
            9 March 2021 at 10:40 am

            Not me devil

          • David 7.1.1.1.2
            9 March 2021 at 10:48 am

            Also, the social media platforms are largely a delivery mechanism rather than content generator.

            Look at the whole Facebook saga cross the ditch. It was all about social media paying for content from the MSN.

            Whether you get your content directly from the MSM or second hand from social media, the result is largely the same.

            So backing away from MSM and having them set the narrative for you, big call.

          • woodart 7.1.1.1.3
            9 March 2021 at 12:38 pm

            show us some proof for that claim.

      • Anker 7.1.2
        9 March 2021 at 10:46 am

        David JA being on the Hoskings show was a waste of her time because he always did what he was going to do, which is spin against her and the govt.

        There was a brilliant thing circulating on FB, maybe this site, showing Hoskings ever changing position on Covid boarders, lockdowns.

        Hosking is not worth her time of day. I am glad she has rejected his show.

    • RedLogix 7.2
      9 March 2021 at 10:00 am

      yes

      Trad media gatekeepers like Hoskings are fighting hard to retain their power, so it's understandable they'll react noisily to the PM sidelining them like this.

      But Ardern has to make use of the space she's created or it will be filled with something she cannot control.

      The new media is far more diverse in it's platforms, everything from Twitter to Clubhouse to long form Youtube – each of which have their own characteristics.

      Yes it's important the PM is challenged, but I think people are generally ready for a format that's constructively and intelligently engaging. In contrast the old game of gotcha that obscured more than it revealed.

      • Ad 7.2.1
        9 March 2021 at 10:27 am

        "Gotcha" reporting will continue whether professional reporters continue to exist or not.

        Voices from the right, centre and left should continue to ask what Ardern is going to do with all this glorious political capital of hers.

        Our expectations of John Key for him to make use of his popularity even as his government responded to the crises of Pike River, Christchurch, Kaikoura and more were just the same as Soper is declaiming for Ardern: demonstrate that you have a plan to make us collectively better than we are.

        • RedLogix 7.2.1.1
          9 March 2021 at 11:11 am

          "Gotcha" reporting will continue whether professional reporters continue to exist or not.

          Yes – but I'd guess I'm not all that different to many people in wanting something a bit more nourishing. Till now the trad media has fed us pretty much nothing but cheap sugar, salt and fats – I'm starving for better.

          • Ad 7.2.1.1.1
            9 March 2021 at 12:21 pm

            I'm the same. The trad media are giving us what the government is giving us though.

        • AB 7.2.1.2
          9 March 2021 at 1:59 pm

          "Our expectations of John Key for him to make use of his popularity even as his government responded to the crises of Pike River, Christchurch, Kaikoura and more were just the same as Soper is declaiming for Ardern: demonstrate that you have a plan to make us collectively better than we are."

          It was not possible to have such an expectation of John Key because his ideology pretty much excludes the notion of "collectively better." Nor, in all likelihood, does Barry Soper believe in such a thing. His purpose is to get the other side back into power so the private looting of the 'collective' can resume in full force.

          "Voices from the right, centre and left should continue to ask what Ardern is going to do with all this glorious political capital of hers"

          True enough – except that voices from the right have so little to complain about that it has to be outsourced to fringe nutters like Hosking. Voices from the left have acres of space to work with in this regard.

    • Drowsy M. Kram 7.3
      9 March 2021 at 10:41 am

      Ad – you assert that Ardern should appear on The Standard, and then serve up this. I know you have Ardern’s (and NZ’s) best interests at heart, but with friends like you, who needs Hosking and Soper?

      3. Ardern doing something beyond being stolid and boring. Competence is a minimum requirement, and that's what she shows she does. You can't subcontract out human interest and narrative width to Husband and Baby.

      • Ad 7.3.1
        9 March 2021 at 10:55 am

        If you've forgotten how to do politics from within, you've forgotten how to last as a Party.

        And the best time to reform is when you don't have to.

        • Drowsy M. Kram 7.3.1.1
          9 March 2021 at 11:56 am

          Cryptic – do you mean that the Labour party has forgotten how to last? Thankfully I've never known "how to do politics from with within", so I've nothing to forget.

