Holding power to account

The New Zealand Herald is now giving tips to John Key in their columns about how not to answer their questions:

While Key answered some questions directly, he fudged on the crucial ones. The more he prevaricated, the worse it looked.

He should have worked out some suitably firm-sounding lines in advance. Having spouted them, he should have cut the questioning off on the grounds he would otherwise be late for the start of Parliament.

Not exactly what I'd expect from a journalist. I can well understand the desire among dedicated watchers of the game on witnessing someone digging themselves a hole like John Key did last week to step in and say "no you moron, you do it like this", but the fundamental purpose of journalists and the media is to hold power and those who seek it to account. If John Armstrong would rather help them lie to us and provide excuses for their failures, then perhaps he's doing the wrong job.