In August 2000 Prebble told Parliament and the press: “Usually reliable sources have told ACT that the Cabinet has already made a decision to scrap the proposed Orion upgrade.” In December 2022 his NZ Herald column declared: “Usually reliable sources say the Defence Minister Peeni Henare… is not going to…” He deployed the line relentlessly as ACT leader and later commentator.
As a fresh MP I sat mortified in the House wondering what on earth these sources were. Then I learned the genius. Journalists reported it dutifully—not because they believed every word, but because it might be true, the speculation was real, and it gave them an easy story. Sometimes it proved accurate. Most times it was educated mischief. The point was never iron-clad proof. The point was momentum. And "news". Preb is a master.
Hosking did exactly that. He dropped five names on air, waved his impeccable sources like a wand, and let the outrage machine churn. National MPs deny it. Some threaten Media Council complaints. The story lives. Prebble would applaud the technique.
Here’s the reality check: anyone in politics or media citing anonymous sources is peddling unreliable speculation. Full stop. Real evidence has names, documents, or on-the-record quotes. Shadowy “impeccable sources” are for political operators wanting the headline without the accountability.
Prebble turned making news into performance art. Hosking is merely the latest act. But there is a difference: Preb was a politician. Journalists and radio hosts citing anonymous sources are doing politics, not news reporting.
As a fresh MP I sat mortified in the House wondering what on earth these sources were. Then I learned the genius. Journalists reported it dutifully—not because they believed every word, but because it might be true, the speculation was real, and it gave them an easy story. Sometimes it proved accurate. Most times it was educated mischief. The point was never iron-clad proof. The point was momentum. And "news". Preb is a master.
Hosking did exactly that. He dropped five names on air, waved his impeccable sources like a wand, and let the outrage machine churn. National MPs deny it. Some threaten Media Council complaints. The story lives. Prebble would applaud the technique.
Here’s the reality check: anyone in politics or media citing anonymous sources is peddling unreliable speculation. Full stop. Real evidence has names, documents, or on-the-record quotes. Shadowy “impeccable sources” are for political operators wanting the headline without the accountability.
Prebble turned making news into performance art. Hosking is merely the latest act. But there is a difference: Preb was a politician. Journalists and radio hosts citing anonymous sources are doing politics, not news reporting.
Rodney Hide is a former Minister and leader of the ACT Party. This article was sourced from HERE.
1 comment:
The Hosk is one of the few that can prize our missing in action PM out of his subterranean cave so we actually hear his voice and without fail, it's always a dismal disappointment. A pillow talk studiously avoiding even mildly uneasy questions much less serious questions of the day like...
What do your have to say on information that a South Island maori tribe trying to extort hundreds of millions of dollars money out of a company that is trying to generate an income in NZ. Or what's your opinion on the Far North District Council?
NOTHING.
Hosking hosts one of those empty pointless magazine shows, that is just background noise that makes Spotify and You Tube even more attractive.
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