“All right, Steven, let him speak.” (Aug. 19, 2015)

19 August 2015 at 10:14 am

“All right, Steven, let him speak.”
Hosking and Joyce gang up every Wednesday on NewstalkZB.
Wednesday Politics, NewstalkZB, Wednesday 19 August 2015
Mike “Contra” Hosking, Steven Joyce, Grant Robertson

The radio station NewstalkZB is notorious in New Zealand. It’s a 24/7 forum for the community’s most haplessly bewildered souls. If you want to know what unread nincompoops, flat earthers, ACT voters, ratbags and downright racists think about the issues of the day, just tune in to NewstalkZB.

And their callers are almost as bad.

One of the worst programs, even on this endless horror show, is Wednesday Politics, a ten-minute exercise in contempt and destruction. This program is far worse than low farce, it’s an insult to the intelligence. Steven Joyce and Mike “Contra” Hosking gang up every week to deride, disrupt and hoot at the regular Labour Party representative, Annette King. She somehow handles it in good humour, but it’s quite clear what Hosking and Joyce aim to do each week: disrupt her incessantly, and make it impossible to discuss anything seriously.

Filling in for Annette King this morning was Grant Robertson. As usual, Joyce dominated proceedings from start to finish. In the first of the two segments, Joyce did almost all the talking, and Robertson politely let him talk.

Following the advertising break, it was supposed to be Robertson’s turn to talk. He spoke for approximately three seconds before Joyce talked over the top of him. Robertson tried to continue, and Joyce disrupted him seven times—yes, I counted.

Robertson pleaded: “I let you have your say.” Hosking, supposed to be some sort of adjudicator, said to Joyce: “All right, Steven, let him speak.” Joyce ignored Hosking and continued to loudly overtalk and disrupt, shouting out insults.

I can’t even remember what they were talking about now—-and that’s exactly why Hosking and Joyce do that each week. Mission accomplished.

• greywarshark10.1

  19 August 2015 at 10:36 am

  Thanks for report Morrissey. Listening to that is a dirty job and I’m glad you have the determination to do it.

  Do you think there is anything positive for Labour at all in going on to it, or indeed any of the opposition parties? There would be a howl go up from NewstalkZB’s theatre of the absurd but it sounds as if that would be a minor blow to the opposition compared to the multiple ones when they try and participate in this abbatoir of intelligent discussion.

  The SPCA can be appealed to, or the Council or police, when there are attack dogs about. There is little power available to appeal to in this case for other Parties, or those of the listeners who understand what is going on. And what is going on is an attack on reasoned political discussion and a farce of welcoming left and right speakers, which is achieved by RadioNZ with Williams and Hooton, though done in a low-key (huh) way.
• Macro10.2

  19 August 2015 at 9:04 pm

  And their callers are almost as bad.

  QFT
  what an offense to humanity that station is..
  bring back “Dr Paul” – at least it was what it claimed to be – pure fiction.
  now they broadcast fiction and lies dressed up as fact.
• whateva next?10.3

  19 August 2015 at 9:13 pm

  yep, taken one for the troops, listening that bollocks
•