Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern cancels weekly interview with Newstalk ZB’s Mike Hosking
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has cancelled her weekly interview with Newstalk ZB host Mike Hosking.
In a statement to Newstalk ZB on Monday, the Prime Minister’s office said the change comes after a review of Ardern’s schedule.
“The Prime Minister’s schedule of media appearances has been reviewed and while it hasn’t reduced overall, it has changed,” the statement read.
“The Prime Minister will no longer do a weekly slot specifically on the ZB morning show.
“However she, and all her ministers, will continue to appear on the show as and when issues arise.”
Two things.
The first is that this is outrageously unfair of the Prime Minister.
Yes Hosking is disingenuous, at times disrespectful, disingenuous, tedious, grotesquely uninformed, malevolent and did I mention disingenuous?
B-U-T
He’s also the best in the game.
You go toe to toe with Hosking for the full 10 rounds. You know what you are stepping into the ring with and while I’d rather chew glass than listen to anything outside the most important interviews, it is true that his weekly with Jacinda was a must listen to event.
He is as hostile as the law allows and he ain’t no chump. To step back from that is an acknowledgement of a media foe who has beaten the Prime Minister from the battlefield.
I don’t like Hosking either, but come on, democratic values demand she appears.
But then again, so does getting re-electd in 2023.
The major strategic reason Hosking has ben dumped, other than to publicly smack him down is that the market priorities are rapidly changing.
One of the things overlooked in the last election was how National’s collapse in part was driven by new demographic dynamics, that the Boomer vote which National dominates has shrunk enormously in influence.
ZB is Boomer town, and it’s a Boomer town Magic Talk fights over. That boomer demographic is less important than the GenX + GenY + Millennial vote which will for the first time ever in NZ politics numerically out number the Boomer electorate in the 2023 election.
Hosking leads in the ratings with a demographic Labour don’t need any more, so providing Mike with a weekly punching bag for him to let out all his pent up aggression seemed too masochistic even for the Labour Party.
Dumping Mike is more a recognition of Talkbacks waning political influence.
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His response has been telling.
“Lacks a backbone, running for the hills and the PM is lightweight ”
So these are Hosking’s thoughts. He must yearn for the return of the bromance he had with Key. Where he asked the “hard” questions?
Sorry Martyn you give Hosking far too much credit.
The John Tamahere apology and payout, the ” I have not crashed and will not crash” statement, displays Hosking as ill informed, shoot from the hip style shock jock. I’m amazed the PM gave him as much time as she did. His complete lack of respect when calling her ms Ardern rather than PM shows insight as to his right wing attack methods.
When I heard that Hoskings had lost his weekly chat with Jacinda I immediately thought of you Bert. Where to now .
There is little I would agree with Jacinda about but life is to short to spend replying to the drival Hoskings spouts.
There is little we both agree about but this we can do and at least be civil.
The hard questions like “Is it true you “P” in the shower?”
“Is it a fact that you like spaghetti on your pizza?”
“Do you think we have a Rockstar Economy Sir John?” ….. https://www.facebook.com/RadioHauraki/videos/1035042579844076
Happy days, Jeremy
Yep those hard questions!
A very good strategic move by the Blairite. Realpolitik 101. Her audience would rather engage on Faceslut, Instaidiot and twatter. Hosking wins the battle whereas the Blairite is focusing on the war.
Can any corner of the media landscape be ignored at a politicians peril? dunno. Jacinda does seem to always be contacting my phone for a little chat to tell me what she has been up to though, on instagram and FB–oh, apparently she’s not just calling me…
Tech changes how people get their info, and “hateback” radio is indeed hopefully terminal.
With our ripped jean tory hero Hosking–
–Maybe the PM lent him some residual credibility by appearing–time to stop that!
–PM has reach enough without needing Hosking–time to give him a kick in the nuts
–Jacinda might be sick of looking at the arsehole if she does not absolutely need to
“Tech changes how people get their info, and “hateback” radio is indeed hopefully terminal.”
Which begs a question about why she ever put a Fa-aaa-a-aa-fffff-aFoi in charge, given that its a “landscape” he’s only ever known, and is perfectly comfortable with.
Jacinda comes from a “comms and marketing’ perspective (as does her teacher’s pet FaaFoi). If you’re hoping for any useful sort of change that includes that plebian slop – i.e. “the public”, you’ll be waiting a long time. And even IF they understood the imperatives of media and the 4th Estate – other than how it can be used, rather than what and who it is supposed to represent, you’ll be waiting a long time
So you will be happy for the next National PM to only talk to right leaning media types? Very slippery slope there. We need less partisanship, not more.
Key never did RNZ.
