The Media’s Lovefest With Jacinda (& Her Book)
We examine and call out the woeful lovefest from the so-called news media which is supposed to be the 'fourth estate' – but now is predominantly a cheerleader for the left.
There’s a new book on the shelves - a memoir from former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern – entitled “A Different Kind of Power”. There has been no shortage of coverage from certain major news outlets in both NZ and overseas. This episode of McBlog is not focusing on the author and her responses in the various interviews (which you may be relieved to hear). What we are going to examine and call out is the woeful lovefest from the so-called news media which is supposed to be the fourth estate – but now is predominantly a cheerleader for the left. Their interviewing of Jacinda Ardern proved just how pathetic they have become. It will also show why Mike Hosking, Heather du Plessis-Allen, Sean Plunket and FOX News never stood a chance of being granted an interview.
SCRIPT
The term fourth estate is often used to refer to the news media’s role as a watchdog over government. According to politicaldictionary.com,
“The phrase has its origins in the French Revolution, where the church, nobility and commoners comprised the first, second, and third estates. The media was first called the fourth estate in 1821 by Edmund Burke who wanted to point out the power of the press. The term is now somewhat dated, but is used to stress journalists’ importance to politics. The news media is often seen as a critical check on the power of the other three estates, serving as a watchdog to hold elected officials and other public figures accountable for their actions.”
So the focus has been on Jacinda’s responses to questions from the news media.
I’m going to shine the spotlight on the media – and you’ll quickly see both how irrelevant they are becoming and how ‘friendly’ they are to people they like and whose politics they like.
And a couple of very interesting observations about how clever Jacinda and her minders have been in this whole process.
So let’s look at the coverage.
Firstly in New Zealand
State-funded broadcaster Radio NZ
The former New Zealand prime minister says her dad wasn't sure she could handle politics, but Ardern says she led with empathy, and now talks to others about how to do the same.
To be fair, the interviewer does press a little – a little – on some of the controversy around Jacinda that caused her popularity to plummet – but note the answers. She never once fully answers the question. And the pushback from the interviewer is…. weak!
What Radio NZ was keen to do in the interview was make a clear statement that they hate Trump and all NZers and all politicians in NZ should also – especially Jacinda
That’s pretty embarrassing. Then it’s off to the state broadcaster.
TVNZ’s Seven Sharp
The world’s media is lining up to interview Dame Jacinda Ardern about her memoir, A Different Kind of Power – CBS, BBC, even Oprah. But as the former prime minister sits down to talk to Seven Sharp, she insists the impression she makes on Kiwis matters most. “I’m sweating just as much as I did with Oprah,” she tells Hilary Barry in a conversation that traverses fertility, public hostility and the cancer scare that sparked her decision to resign.
Intro – being interviewed by all the world’s media (that like her!)
Here’s the questions
Were there any hard questions? These were the hardest ones I could find from this lovefest
Yawn! Then to Australia
ABC News in Australia – similar to Radio NZ – and rabidly left wing biased
Then to the UK
Rory Stewart and Alastair Campbell are hosts of Britain's biggest podcast (The Rest Is Politics), Rory Stewart is a British academic, broadcaster, writer, and former diplomat and politician for the Conservative Party in the UK. He has taught at Harvard University and at Yale University. Alastair Campbell is a former journalist turned strategist and spokesman for Tony Blair and New Labour. He is now a writer, consultant strategist and mental health campaigner.
Alastair Campbell rated Jacinda as having the best communication of all world leaders during COVID
And then on to nasty nasty Trump.
but then they really showed their worldview – the problem of capitalism – interesting for a ex-conservative politician to say. Now you know why he’s at Harvard. He wants the progressive left to be more radical.
And then the question about – women leaders stepping down – not because they’re tanking in the polls – but because they’re…. Women?
