Paddy Gower says he “crossed a journalistic line”. He says he was too entrenched. He says he is sorry.
But in the same breath he says he would do it all again because it was for the “greater good”.
When Paddy Gower jumped into the Government’s Vaxathon circus, he stopped being a journalist and became a campaigner. Dancing around, hyping it up, pushing the message. That was not holding power to account. That was fronting for it.
Under Jacinda Ardern the Government poured millions into mainstream media. Call it the Public Interest Journalism Fund or whatever bullshit you like. The result was the same. The media got cosy. The public lost trust.
Now, heading into another election year, here comes the reflective tone. The soft regret. The “I crossed a line”.
People are not stupid. They remember the pressure. They remember being mocked by journalists and the media for asking questions. They remember being told there was only one “source of truth”.
There are people who followed the advice blasted out by politicians and compliant media who are now dead. Families who will never get their loved ones back do not care about a podcast apology.
If you really think you crossed the line, then say it was wrong. Not “I’d do it again”. Otherwise it just sounds like you are trying to win back credibility.
New Zealanders do not trust mainstream media. You helped break that.
So here is the message, plain and simple.
Paddy Gower, please shut the whūk up
.