          Your intriguing "Husband and Baby" references (jibes?) are off-putting, but that's just me. At least you seem to have grown out of your "sparkle pony" phase.

          …ahhh but babies!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

          2022. Second baby. Gets a third term. Retires from politics end of Year 8. Job done.

          Baby+Massacre+Engagement extends the vibe pretty well

          And in the next term, another baby please.

          Nice white flowing gown with veil please. Maybe borrow Princess Di's dress.

          No; that should be her official name – Three Point Bump Ardern-Gayford

          Except the answer to every question and more above becomes: Babies

          • Ad 7.3.1.1.1
            9 March 2021 at 12:20 pm

            All of that still applies.

            Ardern has a 10-point poll inflation from Covid. So what does she have ones the vaccine rollout turns into a mere operational rollout?

            If the rest of her supporters are as thin skinned as you are there'll be no problem getting that needle in.

            • Drowsy M. Kram 7.3.1.1.1.1
              9 March 2021 at 12:32 pm

              If the rest of her supporters are as thin skinned as you are there'll be no problem getting that needle in.

              Ad, that's very confusing – aren't you an Ardern supporter?

              In the same vein; apparently mine are (still) good.

            • Patricia Bremner 7.3.1.1.1.2
              9 March 2021 at 9:55 pm

              "once" Ad not ones… You had a few?? with too many bitters??

    • Bearded Git 7.4
      9 March 2021 at 11:23 am

      She was excellent on Morning Report this morning…take a listen.

    • mac1 7.5
      9 March 2021 at 3:51 pm

      "Ardern needs to be critiqued hard and often. She's got too much power and way too much popularity not to be." I am at a loss to understand, Ad, why a person with popularity needs to be critiqued. I agree that politicians with their power need to be critiqued. I am not sure she has got too much power, though. I remember Lange saying he had very little power- not even able to deal with window cleaners smoking dope outside his windows IIRC.

      But why critique someone for their (too much) popularity? That sounds like 'tall poppy syndrome."

      • woodart 7.5.1
        9 March 2021 at 5:17 pm

        still a large amount of mysoginy?bad spelling,sorry, at work in NZ politics.

  8. Peter 8
    9 March 2021 at 9:44 am

    Unfortunately the extra time Hosking now has on his hands will be wasted.

    He will spend the time freed with whingeing and radiostalking Ardern to complain about anything she's done or not done. (Mmm, NewSTALKzb)

    He could instead dedicate the time to a regular MondayMorningMike where he tells us how Mike's Big Ideas work.

    Like how there can be no roadworks in Auckland, and no road cones, and no public transport, and no bus lanes, and no traffic jams, and dramatically fewer Council staff, and perfect roads and there'd be perfect free flowing movement of vehicles.

  9. Reality 9
    9 March 2021 at 9:56 am

    The PM and her team quite correctly have reviewed where and when she is interviewed. She certainly does not shy away from scrutiny and fronting when necessary. If, as Hosking suggested, she has not given a complete answer there could be valid reasons such as a policy not being quite ready for an announcement. Or simply no person alive will know absolutely everything about every topic, especially given the major issues she has to deal with, such as Covid, which changes daily.

    Soper thinks he should be invited to the 9th floor to socialise! He's been at the Beehive forever so is entitled in his view. If the PM prefers to keep some separation between herself and media, that is her prerogative.

  10. tc 10
    9 March 2021 at 11:20 am

    If Granny did accurate taglines: "Privileged White man from remuera rants on old school media platform” “Soper supports the Hosk: Irony Alert"

  11. florabunda 11
    9 March 2021 at 12:39 pm

    The wonder is that Mr and Mrs Hosking and Mr and Mrs Soper have survived so long as talking heads for the shambling band of right wing aggrieved .
    You cannot expect the intellectual level of the populace to improve while these domestic duos have air time. They should, all four, be charged with undermining democracy a la Trump.

