Mike Hosking, Tourism Minister Matt Doocey and a wayward phone call to RNZ: ‘I have uncovered a scandal!’

‘I have uncovered a scandal’ teases Newstalk ZB Mike Hosking, as he reveals a tale of sabotage allegedly involving his RNZ rivals. But RNZ says there has been a genuine misunderstanding. --  Minister of Tourism Matt Doocey tapped the numbers into his phone to speak to Newstalk ZB host Mike Hosking.  A voice on the other end of the line answered.  Doocey introduced himself, explaining he was calling for the pre-arranged interview with Hosking – the pair were scheduled to speak on Thursday morning about the proposed new levy on overseas visitors and tourism’s contribution to GDP.  According to Hosking, the person on the other end of the line allegedly responded along the lines of that there was no longer an interview.  The minister’s office confirmed this morning he was told by the person on the other end of the line that the interview was not happening.  Tourism Minister Matt Doocey. Photo / Mark Mitchell  According to Hosking – who was relaying the tale of events to his listeners this morning – Doocey thought that was unusual, hung up and carried on with his day. Meanwhile, Hosking’s producer at Newstalk ZB was wondering where the minister had got to and why he hadn’t called in, as had been arranged. It turns out, Doocey had been given the wrong number by his office – a staff member had mistakenly written down a studio number for RNZ instead of Newstalk ZB. You can see where this might be heading. “I have uncovered a scandal that involves the state broadcaster, Radio New Zealand ...! Something nefarious, underhand and possibly dastardly has been uncovered,” Hosking teased his listeners this morning. But RNZ has said it appears there has been “a genuine misunderstanding”. Hosking explained that after Doocey’s no-show over the phone, his producer chased the minister down. “Here’s a bit of insight into how the radio industry works. Matt Doocey was due to ring in, Matt Doocey is nowhere to be seen at about five minutes past seven,” said Hosking. “What’s happened to Matt Doocey? We start chasing him down. “It turns out the person in his office had written down the wrong number for him. “So obviously, [that’s] immediate incompetence that needs to be dealt with forthwith. Do the basics brilliantly, I thought was the National Party. It’s not.” Mike Hosking also interviewed Lisa Carringtion this week. Photo / Jason Oxenham  Hosking’s team eventually tracked down the minister and conducted the interview.  Off air, they were digging deeper – who did that phone number belong to? Yes, as it turned out, RNZ.  “So Matt Doocey, minister of the crown rang up the state broadcaster as funded by you and I through our tax money and said ‘Matt Doocey reporting for the Mike Hosking Breakfast’,” said Hosking.  “To which point they said, ‘You no longer have an interview with the Mike Hosking Breakfast.”  But RNZ denies that specific response was used.  An RNZ spokeswoman said: “Having spoken to the staff member who received the call, this appears to have been a genuine misunderstanding.  “On receiving the call, they explained that we had interviewed the Minister the day before and there was no interview scheduled that morning. The staff member did not mention Newstalk or Mike Hosking.”  Hosking had several questions on his show earlier.  “One, do I secretly admire them for being so quickwitted that the first thing they do is instead of going, ‘Oh, you’ve probably got the wrong number’, or ‘Whoops, you’ve rung Radio New Zealand, sorry’, they say, ‘You no longer have an interview with Mike Hosking Breakfast’?  “That’s quite sharp to be honest, [it’s] probably worth looking into employing that person, whoever they were, because there are some people here who aren’t remotely that sharp.  “Second, is it underhand?  “Third, is that just competition and that’s life? And would we have done the same thing if we were alert enough to do the same thing?  “Fourth, is it just pure, straight up and down sabotage?”  Editor-at-Large Shayne Currie is one of New Zealand’s 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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.