Barry Soper: The fractious relationship between media and politicians

The relationship between the media and politicians has always been a fractious one which is exacerbated by the quality of questions they are asked.

Parliament in the last four years of the Muldoon administration was something current incumbents could learn from. He was an expert at answering a question with a question.

Some of the more obvious ones were easy for him to bat off like: “Did it come as a surprise?”

“Did it surprise you,” he’d ask in response.

“Were you shocked,” was likely met with “were you?”

“Have you had time to reflect?” “Have you?” which likely meant, “have you thought about the question before you asked it?”

David Lange was also one to deflect a question, like when he was walking into his caucus meeting once and an eager journalist called out: “Can we have a word Prime Minister?” Lange shot back: “Wombat,” and carried on walking.

But Lange was acutely aware of the media and his portrayal in it. He once stopped his weekly press conferences and as press gallery chairman, it was my job to try and put it right.

In short, Lange said if he picked his nose, it would feature that night on television. I offered an obvious solution and the problem was solved with his nose being given a rest.

Move forward several decades and consider how the media was manipulated during the reign of Jacinda Ardern. It may have been amusing to hear her call out the names of the two television political editors first and then take questions from the rest of us.

If you were the barking dog from the also-ran pack you would finally get to ask a question, but rarely would she entertain a follow-up which meant she was never properly held to account.

Contrast with the current Prime Minster, he gives no preference and appears to answer virtually everything that’s thrown at him, even if at times he doesn’t address the query.

For Christopher Luxon going from a lifetime of boardrooms was a bit like being thrust out of the frying pan into the fire and he’s been frantically busy stoking the flames. His popularity as a new Prime Minister isn’t anything to write home about and no-one has been.

But the polls are starting to move in the right direction as Luxon, it would seem, is operating a little more from his own instincts. He’s lately been pushing back on some of the more inane questions leaders have to field.

Like when he lost his rag last week over gang numbers and, with a flushed face, said: “It’s not about the frickin targets, it’s about the outcomes.”

Just as he seems to have found his feet though, he’s losing his chief spin doctor, which is a prestigious but thankless job with someone usually drawn from the media ranks.

Writing about them rather than being told what to write for them is no easy task, although Adern’s long-suffering chief press secretary was hired just after she became the Prime Minister until well after she’d gone.

So what does it say about Luxon that his chief media adviser, Hamish Rutherford, is calling it quits?

Around the traps it’s said he’s relentless, a tough taskmaster, doesn’t easily take direction and isn’t an altogether easy person to work with.

As tough as that may be for staff, it’s acknowledged by those close to him he gets the job done even if some fall by the wayside while he’s doing it.

Barry Soper is a New Zealand political journalist, and has been featured regularly on radio and television since the 1970s. Currently, Soper's main role is political editor at Newstalk ZB, a radio network in New Zealand.