  12. RedBaronCV 12
    9 March 2021 at 12:51 pm

    On a wider note – why does an elderly male feel entitled to launch such an attack on another who has told him "no". A tactic to make sure that the stress of disagreeing with him is higher?

    Could you imagine a female opinion maker saying something like this about any individual male or female without being rounded upon big time? If nothing else isn't it time we cleared our media of the totally self entitled and checked diversity levels.

  13. Marcus Morris 13
    9 March 2021 at 1:51 pm

    In his rant Soper refers to the "accidental PM" "plucked from nowhere. Typical of the a…e he and his ilk are, he conveniently forgets that, in 2017 and within weeks of the election, Labour and the Nats were polling neck and neck and then arch villian and the Nat's version of Machiavelli, Steven Joyce, "published" his "hole in the budget" theory which every reputable economist rubbished. But it caused the damage it was intended to do. All Winston did was to ensure that justice was done and that MMP works.

  14. Anker 14
    9 March 2021 at 3:07 pm

    I see Kate Hawkesby has an opinion piece in the Herald titled something like "Meghan and Jacinda have things in common".

    Didn't read because her opinion of no interest to me…..but I got to thinking perhaps Mike has hurt feelings because Meghan snubbed him and went with Oprah, just like Jacinda is cutting him loose. How dare these women not be on his show!!!!!!

    Poor Mike. Oh dear, what a shame, never mind!

    • woodart 14.1
      9 March 2021 at 3:25 pm

      perhaps hawkesby should do a column, titled, how my dad made my husband think he's special. for those with right wing memories(i.e. subjective) old man hawkesby got paid a HUGE amount to read the autocue on tv, just about bankrupted the channel, caused heads to roll, but made many in the industry jealous and saying, " why not me" it has led to a generation of talking heads who think they are entitled, and somehow, skilled. big mistake, as the new media is bypassing these overpaid talking heads, as irrelevant.go, look at much of the u-tube content, annonymous voice-overs by cheap no-names. progressive tv stations are moving away from overpaid, bignames, and either, putting the money saved into proper investigave journalism, or into the tv channels back pockets.as someone on here has correctly said, hoskings needs jacinda more than jacinda needs him. when his contract is up for renegotiation, it will tell against him.

    • Treetop 14.2
      9 March 2021 at 4:10 pm

      Maybe Hosking needs to get the Queen on, now that would lift his rating. He could do what think a radio host did rang the Queen up and pretended to be the Canadian Prime Minister and she spoke to him in French about 10 years ago.

      Better still were Hosking to get the Queen's reaction about the Oprah interview with Meghan and Harry that would be something I would listen to on Hoskings show.

  15. Corey Humm 15
    9 March 2021 at 3:31 pm

    Lol 🤣 up until yesterday she was the pr prime minister who was only interested in interviews and press conferences, and those press conferences now she's afraid 🤣

    The media can't handle that she's more popular than them and has more of an outreach doing livestreams than the ratings and clicks they get, they've never gotten over the Suburban mum's and people who have never watched political press conferences who like Jacinda as much as they like Reese Witherspoon and Kelly Clarkson because they relate to her, watching the journalists attack the pm day in day out started en masse attacking journalists and defending Jacinda in a way we havent seen before and for the first couple of weeks media was only really concerned with media industry jobs of their mates, the media have never gotten over that embarrassment they've also never forgiven her for proving everyone of their predictions wrong from "she'll stop the bleed but nzers won't elect someone who just became party leader" "winston will go with the biggest party" "the coalition won't last" "the people are turning against Jacinda" "the people won't follow lockdown" "pm will win the war on covid but lose the election like churchill" "it's impossible for the prime minister to get a full majority"

    Bill English was the accidental pm. I also love that she ruled out a CGT so the media and national would no longer use it as a stick to attack and fear monger against labour and now are all of a sudden in favor.

    The noisey people on the left and right who are adamant that this historically popular prime minister is losing the people are the ones who have no support from the people.

    Jesus wept ZB.

    DIDDUMS.

  16. Stuart Munro 16
    9 March 2021 at 4:16 pm

    I think it's a good move, and probably overdue. It probably marks a generational shift in media. My impression is that there aren't too many folk who can teach Jacinda much about social media, or media in general – she isn't a laggard in her field.

