Bob Edlin: ZB apology and musings about Mike....

ZB apology and musings about Mike – could he be jailed for protecting sources he does not have?

The Post reported a few days ago:

Newstalk ZB has apologised to a National MP accused on live radio of leaking to the media against Prime Minister Christopher Luxon.

Karl du Fresne: What privilege sounds like in 2025

We hear a lot about privilege these days. We’re told it’s an economic and political weapon that an affluent, selfish, male-dominated white capitalist society uses to keep disadvantaged minority groups in their place.

Wrong. Privilege in New Zealand in 2025 is the phenomenon that enables a small, effete and highly politicised media elite, cushioned by public funding, to capture and monopolise a crucial organ of public opinion and seek to influence the course of public debate.

Simon O'Connor: Fundamental(ist) mistakes

Just when you think Kim Hill and the people at Radio NZ cannot embarrass themselves – and New Zealand – anymore, they go ahead and outdo themselves.

During a recent visit, former British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, was invited for an interview with Hill. Meandering through a variety of topics, she eventually stated that those who voted for Brexit were racists and xenophobes.

Mike's Minute: Newstalk ZB is a success story

It's important I think to end the week with the good news.

The good news from an industry, you might have read, that has been creating a bit of bad news lately.

The media has troubles, newsrooms are being closed, programmes are being cancelled, people are being laid off, losses are mounting, hands are out for help and pleas are being made for you to see what some do on the local landscape as being important. So yes, it has been a bad year.

Barry Soper: Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's traffic light announcement a familiar meaningless sermon

Jacinda Ardern seemed to me to give every indication during her round of media interviews yesterday - which didn't include Newstalk ZB unfortunately - that we could expect some movement to the country's red light setting that's been frozen for the past several months now.

The PM waxed about how the peak had been reached in Auckland and Wellington and that the hospital system, that they've had years to fix, wasn't overwhelmed.

It was with a sense of guarded relief that restaurateurs thought people could begin moving around inside, rather than being stuck to their seats, and that event planners could start planning on crowd sizes increasing from the impossible to manage indoor restrictions.

You can imagine how disappointed they then were as they tuned in to hear from a Pulpit of Truth that seemed to have reverted back to the Delta days, with Ashley Bloomfield standing at Ardern's side as she put a dampener on things.