I assume Hosking is going to bag mouth her in her absence. Oh wait, he already did.
I wondered how long Jacinda would put up with a pointless partisan abuse session on a weekly basis and what benefit she or her office ever got out of it anyway.
It kind of deflates his influence.
Yes, its best if Ardern sticks with being interviewed by lightweight sycophants only. God I dont know why people still defend her. We need a new vehicle on the left, this current iteration, is incompetent, inept and making things a whole lot worse for our most vulnerable. And dont even get me started on the big nothing burger that was the declaration of the climate change emergency. We all deserve better.
NB were tendering to be a Labour 6.0 gun for hire. They did as they were told last year. Recently they’ve flipped, they’re not selling gunslinging to this government anymore. They put on callers who question COVID Lockdowns, they make news headlines of businesses trolling the government’s “plan.” They have started talking about freedom being stolen, economy being broken, money being printed, promises broken, rules not being enforced.
Something has broken down in the relationship recently between the ZB media Priests and the Crown. So this is the fall-out.
Like Queenstown and tourism in general, they’ll have to just lay low and wait for National to be elected now. Then their ship will come in. Otherwise, they’ll have to either go to the wall or join the Labour bandwagon.
What a cry baby Hoskings is it’s time our PM gave some of the other NZ news and radio programmes a chance.
The same could be said that the cry baby Prime Minister is throwing her toys out of cot because that mean person doesn’t ask hee about teddy bear and whether or not the Easter bunny is going to appear.
There’s no winners here.
Why get abused by an unabashed card carrying Nat?
Just wait for the vitriol in the Herald tomorrow. Or ZB if you can stomach that shithole station.
Its all pointless.
I object to Hosking being called a card-carrying Nat.
ACT claimed him after Paul Henry left.
Hosking is better ACT, than NAT.
And ACT will get more votes than Naional in 2023
I think it should be arranged whereby Martyn Bradbury can interview Judith Collins for half an hour a week to a listenership of 500,000 + people just for a change. That’s fair…
Most unfair, Grant!
MB already takes no pleasure in it but wounds JA occasionally;
he’d kill JC in Round One!
Game over.
Martyn
Yes I can see you getting stuck into Hosking as expected. Raving leftie ranting!
I had a good think about this. On your point: “I don’t like Hosking either, but come on, democratic values demand she appears.” So here we have a PM who ruthlessly and openly puts her personal ambitions before upholding those democratic values. It’s pretty damn cynical and sad too.
We’ll come back to this, but I say she will not win the next election. God I hope so!!!! We need a PM, any PM, with spine and courage, not a script reader and PR spinner. I’m now thinking that even James Shaw would have been better!!!! At least he’d push to get shit done.
Wow what a raving rightwing nutjob!
Yes I can see you getting stuck into our PM as expected.
Heeeeeere comes Berrrrtie! Go on bert…on your knees, hands in the air, flick that lighter on or use cellphone, sing ‘I Loooove you’ and worship the Saint…don’t forget to kiss her feet. It’s a pathetic sight.
Thank you Rapunzel, waiting for your hair to be tugged, you tosser.
Back to the subject at hand, as we can all do insults( although you’re the best ).
Hoskings show is the radio equivalent of Dirty Politics, you know the one, yet I notice no comment or recollection of this Rapunzel.
Come on Clarke be kind.
Time for a cup of tea and a lie down bert.
Wow you girls are out in force today
Bert is an ex John Key supporter with ten houses, of course he loves Jacinda.
She is doing herself and all of us a huge favour.
The less oxygen you give Mike Hosking’s the best it is for everyone involved, his ego over rides reality.
I agree, render him invisible.
Hopefully the two Gower and Garner creeps will follow.
Yes Yes Yes.
Ask Hosking if J Key refused to do appearances anywhere.
Key avoided RNZ Morning report and Mary whatshername as if they were the plague.
Key was instrumental in getting rid of CAMPBELL and why was that ?
Key was instrumental in getting rid of CAMPBELL and why was that ?
No self respecting prime minister would be caught dead with Hosking’s.
Or my cat. She turns her nose up at The Hosk…
Hosking’s is a grifter
Hosking is a grub and so are his rich property owning faux elites. They hate Jacinda yet she is bending over backwards to be one of them and make them richer? She is like the little wimp at school trying to prove how much of a rebel she is just to be accepted into the cool gang. She is ignoring Labours old voters just to impress these rich turds…. Why?
focus groups and fundamental beliefs.
No Martyn, – Jacinda is far more astute and is playing the long game.