    The issue of low-quality captured MSM journalism remains. There's quite a lot on Jacinda's to-do list, I expect, before she gets to it, but in the meantime she's no longer propping up the scavengers that survived the talent holocaust by abandoning their professional standards.

  17. Jimmy 17
    9 March 2021 at 4:17 pm

    It will be interesting to hear Hoskings going off at Stuart Nash tomorrow morning (is Nash still doing Wednesday mornings with Mitchell?).

    He will be venting his anger on Nash but Nash generally does ok on there.

  18. Morrissey 18
    9 March 2021 at 4:32 pm

    Contrary to his own assertions this morning, Hosking doesn't "ask tough questions"; he simply harries and nags Labour politicians silly enough to grant him an audience, in the most insolent and disrespectful fashion, firing "gotcha" questions at them.

    Nor has he ever "got the better of Jacinda Ardern"—his breathless attempts to embarrass her were always negated by her amused condescension, which clearly infuriated him.

    Hosking's unhinged ranting this morning showed just how resentful he is of this effortlessly superior woman.

    So what kind of person does this joke of a broadcaster actually admire? Well, here's one enthusiastic panegyric he delivered a few years ago….

    “That was Bill Cosby. Goo-o-o-o-ood, eh!”

    —Mike Hosking, NewstalkZB, 2015

  19. David 19
    9 March 2021 at 5:02 pm

    Actually, the more interesting revelation is that the PM will still appear on the State owned Radio New Zealand but reportedly only on days and subjects she nominates.

    • David 19.1
      9 March 2021 at 5:33 pm

      And ZB now reporting she is cutting Q&A and The Nation appearances from 4 each to 2 each per year.

      No comments on the annual number of Women’s Weekly appearances.

  20. rod 20
    9 March 2021 at 5:18 pm

    Hosking is so far up himself, that it shouldn't be too long before he disappears into thin air

  21. Anker 21
    9 March 2021 at 5:38 pm
    • I always liked Jane Bowrons suggestion many years back that rather than over priced auto-cue readers each week randomly select five people from the electoral roll and run it like an American idol comp with viewers voting for the best at the end of the week….now we are talking!

    Hoskings has far more to lose from Ardern leaving him than the other way around….

    Soper and his ten PMs…. hasn’t he realised that he isn’t the only journalist, the only source of news. Hasn’t he heard of social media? The spin-off, scoop, the Standard? You ain’t that important any more Barry

  22. Bazza64 22
    9 March 2021 at 5:45 pm

    Very trumpian of Jacinda. Why is she scared of Mike Hosking ?

    • woodart 22.1
      9 March 2021 at 7:10 pm

      perhaps she's worried that his dress sense and hairbrushing skills will rub off.

    • David 22.2
      9 March 2021 at 7:26 pm

      Because she had a habit of turning up unprepared. Hence why she will now only appear on her nominated subject.

      Bit like MasterMind but without the general knowledge section.

      • Red Blooded One 22.2.1
        9 March 2021 at 7:33 pm

        You're hilarious and full of shit. The PM was totally prepared for whatever little Mikey threw at her. He has always acted like a precious little princess and has struggled to cope since he was unable to have his little fellatio sessions with John Key. Keep coming with your alternative facts, lol,

      • Rapunzel 22.2.2
        9 March 2021 at 8:33 pm

        That is known to be far from the case she's been known to always be well prepared for a long time

        https://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2019/05/why_national_shouldnt_fall_into_labours_trap_of_under-estimating_the_prime_minister_of_the_day.html

      • Morrissey 22.2.3
        9 March 2021 at 8:55 pm

        You're a dedicated up-is-down, disaster-is-triumph, bright-is-dim sort of guy. I like your spirit, mate.

        Promise you’ll keep posting your hilarious little efforts for us to appreciate. Please.

      • lprent 22.2.4
        10 March 2021 at 8:42 am

        Hence why she will now only appear on her nominated subject.

        I have no idea what kind of dipshit working world that you live in.

