What a $43 million loan to Mediaworks can buy you on Radio LIVE!

Radio shows not offered to other party leaders - Goff
Labour's Phil Goff says Radio Live refused a request to give other party leaders their own show.

His party has complained to the Broadcasting Standards Authority and the Electoral Commission about last week's 'Prime Minister's hour', when radio station bosses allowed John Key to host a programme.

Coming so close to the election, Labour believes it broke broadcasting and election laws, even though Key didn't talk about politics.

Goff this morning confirmed his staff contacted Radio Live to voice concerns about fairness, and he denied rumours Key offered Goff the chance to appear on the show.

''We contacted Radio Live and we said that you can't have, in this part of the electoral cycle, one party leader being given a programme where he has full editorial control without extending that to other political leaders.

"Our request for that was declined. It was not just for ourselves it was political parties across the board.

''They said no. They said this was not political. Frankly, yeah right would have been the answer to that. This is either naive or worse than naive."

The station didn't give an explanation for refusing, he said.

Asked if Goff thought the appearance was linked to a $43m bailout given to Radio Live's owner Mediaworks in 2009, he said:

''I think that suspicion exists. It might or might not be right. The Government did give $43m of assistance to the company and when the company turns and says, for the first time ever, we are going to give the Prime Minister, on the edge of the election campaign, an hour with full editorial control, that's the suspicions that's left.''

He added: ''If that was the reason ...that would be totally against the democratic process in this country.''

Wow. Look at that, Radio LIVE! isn't the 'new voice of talkback radio' at all, it's the same 'redneck pro National radio' talkback has always been. They didn't even offer other political leaders that type of show? The fact Radio Live gave the PM a 'politics free show' on the day our credit rating was downgraded is astounding, the fact they only offered it to Key is disgraceful!

Radio Live claim it's because of electoral law that John Key couldn't answer questions on politics, bullshit. Put Key in there for an hour with an interviewer and ask him questions, that would have side stepped those issues, but to give him an hour where he gets to hide behind a 'no politics' zone is simply disgraceful!

This is NZ, not Cuba, the Dear Leader doesn't get to wank on about his cat and Coro street while the country goes to hell in a hand basket. I have been critical over our mainstream media's none ending love affair with Key, it's our first cult of no personality, but to so actively endorse and protect Key shows how much a $43 million loan to Mediaworks can buy you on Radio Live!

No wonder the sleepy hobbits love Key so much, with media as uncritical as Radio Live, I'm surprised Key isn't at 80% support.

Epic fail Radio Live! Epic fail. I'll be on Radio NZ this Thursday and ZB this Weekend.




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