Then to the US broadcasters
Publicly funded broadcaster – bit like Radio NZ
Jacinda Ardern believes kindness is missing from politics
After several years in office as the 40th prime minister of New Zealand, Ardern stepped down, saying she "no longer had enough in the tank" to continue fulfilling the role. Ardern reflects on these moments and more in her new memoir, A Different Kind of Power. She joined All Things Considered Host Mary Louise Kelly to discuss that pivotal time and the lessons she took from her time in politics.
Now you know why Trump wants to defund the NPR
He also wants to defund the PBS – the public broadcasting service. Here’s their question line
Then it was off to The Stephen Colbert Show (also here)
Then it’s off to Oprah
The Right Honorable Dame Jacinda Ardern, former prime minister of New Zealand, joins The Oprah Podcast to discuss her new memoir, A Different Kind of Power…. Jacinda tells Oprah why, in an unprecedented moment for a world leader, she announced she would be using kindness as her guiding principle as prime minister of New Zealand.
Let’s watch a summary of the question line
Now I know I promised you that this episode was only about the woeful lovefest from the so-called news media which is supposed to be the fourth estate – but now is predominantly a cheerleader for the left.
There’s a couple of things to note in all of these interviews that I’ve highlighted
· Most of the legacy media are infatuated with both Jacinda and her politics. And they can’t separate that out from their duty to be a proper media outlet asking the hard and tough questions – as they definitely would if this was a right wing politician’s memoirs. Can you imagine them treating Donald Trump, Nigel Farage, Tony Abbott, Boris Johnson, Victor Orban from Hungary with the same love fest
· You have to give absolute credit to Jacinda’s media team. They picked the media that would give them absolute soft-ball questions, and wouldn’t ask the really tough searching questions, or in the case of Radio NZ who did try to drill down to a couple of specific issues, allow Jacinda not to answer them fully
· You now can clearly see why Mike Hosking, Sean Plunket, RCR Radio, Fox News, Sky News, The Australian newspaper and even McBlog or Simon O’Connor on Family Matters 😊 will get nowhere near her for an interview. Her minders simply wouldn’t take the risk of tough questions.
· NO media asked her the real questions
Why did a parliament protest gather so many protestors from across the political divide,
…and so many ethnicities - and why wouldn’t she meet them if she’s so into inclusivity and kindness
Does kindness extend to the unborn child in the womb?
What about second-term political quicksands like Three Waters and He Pua Pua that dragged her government and Ardern personally down – as one commentator said
And nobody fully pressed her on the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Covid-19 Response. Most of the media avoided the issue altogether. The report said
"In our view, some workplace, occupational and other vaccine requirements were applied too broadly and remained in place for too long, which caused harm to individuals and families and contributed to loss of social capital… Some found these requirements "reassuring", but they also had "significant negative impacts" including exacerbating workforce issues and shortages in some sectors, as well as "difficult social consequences" for those who did not choose to get vaccinated… The use of mandatory measures – and other aspects of the Covid-19 pandemic – affected trust and social cohesion in ways that may make future pandemic responses more difficult."
Inquiry head Tony Blakely, an epidemiologist, said that vaccine mandates caused huge pain to a “substantial minority” during the pandemic and the Government should consider whether their benefits outweighed their harms.
The report also highlighted then-Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s “we are the single source of truth” comment as being highlighted by submitters as “unhelpful”.
And remember this?
No media asked her about this – which I believe was the point when Jacinda’s politics fully lost the room.
In fact, if you go to laboursfailures.com – you can see a whole long list of failures and why Jacinda’s polling went through the floor
Nobody asked her why did her political star drop so dramatically if she was such a fantastic leader – and nobody tackled her and said “this was the real reason you resigned, wasn’t it.
It was a very clever media tour promoting a book.
Pick the media that loves your politics. Maybe even send them a list of questions in advance.
And this is why the legacy media is dying.
I just hope they’re as nice to me and give me the lovefest if I write a book.
What do you reckon?!
She is an example of personality politics at work. Frightening for the country that votes for a leader that looks good - rather than has policies which help the most vulnerable.