        But when I turn up to a meeting (and I get involved in far too many on zoom meetings in strange time zones), I expect that the subject of the meeting will be what it was called for. It isn’t there for a some loud mouthed fool to arbitrarily go off topic on in the pursuit of their own agendas. I don’t bother going to meetings set up for that purpose. It is a waste of my precious time.

        Like it or not, being a PM or a MP is just a job. It has limited time to deal with tomfoolery and off-topic irrelevancies. Mike Hosking, at his best when constrained by editorial control at Morning Report, was always full of a strange level of irrelevancy – mostly concerning his own ego. I’m just surprised that it has taken so long for this Labour leader to stop wasting her time with it.

        BTW: Mastermind is a game, and not focused work. But I can see by your dilettante statements that you’d have problems seeing or even understanding the difference.

        • David 22.2.4.1
          10 March 2021 at 12:10 pm

          Successive PMs have been fronting up for 35 years to cover a broad range of subjects.

          Are you defending the suggestion that the current incumbent in the role is only capable of handling a single pre defined topic at a time?

          • Drowsy M. Kram 22.2.4.1.1
            10 March 2021 at 12:49 pm

            Are you defending the suggestion that the current incumbent in the role is only capable of handling a single pre defined topic at a time?

            David, better to condemn than defend such a baseless suggestion, imho. Doubt even the individual who floated it would try to defend this untenable suggestion.

          • lprent 22.2.4.1.2
            12 March 2021 at 4:10 pm

            Nope. What I am saying is that whoever is PM has an increasing multiplicity of media outlets. Given a lot of choice, there is no particular reason to keep turning up to talk to a silly dipshit who can't stay on an agreed topic.

            The mere fact that previous PMs indulged that idiot, is no reason to carry on doing so.

            I seldom read Mike Hosking because almost all of his writing is incoherent. I stopped listening to him interviewing when he lost decent editorial control because he would never just deal with one topic. He appeared to have the concentration of rodent on speed.

            Now in a separate topic, and since you like to express your questions in pigfucker statements like the stupid fool Hosking?

            When did you last beat your partner? And I already don't believe you…

      • Jimmy 22.2.5
        10 March 2021 at 1:34 pm

        I agree with David. Jacinda was often unprepared and couldn't answer many of the questions on various topics that you would normally expect her to be aware of.

        On the other hand, Stuart Nash turns up on Wednesdays to the same "hostile" environment (in fact even more hostile because not only is Hoskings there, but Mark Mitchell is there too, so its effectively two against one) and he actually fronts up and seems to be more on to the topics even when he has had to defend the governments position or actions. Nash was pretty good this morning.

        Here's the link if anyone wants to listen to it.

        https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/on-air/mike-hosking-breakfast/

      • mac1 22.2.6
        10 March 2021 at 1:38 pm

        "She had a habit of turning up unprepared". This about a PM to whom the first question in the House at Question Time is invariably "Does the PM stand by all her statements etc." What's the point of that waste of a question? It is purposed to try and catch the PM out by opening a wide range of possible topics but not allowing her to know which particular topic and therefore prepare.

        David, can you point to an instance, in the House or with Hoskins, where the PM has been ‘habitually’ ‘unprepared’ (I don't listen to Hoskins) because at the moment your sling is empty of ammunition.

    • Incognito 22.3
      9 March 2021 at 7:49 pm

      She’s decluttering; he no longer sparks joy.

    • Morrissey 22.4
      9 March 2021 at 8:53 pm

      It's the other way round, Baz, as you well know. Hosking never had a show against her wit and superior intellect. Now he hasn't got a show worth listening to at all.

  23. Mat Simpson 23
    9 March 2021 at 6:57 pm

    " She led the country through a terrorist attack and a natural disaster and a global pandemic and clearly thrives on adversity "

    Well entrenched neo liberal destitution in the form of of modern day economic slavery that spreads into so many communities is adversity along with the economy only delivering for the same affluent members of the establishment.

    I see nothing from the Social Democrats that deals with any of the usual bully's.
    Adern won’t deal with what must be done , it is to hard and will be left in the to hard basket.

