Kiwi journalist Bevan Hurley works in the United States for The Times of London.
Kiwi journalist involved in major political story botch-up reverberating between New York and London; All Blacks peel back curtain of mystique for US media; Top agency DDB faces axe; TVNZ poaches top ThreeNews boss.
A New Zealand journalist working at one of the globe’s most renowned newspapers is at the centre of a major botch-up, after he reported startling comments that he believed had been sent to him by a high-profile, former New York mayor.
Bevan Hurley - a senior reporter with extensive experience at both the Herald on Sunday and Stuff and now in New York working for The Times of London - had reportedly sent questions, via email, to a Gmail address that he thought belonged to Bill de Blasio, the Big Apple’s Democratic mayor from 2014-21.
A response soon came back from the email address in which “Bill de Blasio” not only answered Hurley’s inquiries, but took a surprising swing at Zohran Mamdani, a leading Democratic candidate in the upcoming New York mayoral elections.
“De Blasio” told Hurley in the email that Mamdani was making dangerously “optimistic assumptions” about the likely income generated by new taxes.
“In my view, the math doesn’t hold up under scrutiny, and the political hurdles are substantial,” according to the email sent to Hurley.
The journalist - a former junior reporter of the year in New Zealand - duly reported the comments for the Rupert Murdoch-owned Times website in a story which carried the headline “Zohran Mamdani ally Bill de Blasio says his policies ‘don’t add up’.”
It soon transpired that the “Bill de Blasio” who answered Hurley’s questions was not the former mayor, but a Long Island businessman who shares the same name.
Bill de Blasio, the former New York mayor, took a crack at The Times for its “absolute violation of journalistic ethics”. He said the quotes attributed to him were “entirely false and fabricated”.
He told CNN he had never heard of the journalist.
The Times removed the article, apologised for it, and said: “Our reporter had been misled by an individual falsely claiming to be the former New York mayor.”
But the other “Bill de Blasio” took exception to the idea that he was an ‘imposter’ or ‘impersonator’.
“I’m Bill DeBlasio,” he told the Semafor website. “I’ve always been Bill DeBlasio. I never once said I was the mayor. He never addressed me as the mayor. So I just gave him my opinion.”
DeBlasio did say he knew Hurley thought he was talking to the former New York mayor. “I could have corrected him,” he said. “It was all in good fun. I never thought it would make it to print.”
The case is a stark reminder of the pitfalls of reporting emailed comments, especially if an email address and the respondent’s identity have not been verified. As this case reveals, that’s especially important when dealing with a generic Gmail account or other similar accounts.
I’ve reached out for comment from Hurley, who worked at the Herald on Sunday from 2010-2015 and Stuff from 2015-2020, and who has also continued to work as a freelance US commentator for RNZ.
Having worked with Hurley and admired much of his previous work, I have little doubt he’ll be mortified.
It was not immediately apparent if The Times was taking any further action.
There will be very few journalists taking any perverse pleasure in Hurley’s predicament, except perhaps his competitors in the US.
“New York’s media-political circus is a particularly unforgiving place,” wrote Semafor’s Max Tani.
“The Times’ error immediately garnered write-ups in The Washington Post, The New York Times, New York Magazine, and other outlets.
“As British publications continue to look towards expansion in the US, and try to muscle in on turf long occupied by the aggressive New York press corps, they may find American media competitors to be more than happy to point out their errors.”
One of New Zealand’s top advertising agencies is facing an uncertain future, with news that it may be axed altogether as part of the pending merger of two global holding companies.
DDB Aotearoa has been responsible for some of our biggest and best-known advertising campaigns, including creative work for McDonald’s, Vogel’s, Samsung and ANZ.
It has also unleashed on the world some of New Zealand’s most talented creative directors.
DDB is owned by global holding company Omnicom (OMG) and as Media Insider has previously reported, OMG’s US$13 billion acquisition of IPG is a seismic shift in the advertising landscape.
There are likely to be major job losses and a consolidation of agency brands across the world as a result of the acquisition.
In New Zealand, major OMG brands such as PHD, OMD, Colenso, DDB, Clemenger, TBWA, Hearts & Science and Dynamo will be housed under the same umbrella as IPG agencies such as FCB and Initiative.
News of DDB’s likely demise was revealed by trade website produ.com.
“The groundbreaking agreement includes a historic decision: the dissolution of the DDB network, one of the most influential brands in the history of modern creative advertising,” it reported.
It said the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) had approved the merger around three core global agencies: BBDO Worldwide, McCann and TBWA\Worldwide.
“This integration will directly impact regional operations, leadership structures, and the brand identity of several historic agencies across the globe.”
