Mediawatch With one last hurrah, goneburger is goneburger
When James Shaw tweeted "James Shaw goneburger" it was the zenith of one political reporter's eight-year effort to goneburger every departing politician in New Zealand. But Jo Moir is now leaving Twitter (X) - and goneburgering - behind.
When James Shaw tweeted the phrase "James Shaw goneburger", it was the zenith of one political reporter's eight-year effort to goneburger every departing politician in New Zealand. But Jo Moir is now leaving Twitter (X) - and goneburgering - behind.
Stuff's piece explaining the lay of the political land ahead of Parliament's first sitting day on Tuesday was mostly run-of-the-mill.
There were tidbits about National and Labour's priorities and some remarks about Chris Bishop's distinctive grin. So far, so banal.
But 14 paragraphs in was an apparent bombshell about the Greens. Almost off-hand, it added: "Co-leader James Shaw's departure is also hanging over the party. It will lead to a months-long leadership selection process."
Readers who made it to that point in the article might have been forgiven for saying 'huh', 'what now? or 'James Shaw is resigning!?'
Though it was stated like common knowledge, those of us who hadn't spent the summer relentlessly boning up on New Zealand politics might have been taken aback to learn the co-leader of Parliament's third-biggest party was on the way out in the final spluttering paragraphs of a story about something else.
At least Stuff's scoop aged well. Shaw's resignation was announced at 11am and led TVNZ's Midday News.
Perhaps Stuff's journalists have sources inside the Green Party. Perhaps they picked up an early copy of the embargoed press statement. Perhaps they're just adept at summoning messages from the political spirit realm.
Whatever method they used, it wasn't revolutionary. Few journalists seemed to be shaken or even slightly stirred by Shaw's resignation.
TVNZ political reporter Lilian Hanley told Midday News it wasn't a surprise.
Over at NewstalkZB, political editor Jason Walls was similarly nonplussed: "Let's be honest - we knew this was coming."
Some pundits had been predicting Shaw's departure.
"Is it time for Shaw to bail out?" The New Zealand Herald's Fran O'Sullivan asked in a 20 January column. She argued he was lost in "a sea of activists fast running the Greens' brand into the ground", while deftly eliding the fact that the party recorded its best-ever result in October's general election…