Mike Hosking is said to be amused by the impersonations.
Mike Hosking is said to be amused by the impersonations.
Impersonation is said to be the sincerest form of flattery and Newstalk ZB breakfast host Mike Hosking is said to be "amused" by Hauraki counterpart Jeremy Wells impersonating him on air each day.
Wells apes the broadcaster to a tee, down to his 'Happy Days' signoff, as he covers topics such as child poverty, deep sea oil drilling and Ramadan during the Football World Cup in a tongue-in-cheek style.
Says Wells: "When the last radio survey came out and it was revealed that Hauraki Breakfast was the 13th highest rating nationwide breakfast show our bosses were concerned.
"They cited Mike Hosking's ZB show as an example of a high-rating radio juggernaut and claimed that we needed to take on some of his professionalism and dedication if we were going to climb into the top 10.
"I took their comments literally and began imitating Mike's centre-right, commonsense, daily editorial rants for our morning show."
What began as a fun gimmick for the rock music station has turned into appointment listening, and Wells says they have Hosking to thank.
"Like Seven Sharp, we noticed an immediate rise in the show's popularity - a media phenomenon that has been coined 'the Hosking factor'. Hosking is ratings Ritalin."