An official statement provided to Media Insider and other outlets overnight from OMG won’t have provided much reassurance for DDB Aotearoa staff.
“As regulatory approvals are still pending and until the transaction is closed, we are still operating as two independent companies,” said the statement.
“However, we can share that, as it relates to our brands, we are undertaking a rigorous and considered process to ensure we have the very best solutions for the future for us and for our clients.
“This sentiment is informing everything we do in our go-forward plans.
“Once they are finalised and ready to be shared, communicating them to our clients and our people will be our priority.
“We will then make that information available publicly. We look forward to the close of our transaction and to moving forward as a combined company.”
Outgoing NZ Rugby boss Mark Robinson has criticised what he calls “revisionist views” in the Ian Foster-Scott Robertson All Black coaching saga, specifically citing Foster’s best-selling book.
With just a few weeks remaining as NZR chief executive, Robinson has taken the opportunity in a wide-ranging interview in Chicago to insist NZ Rugby had taken the “high ground” during the very public fallout over the saga.
NZR came in for heavy criticism over the way it treated Foster in his final two years as coach. Foster himself revealed in his book that he lost trust in Robinson.
NZR came close to sacking him in South Africa in 2022. While Foster survived the guillotine at that stage, NZR in 2023 announced Robertson as the next All Blacks coach - many months before Foster’s contract was up.
With Foster and the All Blacks having to prepare for a Rugby World Cup campaign, NZR was criticised for creating an unnecessary sideshow.
While that process is unlikely to happen again, Robinson defended the organisation’s moves.
“This is one of the things I think has been characterised in some media incorrectly,” said Robinson.
“I haven’t read Ian’s book, but what’s been represented back to me anecdotally by others is [that] there’s a range of things that are just not true.
“At the end of the day, we made - and we led this - key decisions around that coaching environment, which were the right decisions at the right time, to give the team the best possible opportunity to win the World Cup.
“And then we made a call that we believed we needed a change for the medium-to-longer term.”
Robinson said an early announcement was “appropriate” and “common practice in a lot of other countries and a lot of other sports, for that matter”.
“It was new to New Zealand, but it doesn’t make it a wrong decision.
“It was just different to the past, and - people forget - we had all the information from the player feedback, from the reviews, from what we were seeing right through that period of time, which clearly supported the basis for those decisions.
“I’m not going to go into those but at the end of the day, we could see and hear all the information [that] we had to make the decisions, and we stand by them.
“And I reiterate some of the other things that are being said and written publicly just aren’t true.
“It’s a shame that people want to reflect on that and create revisionist views of the history of that time but that’s their prerogative.
“I’m really proud of the fact that, and I won’t go beyond what I’m saying now, we’ve held the high ground on this.”
Robinson said the debate got personal and went into “levels of detail that aren’t professional or don’t reflect positively on the game”.
NZR was tasked with taking a “whole of game” approach to issues such as these.
“It’s hard when you’re seen as the establishment to not necessarily want to snipe back or correct things, but you’ve just got to have the ability to take the high ground on this stuff.
“I’m really proud that we have. It would have been very easy for us to get into to-ing and fro-ing on this, but that wouldn’t have served anyone either.
“We were focused on what’s the right thing for the team and, unfortunately, other people involved in that weren’t.”
READ MORE: IAN FOSTER BOOK EXTRACT
READ MORE: GREGOR PAUL: HOW NZR PLAN BACKFIRED
This week, I’ve been fortunate enough to be in Chicago with several other journalists to observe, up front, the inner workings of the All Blacks and NZ Rugby in the countdown to the test match against Ireland.
That work forms part of a rolling NZ Herald series called The Business of the All Blacks. You can read two of the early pieces here and here.
Knowing the critical importance of building the All Blacks brand in foreign markets, NZ Rugby has also been hosting two journalists from The Athletic (owned by The New York Times) and Forbes.
“The interest in the All Blacks comes from the fact it’s a globally recognised sports brand that even if you don’t really know about rugby, you know that the All Blacks are the best at it,” The Athletic’s Adam Crafton told Media Insider.
“There is this mystique behind them, and I think trying to explain high-performance elite sporting environments to a predominantly US audience will always be something you’d be interested in covering.”
New York-based Crafton sat down in a 1-1 interview with All Blacks captain Scott Barrett earlier in the week. Other players have also spoken, as well as key team management and coaches, NZR chief executive Mark Robinson, and All Blacks legends such as Sir John Kirwan and Dane Coles.
“The level of access, whether it’s front office or players or performance or nutrition or legends, there’s clearly been a very clear push this week to tell their story and to try and reach different audiences,” said Crafton.