Why after all should she talk to Hoskings, when she looks around the House and sees a rag tag collection of empty suits and frocks that call themselves Nats. Clearly Hoskings, the Nats and Newstalk ZB listeners pose a minor threat. She can attend to the matter closer to the election, for now there are more important matters to be dealt with.
You know it, I know it and every single Labourite knows it, that Labour has the propensity to turn on itself and with a big majority it becomes ever harder to prevent any knives being drawn resulting in blood-letting and a bitter civil war.
For now, it is of the utmost importance she consolidates her position. She can reappear when today’s left is finding out that life is hard without their favourite devil.
‘Astute’ is the right word. And ambitious. And a stubbornness that’s applied to everything instead of only where needed. All in all, it gets in the way of “transformation and kindness” – and transparency and being “held to account” for that matter.
I think she probably needs to send her bullshit detector in for servicing too.
A wasted opportunity.
Unfortunately she’s not at all progressive, which is what we need at the moment as the planet burns and the neo-liberal agenda reaches its peak before it disappears up its own arse as the 90% become really pissed off. You can see it by the way some of her teacher’s pet appointments are incrementalist under-achievers.
The right person at the wrong time.
For me this is the single best item of news all year so far. Finally there is hope, finally there is a light at the end of the tunnel. This ending of the morning snuggle-ups with Mega-Millionaire-Mikey of the multi -millionaires club… maybe, just maybe she will return to the reality of daily life for so many, the struggle for survival in a world of gross inequality. And maybe she will no longer be muzzled by that millionaires club – no longer wearing that disgusting mask with his face plastered over her own. There is hope…
Ardern not appearing regularly on Hosking’s show becomes official today. The same day that total vaccine coverage of NZ is announced. The same day that Oprah interviews Meghan and that guy she married.
Despite little Barry Soper’s efforts, who really thinks that jilted Michael Noel James Hosking IV and his hurt feelings is really today’s big news item?
Michael does
” the best in the game” ? Say what?
And, Who’s game.
The games of the rich and the powerful.
Rather she be getting on with the job than playing their vested-interest games.
hoskings is a nasty little shit.
Adern has every right. As a politician, as a woman and as a person who’s neither of those two previous things but is something else altogether, to avoid hoskings like the awful, greedy, narcissistic megalomaniac he is.
He’s a mean little dinosaur who’s arrived at his political extinction.
Unless national get back in. Then, he’ll be all over collins like that rash you got when you had that night you can’t remember.
Some people liked watching and listening to Paul Holmes.
Some people like watching and listening to Mike Hoskings.
Some people like to watch monkeys masturbate in public( same thing really).
None of it is informative – just excites the worst elements within us.
I gave up on it and decided I had better things to do about quarter of a century ago.
Jacinda evidently feels the same – for once we agree on something.
Oh dear. How the mighty have fallen.
First Banks, then Plunkett, then Robertson ditches Williams, and now Ardern dumps Hoskings. All within the the first 3 months of the year. Talk back is on life support.
Now all that’s left is the miserable old boomers calling in to lament on the way things used to be. Good heavens. No thanks. I think I’ll just put my headphones on and chill to some synthwave.
Good on Jacinda (and Robertson), Hosking (and Williams) are of no consequence, nobodies. She has been giving him oxygen so its about time she told him to get stuffed. He’s back to his ” Australia is doing better than NZ. Morrison is performing better than Adern, open up the borders, employment is better there, get the covid passports out, etc”. He’s become a moaning old boomer and past his used by date. He should put his name forward as a National candidate. He was a major failure and loser when it came to promoting the Natz over the last six years (at least). Hosking and his misses are still mourning the resignation of John Key. When I try to find a good talkback radio all I hear is Hate Jacinda talk back radio – Hawkesby, Hoskins, Garner & Richardson, Williams, Plunket/Banks, Bridge, Woodham, Duplessie, Soper, Bruce Russell and some other fill-ins. They seem to all share the same callers – moaning old men and the odd woman. Then I read the Herald that my wife buys and you get more loser Nat advocates – Prebble, Joyce, Osullivan, Trevett, Young, Hooten, etc and the same old writers of letters to the editor (they must be on the payroll). The common denominator is that they are all has-been boomers. Watch them spend the next two and half years pursuing dirty politics again and promoting a Natz/Act victory. As I say NATz supporters should thank Jacinda and Ashley and REJOICE and ENJOY the wonderful COVID-19 FREE SITUATION WE ARE IN.
Nikorima you have nailed it. My thoughts exactly all yesterday’s men with a few token women thrown in. Their comments are borderline bullying and fictitious ( same can be said for some comments on this forum ).
