Barry Soper: Why RNZ, Clark got it wrong about me

Linda Clark

Opinion

The media's come in for a lot of flak this election. Some of it is well deserved, and some of it is not. There's nothing unusual in that.

Winston Peters has over the years made it into an art form. He loves to have a go at journos who at times deliberately provoke him to get the desired reaction, and again there's nothing unusual in that.

But there is something highly unusual when you're the subject of comment from people who should know better when it comes to accuracy and fairness.

In this category there are two people who I believe have fallen well short of what the public has a right to expect.

It was on Radio New Zealand's Morning Report programme the day after Winston Peters anointed Jacinda Ardern as the Prime Minister-elect. Host Susie Ferguson was interviewing a person she introduced as a lawyer and political commentator - Linda Clark - to give her perspective on Ardern's leadership as being profound for women.

Ferguson, in a question to Clark, reminded us Ardern was the third female Prime Minister for New Zealand, the youngest Prime Minister in 160 years "and the first question she gets in her press conference" after she was anointed by Peters "essentially asked her whether she was up to it".

Clark: "I thought it was appalling. It was a question from an older male journalist who simply needs to, kind of, update or move on."

The commentator then went on to say that everyone is going to have to readjust their setting, whatever that means.

There are several things that are wrong with the exchange, starting from the beginning.

Clark might be a political commentator but we understand she's also acted as Ardern's media trainer and a talent scout for the party's jobs.

And the question wasn't nearly the first one fired at Ardern by a long chalk.

The first was from me asking her how many Cabinet positions New Zealand First was getting and what role Peters would be playing.

Midway through the conference, many questions later, I asked Ardern what to Clark and clearly Ferguson was the appalling question.

"Do you think you can learn from Winston Peters? He's a very experienced politician as opposed to you?"

Ardern: "My view is that we'll have a partnership that we'll continue to learn from each other."

It's true I'm an older male journalist. There's little I can do about age or gender, but in the almost 50 years I've had reporting, the vast majority of it in politics, I've never felt constrained by what I've been able to ask politicians, regardless of their gender or their age and I'm not about to adjust my setting.

One can only hope when Clark's giving Ardern advice on how to handle the media, or recruiting staff for Labour, she does it better and more accurately than she does in her commentary. That goes for Ferguson's interviewing as well. The full identity of her commentator would help: the public deserves better from an organisation that Labour's promised in Government to give even more taxpayer money to.

Clearly Ardern wasn't offended by the appalling question. Obviously clearing her texts, one came through at 1.30am, thanking me for congratulating her.

You're welcome.