Forbes writer Vitas Carosella told Media Insider that sport played an important part in the business website’s content offering.
“Within that, they like to cover all the big sports not only in the US but around the world and so obviously the All Blacks have a brand that’s quite well known.
“The prominence of that is largely the reason for coverage. There are large pockets of rugby fans in the US that perhaps don’t get the type of rugby coverage that they’re seeking. To help tell those stories and share them with the audience is important.
“It’s nothing like New Zealand, where every newspaper talks about rugby. Here, it’s few and far between.
“It’s a very clear push to make sure that the All Blacks are well known or that their brand continues to grow in other markets.”
NZ Rugby has more than a dozen staff in Chicago ahead of this week’s match at Soldier Field - a mix of commercial, events/VIP, communications, marketing and brand and partnership employees.
That’s in addition to a raft of the big-name legends they’ve called in to talk about the All Blacks’ legacy, including Kirwan, Coles and Richie McCaw.
NZR chair David Kirk is also in town.
The All Blacks and legends have been making appearances across various local TV stations, including NBC, Fox and WGN-TV.
The Barstool media platform yesterday hosted Fabian Holland and Caleb Clarke on its popular Yak podcast - an episode that has generated almost 100,000 views in almost 24 hours.
The pair discussed their backgrounds, the haka, and where the All Blacks’ name originated. Clarke talked about his All Black father Eroni Clarke singing the national anthem at a recent Eden Park test.
The Chicago monetary return
Dozens of US, Irish and New Zealand journalists and photographers have been accredited to cover the actual test.
Setting aside the powerhouse All Blacks-Lions series that are only held every 12 years, this weekend’s test represents the biggest matchday payday ever for NZ Rugby, exceeding previous games played in Japan, Hong Kong, USA and other European games played outside the IRB international window.
NZ Rugby has declined to provide specific numbers, but it is understood the Chicago test will be around 50% higher than the average profit from the six test matches held in New Zealand this season.
NZ Rugby chair David Kirk is also in Chicago for the All Blacks test and related business meetings, and also sat down with NZ media representatives, including the NBR’s Hamish McNicol.
McNicol took the opportunity to ask Kirk - the then chief executive of Fairfax Media when it acquired TradeMe for $750m in 2006, before it was later sold - about TradeMe aligning again with a media firm this year.
TradeMe acquired 50% of Stuff Digital - one of the companies that was once part of Fairfax - in June.
McNicol asked Kirk whether he had laughed when he saw TradeMe investing back into Stuff Digital.
“I did, actually,” Kirk said. “I’m still not 100% sure why? But I’m sure they bought it very cheaply. It’s probably just aggregating audience, there’s not much more you can do, really. More touch points for the same people. Advertising deals, I suppose?”
Stuff’s ThreeNews bulletin has been dealt a big blow with the loss of its highly respected executive producer to arch-rival TVNZ.
Claire Watson is leaving Stuff in early December to return to TVNZ as its current affairs editor early in the new year.
She has previously had two extensive stints at the state broadcaster, including time as the executive producer of Breakfast (2015/16) and One News (2013/15).
“Claire is hugely loved by the ThreeNews team,” presenter Samantha Hayes wrote in an internal Stuff message obtained by Media Insider.
“She has been our guiding light through the Newshub shutdown and launch of the new bulletin - a pillar in TV journalism and a wonderful human all round.
“We’ll miss her immensely but wish her all the best in her next role.”
Stuff Digital editor in chief Keith Lynch told staff in an internal message that Watson had been a “critical member” of the 6pm team.
“She is a consummate professional and calm, capable influence in the newsroom and leaves after an extraordinary 18 months with our gratitude and best wishes. I honestly don’t think I’ve ever worked with a more hardworking, selfless leader - someone I very much admire.”
Lynch said staff would be kept informed about “what this means going forward”.
“But we plan to advertise for a new EP as soon as possible. That person will be responsible for the ongoing evolution of ThreeNews as we head into a huge news year in 2026.”
TVNZ digital news and content general manager Oskar Alley told staff Watson’s start date had yet to be finalised, “but naturally we’re ecstatic to be welcoming her home to TVNZ”.
“Claire is one of the country’s finest newsroom leaders, with more than 25 years of experience in news and current affairs programmes.
“She had led with distinction across TV, radio and digital platforms and comes to us filled with ideas ...”
Her new role includes leadership of TVNZ’s InDepth team.
Editor-at-Large Shayne Currie is one of New Zealand’s most experienced senior journalists and media leaders. He has held executive and senior editorial roles at NZME including Managing Editor, NZ Herald Editor and Herald on Sunday Editor and has a small shareholding in NZME.