Rachel Smalley makes a great point about the domination of male hosts in prime time radio. She argues that some issues are dealt with differently by women and their approach is needed to balance up the male perspective. She uses Battered Women’s Syndrome and the Gender Pay Gap as two such examples. She has a good point. Smalley made the comment when expressing her disappointment that John Campbell would replace Mary Wilson as host of the Drive Time show on Radio...

If Colin Craig wants any future in politics, he must follow through with his proposed legal action and win. That’s because the popularity he developed before recent issues arose was based entirely on his perceived integrity and desire for open government. This could be highlighted by the Conservative Party policy of binding referendums. I’ve commented many times on Craig’s inability to deflect media interviews away from ridiculous topics like the moon landing onto his party’s policies. If he could have done...

If you saw Phil Rudd’s performance outside his house on TV news last night, you will understand how not to act if a camera is thrust in front of you without warning. This is known as an ambush interview and the cameraman is usually accompanied by a reporter asking tough questions. In this case it was a lone cameraman who appeared to ask Rudd how he felt about his day, having been back in court. Rudd lost control. He threatened the...

If there’s one thing political pundits have learnt over the last few years, it’s that negative media coverage of an issue has no automatic impact on public opinion. Before last year’s election, someone watching TV for the first time would be forgiven for thinking National would lose in a landslide. There was huge criticism of John Key, particularly around the GCSB saga. But National won handsomely. Look at the Ponytail gate story this year. It went on for weeks, but again...

The speed of social media has caught schools out lately, with stories taking on a life of their own before the school can even take a breath. So how can they deal with this? In the Digital Age, the whole focus of crisis communication has changed. While issues like school uniform complaints and rants about the curriculum may not be classed as crises, they can turn into major issues if not addressed quickly. The only answer is to have pre-prepared statements...

It was clear on Tuesday that something was happening in NZ First that appeared to be a deputy leadership challenge from Ron Mark. But when asked who the deputy leader was, Winston Peters told reporters he did not comment on Caucus issues. This was a strange response, and raises an interesting point that leaders must confront when approached by media. That issue is ‘what should I hide from journalists?’ In our media training sessions, we always discuss this. My advice is...

Colin Craig’s problem has always been his inability to draw attention away from himself and onto party messages. It’s ironic that what looks set to derail his political career is again personal and not about party policy. So what’s been the problem? Throughout the Election Campaign last year, Craig received his share of publicity, despite not holding a seat in Parliament. But he never managed to turn that publicity to his advantage. A seasoned media savvy politician would have used the...

If school leaders under scrutiny believe their uniforms policies are justified, they should say why and do it immediately. Every few weeks there seems to be another school in the news for its so-called ‘unreasonable’ uniforms policy. So what should schools do? Firstly, in the digital age, they have to respond almost immediately to media inquiries. Often, as in the puffer jacket case, the story is in social media, and possibly mainstream media, before the school even knows about it. It...

When it comes to political campaigns, successful parties have a clear message they use to attract votes. National is about responsible economic management and Labour is traditionally focused on giving workers a fair go. But the Greens have two areas. Obviously the environment is one, but left wing economics is just as prominent. That means they can’t focus specifically on one area like other parties. So what should they do? In my view they need to work out whether they are...

Their failure to present a coherent message has rightly received a share of the blame for Labour’s disastrous Election result last year. This is often a major cause of failure in election campaigns, just as it is for individual media interviews. In both situations, it’s vital to narrow down what you want to say to no more than three points. By doing that people understand and remember what you said. It also means that you have far more control over the...