Posted November 30, -0001
It was only a few days ago that Labour leader David Cunliffe said the party had to stop talking about issues that don’t affect New Zealanders, and focus on the key messages of jobs, homes and families.
That’s good advice. If the party wants voters to know exactly how to distinguish Labour from others, MPs all need to focus on a narrow range of issues throughout the Election campaign. Just as we tell our media training clients to focus on a few key messages during media interviews, the same must be done for campaigns. That’s the only way people will remember anything. Keep repeating the same points over and over again in different ways.
For Labour to maximise its vote, the focus needs to turn away from unhelpful issues like Cunliffe’s holiday, Moas, unnecessary apologies and talk of MPs going against party policy to win their electorates. Instead, the focus must be narrow and on things people vote on. So it was a good call by Cunliffe.
But then two days later, Labour instigate another side show that will do nothing to attract voters. They are worried about the impartiality of Mike Hosking as a moderator of the TVNZ Leaders debates during the campaign. Although this may not have been at the leader’s instigation, the party has created another negative and distracting issue. Now the debates will all be about perceived bias on the part of the moderator, rather than the issues Labour wants to focus on.
Even if he is bias, which I’m sure he won’t be, any media training specialist should tell Labour that it’s not about the questions you are asked. It’s all about your answers. Also, TVNZ would never change their moderator at the request of a party. Perhaps John Key should do the same on TV3, as John Campbell sometimes come across as from the Left.
Let’s face it, we all have our own political views. But a professional moderator should ignore these during a debate. I believe both Campbell and Hosking will.
So all Labour have done is add another distraction at a time when they desperately need their media coverage to focus on what they offer as an alternative Government, not their complaints.
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