Smalley has worked alongside several of the Monday morning broadcasters during her own media career and is expected to offer good insights into each of their approaches. <\/p>\n
So, how did Luxon fare today?<\/p>\n
7.05am-7.15am: Chris Chang, TVNZ Breakfast<\/p>\n
PM Christopher Luxon and birthday boy Chris Chang. Screengrab \/ TVNZ<\/p>\n
Topics: Storm response; US-Iran and NZ\u2019s response to latest Trump social post; Singapore fuel discussions; polls; miscarriage leave … and Celebrity Treasure Island<\/p>\n
PM\u2019s rating: 6<\/p>\n
Interviewer rating: 6 <\/p>\n
Curve ball! Just as we were all set for the third week of a Tova O\u2019Brien v Christopher Luxon head-to-head interview, TVNZ producers changed things up, with Breakfast co-host and birthday boy Chris Chang taking the lead. <\/p>\n
Our very own de-escalation. No flustered PM and with it, a run-of-the-mill, dry interview. The responses from Luxon were no different to what he\u2019s been citing in recent weeks \u2013 reluctant to comment specifically on Donald Trump\u2019s social media posts, and the US\u2019s latest position.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we really need to see is a de-escalation. We need to see those parties in negotiations. Ultimately, a negotiated solution is what\u2019s needed.\u201d<\/p>\n
And: \u201cWhat we have to recognise is we can\u2019t control this global event, but we have our values, and we need to articulate those, which we\u2019ve been doing \u2013 urging restraint, urging a negotiated settlement, all of those things that are necessary to rebuild trust, to get to, you know, an end to this conflict.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chang asked him about the recent polls. The PM said he didn\u2019t comment on polls (zzzz!) before responding (kind of) for the next few minutes to poll-related questions.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have a question … in the cheap seats!\u201d chipped in O\u2019Brien as the interview was wrapping up. <\/p>\n
Oh, good, a hard question coming.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhich of your MPs would you send off to Celebrity Treasure Island?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m obviously very focused on the fuel crisis, so I can\u2019t, I\u2019m too busy.\u201d<\/p>\n
O\u2019Brien couldn\u2019t resist: \u201cYou could exile Chris Bishop.\u201d<\/p>\n
Luxon ignored that completely. \u201cYou could actually send Judith Collins. She\u2019d get things in order very, very quickly.”<\/p>\n
7.37am-7.48am: Mike Hosking, Newstalk ZB<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon answers questions from Newstalk ZB’s Mike Hosking. Photo \/ Michael Craig<\/p>\n
Topics: Singapore fuel deal; Govt\u2019s fuel crisis response; India free-trade agreement; Govt-Auckland deal; LNG deal.<\/p>\n
PM\u2019s rating: 8<\/p>\n
Interviewer rating: 7<\/p>\n
Luxon\u2019s most assured appearance of the morning \u2013 and possibly one of his best in recent weeks. This is friendly, familiar territory. \u201cGood morning, Mike, good to be with you!\u201d<\/p>\n
And where TVNZ and RNZ focused on the former Cyclone Vaianu response, Hosking \u2013 like Vaianu \u2013 had well and truly moved on. The storm didn\u2019t come up at all. <\/p>\n
Hosking had done his homework on the international fuel crisis, and his questions on the Singapore fuel deal shone through, as did his broader observations of the Government\u2019s fuel response. Now he wants assurances from Luxon.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo what I want to know is: We\u2019re fine. We will get through this without a problem?\u201d<\/p>\n
Luxon: \u201cYeah, we are. When we talk to the importers, there\u2019s no risk to their future orders. They\u2019re all highly confident as they get into May … into mid to late May even, and beyond.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hosking brings his own attitude to these exchanges, and listeners are never in doubt where he stands. <\/p>\n
\u201cWithout boring the whole country, what\u2019s this Auckland City deal about?\u201d Hosking asked at one stage.<\/p>\n
It was the lowest point of the interview as the PM then came close to boring the whole country. <\/p>\n
7.52am-8am: John Campbell, RNZ National<\/p>\n
John Campbell is no stranger to interviewing prime ministers – this file photo is from his own time as TVNZ Breakfast host. Screengrab \/ TVNZ<\/p>\n
Topics: Storm response<\/p>\n
PM\u2019s rating: 7<\/p>\n
Interviewer rating: 7<\/p>\n
The PM used charm to open his Morning Report interview with new host John Campbell.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow\u2019s the first day at the new school going?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s going well,\u201d responded Campbell. He joked that he must have failed numerous exams, as it was his fourth time back at the school of RNZ.<\/p>\n
Unlike TVNZ and Newstalk ZB \u2013 and possibly because this was the most squeezed interview, timing-wise \u2013 there was just one topic on RNZ\u2019s agenda: Cyclone Vaianu, and the Government\u2019s broader response to climate events, especially on the East Coast.<\/p>\n
Campbell was authoritative \u2013 a couple of interruptions and a couple of longer framed questions, but he allowed the PM time to answer, without allowing him to waffle. He listened to responses and engaged.<\/p>\n
And the PM added more charm: \u201cJohn, [in the] last flood, I was up in Hicks Bay, State Highway 35 \u2013 you know that area incredibly well. You\u2019ve done a number of stories from there.\u201d<\/p>\n
By any measure, it was a fair, balanced interview.<\/p>\n
Those who dislike (or like) Luxon, Hosking or Campbell won\u2019t have been swayed in their opinions today. <\/p>\n
But no doubt to the relief of the PM, Smalley and his wider team, he came through the three interviews with national issues at the forefront, and no personal communication hiccups.<\/p>\n
Editor-at-Large Shayne Currie is one of New Zealand\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Almost one million New Zealanders get to hear from the PM via the interviewing skills of some of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":376550,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[95,15555,14688,3276,16426,56614,72083,2753,11686,5504,42,75115,10938,196324,12022,8454,2936,5126,16427,5829,1073,1456,6722,42677,9878,1304,43,415,68689,8244,1560,762,13980,223,40,38,41,39,105378,16670,102],"class_list":{"0":"post-376549","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-and","9":"tag-campbell","10":"tag-chang","11":"tag-chris","12":"tag-christopher","13":"tag-engagements","14":"tag-exchanges","15":"tag-eyes","16":"tag-fares","17":"tag-following","18":"tag-headlines","19":"tag-hear","20":"tag-herald","21":"tag-hosking","22":"tag-host","23":"tag-including","24":"tag-insider","25":"tag-john","26":"tag-luxon","27":"tag-many","28":"tag-media","29":"tag-mike","30":"tag-minister","31":"tag-ministers","32":"tag-monday","33":"tag-morning","34":"tag-news","35":"tag-prime","36":"tag-rating","37":"tag-recent","38":"tag-report","39":"tag-review","40":"tag-stumbles","41":"tag-the","42":"tag-top-news","43":"tag-top-stories","44":"tag-topnews","45":"tag-topstories","46":"tag-tunes","47":"tag-watch","48":"tag-with"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/376549","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=376549"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/376549\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/376550"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=376549"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=376549"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=376549"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}