OPINION
At last, someone has given the media a dose of reality. That person is, not surprisingly, Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown. He uninvited certain media to his press conference to discuss details of the upcoming Council Budget. Those not invited were Stuff, One News and Newshub. In my opinion, the NZ Herald and RNZ were lucky not to have joined them.
It should be obvious to all and sundry that the mayor is a no-nonsense character and not one to be messed with. He’s a straight shooter. Mayor Brown has a bluntness about him which some might find bordering on rudeness but, to most, he comes across as having a refreshingly new and much-needed approach to the job ahead of him. Auckland has had years of financially illiterate left-wing mayors who, like this government, were addicted to wasteful spending.
Journalists need to understand when Mayor Brown holds a press conference it is not akin to the Covid one o’clock lies and twaddle from the ‘podium of truth’. The mayor’s press conferences are solely to supply and discuss facts. He’s not there to waste time on a left and right political argument orchestrated by a bunch of woke left-wing journalists. Mayor Brown is a man in a hurry. He has to be. There is a gigantic mess to clean up left by his namesake Len Brown and Phil Goff.
First to object that some media were not invited was Richard Sutherland, head of RNZ News. Richard was objecting in his role as the Media Freedom boss. How ironic there is such an organisation. Where is the freedom in taking government handouts with strings attached and then scripting the news accordingly? Of course, in RNZ’s case that would be what they would do regardless. Red Radio is an apt name.
Richard Sutherland said the cherry-picking of journalists was an insult to voters. The invitations evidently came from the mayor’s staff. I’m sure they were left in no doubt about who not to invite. Wayne Brown would have observed certain behaviours on previous occasions and decided which organisations would be frustrating time wasters. There is a lesson here for the media that they won’t necessarily like. The mayor is not to be toyed with.
Journalists wanting to attend his press conferences have been put on notice. Ask relevant and appropriate questions. Don’t try and skew the narrative to suit your point of view. The media’s job is to report the facts, not their opinions of them. If you fail to do that you will, as Richard Sullivan says, “insult the voters”.
Wayne Brown for PM!