Mike Hosking and I grew up together by age and meeting across the media from the 90s on, and he missed our mutual motherland of social democracy somehow? So I despise him like you can only do your age peers. Martyn, he’s a disgusting bog of despicable being. The enemy. We from the welfare state all had the same lives so we know one another intimately and can judge to the point.
That she finally broke free on International Womens Day makes it so much sweeter.
He He He
Whether you like Hosking or hate him, the questions he asks need to be asked and answered.
Having any PM dictating who they will talk to and on what subjects are allowed to be touched upon is censorship. But then feel good fluffy Womans Day articles where the narrative is tightly controlled is not off limits.
I’ll say it again, she is a transparent fake always has been, as was Key. The cult of personality worshippers who refuse to see it are part of the problem.
Oh Pedro, do grow up. Giving people silly names and labels reveals your political immaturity. Let’s have an adult discussion here. Yes, Hosking is a right-wing biased commercial radio talk back host. This is all simply true. And yes, everyone has a right to ask questions of the government. But Ardern is under no obligation to talk to Hosking every week. Yes he has a large commercial radio audience every morning – but so has the much more authoritative and professional Morning Report on Radio New Zealand. This from an October 2020 report: “Morning Report added 31,000 listeners to reach a total of 531,800, and Newstalk’s Mike Hosking jumped 33,100 to 430,700. Yes, 76,000 New Zealanders signed a petition previously to remove him from TVNZ. And no, Ardern is not a ‘transparent fake.’ Yes, Pedro – you’re welcome to your opinion – but at least give it some evidence-based substance.
Ardern is under no obligation to talk to Hosking every week.
Exactly. And she has EVERY right to require a minimum level of respect from anyone who interviews her.
Ardern is under no obligation to talk to Hosking every week.
Exactly. And she has EVERY right to require a minimum level of respect from anyone who interviews her.
Let’s be clear, Hosking makes statements, he does not ask questions, end of story.
“He’s also the best in the game.” Well the Nu Zulund game. He’s pretty average by international standards. An interview with Hosking isn’t exactly the same level as the BBCs ‘Hardtalk’, is it?
‘Most Open And Transparent’ Ardern only looks plausible in a patsy interview conducted by one of her media fan club.
And on John Key at McGehan Close…
“It was just a sensational visit,” says Pat. “He made a great show of taking a little girl up north, and we never saw him again. It was just a load of publicity bullshit.”
“working for ALL New Zealanders”
Ardern is plausible and if you believe she isn’t compare her to Hosking…
https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/tv-radio/102974035/mike-hosking-crashes-140k-alfa-romeo-days-after-saying-crashes-are-idiot related
Why be interviewed by an implausible idiot?
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2020/07/mike-hosking-apologises-to-john-tamihere-on-air-after-allegations-of-defamation.html
Mikes own media fan club…himself. Now Mike never showed up for the defamation case .
So Andrew, drop your bias, patsy interviews were reserved for the Hosk and Key.
‘Most Open And Transparent’ Ardern
Hmmm… The PM finally shakes off the creep who manipulated her into wearing what appeared to be his jocks over her mouth in public, and Andrew cries, “Waahh… She’s not being “open and transparent” enough”.
Sicko.
Meanwhile the defunct once-was National Party are so “open and transparent” that they cannot even provide their own MPs with copies of their own party review?? It is all apparently too.. unviewable. Not surprised, – FOULOON had a role in that. And earlier there was the Woodlouse with the toilet seat and the female MP whom they degraded.
Never mind “open and transparent”, the Nats are rotten and they are hiding their own stinking mess, even from their own MPs.
I main issue with hoskings is why does he only ever read our txt messages and Emails ( unless he has made them up himself) on his show that support his point of view and ignores the thousands others. If he loves australia so much please do us all favor and move over there and give us a better balanced host on air
Exactly because he is not subjective, he is anti Labour government and has never offered a balanced debate.
“You know what you are stepping into the ring with. … He is as hostile as the law allows and he ain’t no chump. To step back from that is an acknowledgement of a media foe who has beaten the Prime Minister from the battlefield.”
The encapsulates the problem. Is politics a war? Is it a “Me v You” fight? Is an interview with a politician meant to be blood sport?
Over years we’ve had the “Did, your hear so-and-so interviewing so-and-so? He owned her.”
Pre-election debates have got to be sport. Someone has to be a winner, someone a loser. We are the losers. If the subject of an interview won’t, can’t or doesn’t answer a question let us judge them on their prevarication not on the volume, insistence and rudeness of the interviewer.
Notably of course the haranguing and squeezing of questions and demand for limitation of answers is to do with having to go to the commercial break, or in RNZ’s case, to fit the pre-ordained timetable regardless of the detail or background of answers. Once again, we are the losers.
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