    • Pat 23.1
      9 March 2021 at 7:01 pm

      She, like a large proportion of the country, is a product of her environment. Her understanding of pre neoliberalism is theoretical and distorted.

  24. georgecom 24
    9 March 2021 at 7:19 pm

    If Ardern wants to do some balanced talk back media then offer to be interviewed weekly by someone like Leah Panapa or Danny Watson on MagicTalk. They have their views and can be a bit feisty or tetchy at times but has no particular barrow to push as far as I can see. They will ask about the issues and expect an answer without jerking themselves off on air. If you like the 'informed and interested kiwi'.

    • David 24.1
      9 March 2021 at 8:31 pm

      Fair call.

      Only recently come across Leah but she seems pretty balanced from the little I’ve heard so far.

  25. tc 25
    9 March 2021 at 7:43 pm

    It's not all bad for mikey he's got the harry n meghan royal circus to fill the gap which's about his level.

  26. Jackel 26
    9 March 2021 at 11:05 pm

    Ardern has made the right decision. Hosking is wantonly gnatz, she would have done herself more favours appearing in a national party election campaign ad than being on his show.

    Hosking's only brief is to criticise the government where he can and peddle national party propaganda. That's why he can contradict himself as long as it serves this brief and is frankly so predictable. You can literally here him thinking. Jacinda would learn very little from him and probably just couldn't be bothered with him anymore.

    Her interview was the centrepiece of his show. He may struggle for ratings now unless you like a bit of gnatz back slapping drivel laid on thick.

  27. vto 27
    10 March 2021 at 9:53 am

    mickysavage the last time I wasted reading one of your posts it had bigoted tripe aimed at old white men…

    Now you have this one "His pearls of wisdom show how superficial yet how confident rich white men can be"

    Quite how you pull that hatred and falsehood out from this event I am not sure, but it shows your shortcomings up again…. stop being such a bigoted hater of old white men… or maybe you are ok with all people having their own personal bigoted mad hatreds… is it ok to do the same with young brown women ms..? or middle-aged white women?

    grow the fuck up

    • Red Blooded One 27.1
      10 March 2021 at 12:37 pm

      As an old white man I think you're over-reacting here vto, when mickeysavage refers to old white men I suspect it is more as a type rather than all old white men, rich or otherwise. When I say I like an early night 'cause I'm a bit of a Nana doesn't mean I'm insulting all Grandmothers or suggesting they all like a 09:30pm bedtime with a hot chocolate either.

      Perhaps when you "grew the fuck up" you forgot to grow your sense of perspective with it.

    • mac1 27.2
      10 March 2021 at 1:22 pm

      There was a teacher once who made a generalisation about rich men, saying that it was easier for a camel to squeeze through a tiny space than it was for a rich man to get into heaven. Using hyperbole, this point was made- "the rich man so often is blind to his spiritual poverty because he is proud of his accomplishments and has contented himself with his wealth."

      Without claiming mickeysavage is the messiah, I think there is a large connection between the two statements about rich men.

      Why 'white men"? I believe that white men in a country like NZ have a different sense of confidence from non-whites- the sort of confidence that as a part of the power elite, the wealthy whites assume they will be treated differently, even deferred to, because of that status.

      This is what the BLM movement is about. It's what socialism is about. It's even what Christianity is about, though obviously not the Christianity that Hannah and Brian Tamaki apostolise, but rather the christian socialism of mickeysavage's namesake.

  28. nzsage 28
    10 March 2021 at 1:23 pm

    A similar thing is occurring in the UK but politically inversed.

    Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (yes that is his full name) has refused to be interviewed by Piers Morgan (now ex ITV presenter) due to the grilling he receives from the latter.

    With Morgan now out the picture (pun intended) perhaps de Pfeffel may have a change of heart.

    If they seriously want Ardern back, maybe Mediaworks should consider the same approach to Hosking.

  29. Sacha 29
    13 March 2021 at 9:06 pm

    Another silly old white journo joins the chorus defending their chum Hosking's divine right to the PM's time: https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/john-armstrongs-opinion-pms-excuses-drop-mike-hoskings-show-nonsense

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