All of a sudden the MSM is very big on conflicts of interest even if they were eventually declared. There has been a big pile-on and a concerted attempt to throw political commentator and lobbyist Matthew Hooton under a bus.
Before I go any further, for the record I have met Matthew Hooton on only one occasion. He is not a friend and, to be quite honest, I watched him fill in the void left by my husband Cam Slater, when he was removed from the game by the Dirty Politics pile on, with a mild sense of bitterness. Now, however, the MSM have turned on him just as they turned on Cameron. Right-wing commentators these days walk a constant tightrope as what is criticised in a right-wing commentator is not only tolerated in a left-wing one it is encouraged!
We here at The BFD have encouraged all our writers to make their political biases plain in their author bios so that no one is left in any doubt as to their political leanings. Readers can, therefore, take the bias into consideration when they read political opinion pieces.
The MSM now shrieking for Hooton to be removed from political commentary would never dream of adding a disclaimer to their articles. All their articles should state that as they are in receipt of millions of dollars of government funding they have a serious conflict of interest as they are beholden to the government for their continued survival.
Unlike The BFD that is completely funded by its audience, the MSM cannot continue post-COVID without large and ongoing government handouts. They call themselves independent but Ardern has, with one very large cheque, turned them all into state-owned media in all but name.
Matthew Hooton’s main sin is that he is right-wing and these days that is more than enough reason for the dying MSM to push him under a bus.
As for the National Party standing by him and supporting him, I can only refer him to what happened to Cam. One minute you can have the leader on speed dial and the next, when the heat comes on, that same leader will disown you and actively work to get a radio station to boycott you as a political commentator.
Hooton may have been loyally promoting the interests of Todd Muller but if Todd is anything like John Key he will be ruthless when it comes to any hint of scandal. Watch out for that bright light Matthew. Rather than it being the light at the end of the tunnel, it could very well be a big locomotive heading your way. The National Party are not known for their loyalty to their foot soldiers. You are 100% expendable and they will not be slow to put the boot in.
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