Michael Noel James Hosking IV is a New Zealand television and radio broadcaster who has worked for
Radio New Zealand
Radio New Zealand ( mi, Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa), commonly known as Radio NZ or simply RNZ, is a New Zealand public-service radio broadcaster and Crown entity that was established under the Radio New Zealand Act 1995. It operates news and c ...
and
TVNZ
, type = Crown entity
, industry = Broadcast television
, num_locations = New Zealand
, location = Auckland, New Zealand
, area_served = Nationally (New Zealand) and some Pacific Island nations such as the Cook Islands, Fiji, and the So ...
and from 2008 has been the weekday breakfast host on
Newstalk ZB
Newstalk ZB is a nationwide New Zealand talk radio, talk-radio network operated by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, NZME Radio. It is available in almost every media market, radio market area in New Zealand, and has news reporters based in m ...
with "The Mike Hosking Breakfast". He is a supporter of the centre-right
National party and is often openly critical of the
Labour
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the labour ...
-led government. He has lived and worked as a broadcaster in
Wellington
Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...
,
Christchurch
Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...
and currently resides in
Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
.
The
Broadcasting Standards Authority
The Broadcasting Standards Authority (BSA; mi, Te Mana Whanonga Kaipāho) is a New Zealand Crown entity created by the Broadcasting Act 1989 to develop and uphold standards of broadcasting for radio, free-to-air and pay television.
The main f ...
(BSA) has received several complaints against Hosking. In 2016
Andrew Judd
Andrew Judd is a New Zealand local government politician and activist. He won the mayoralty of New Plymouth from one-term incumbent Harry Duynhoven with a resounding 9,206 vote majority in 2013 and served one term before announcing he would not s ...
, the Mayor of
New Plymouth
New Plymouth ( mi, Ngāmotu) is the major city of the Taranaki region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after the English city of Plymouth, Devon from where the first English settlers to New Plymouth migrated. ...
, was unsuccessful with his complaint that Hosking's comments related to a local issue were racist, but in 2017, a complaint by the
Māori Party
Māori or Maori can refer to:
Relating to the Māori people
* Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group
* Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand
* Māori culture
* Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...
alleging he made misleading comments about who was eligible to enrol in
Māori electorates
In New Zealand politics, Māori electorates, colloquially known as the Māori seats, are a special category of electorate that give reserved positions to representatives of Māori in the New Zealand Parliament. Every area in New Zealand is ...
was successful. During the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
in 2020, the BSA also upheld a complaint that Hosking's comments about death rates for Coronavirus breached the Radio Code of Broadcasting Practice.
Early life
Hosking grew up in Christchurch, living in the suburbs of
St Albans
St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...
,
Mairehau
Mairehau is a suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand. It is located four kilometres north of the city centre, close to the edge of the urbanised central city area. Much new development is being carried out on the northern edge of Mairehau.
The su ...
and
Linwood Linwood may refer to:
Places
Many of the place names for Linwood come from the presence of linden trees. Australia
*Linwood, South Australia
* Linnwood, Guildford, 11-35 Byron Road, Guildford, New South Wales
Canada
* Linwood, Ontario
* Linwood, ...
, and attending St Albans Primary School, Mairehau Primary School and
Linwood High School.
Career
After leaving school at 16, Hosking wrote to Radio Avon and
Radio Windy
Radio Windy was a local radio station in Wellington, New Zealand, Wellington, New Zealand. Radio Windy first started by ''Capital City Radio Limited'' broadcasting in Wellington in 1973 on 1080 kHz with the call sign 2XW. In 1976 the stati ...
looking for work, and gained a job as a copywriter at Radio Windy.
[ He worked on the ]Radio New Zealand
Radio New Zealand ( mi, Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa), commonly known as Radio NZ or simply RNZ, is a New Zealand public-service radio broadcaster and Crown entity that was established under the Radio New Zealand Act 1995. It operates news and c ...
nationwide network in the early 1990s hosting The Tonight Show nationwide, with a music and talkback format. He then went on to co-host Morning Report on National Radio
RNZ National ( mi, Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa Ā-Motu), formerly Radio New Zealand National, and known until 2007 as the National Programme or National Radio, is a publicly funded non-commercial New Zealand English-language radio network operat ...
with Geoff Robinson. After this he moved to Newstalk ZB
Newstalk ZB is a nationwide New Zealand talk radio, talk-radio network operated by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, NZME Radio. It is available in almost every media market, radio market area in New Zealand, and has news reporters based in m ...
, where he has hosted the breakfast show since 2008, following the retirement of Paul Holmes.
Hosking first joined TVNZ
, type = Crown entity
, industry = Broadcast television
, num_locations = New Zealand
, location = Auckland, New Zealand
, area_served = Nationally (New Zealand) and some Pacific Island nations such as the Cook Islands, Fiji, and the So ...
in 1997, when it began its ''Breakfast'' show. He was then axed from the show in 2004. He made his return to television in 2008 when he filled in on TVNZ's ''Close Up'' programme. He hosted the game show '' Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? New Zealand'', which began in September 2008 on TV ONE. In 2014, he and Toni Street
Toni Street (born 8 September 1983) is a New Zealand television presenter and sports commentator. She is best known for co-hosting the New Zealand current affairs programme '' Seven Sharp'' alongside Mike Hosking, as well as presenting morning ...
joined Jesse Mulligan
Jesse Robert Turi Mulligan is a New Zealand television and radio broadcaster. He currently works as a co-host for '' The Project'' on Three, an afternoon presenter on RNZ National, and a writer for The New Zealand Herald's Viva Magazine.
Career ...
on the ''Seven Sharp'' panel for the show's second season. Hosking and Street left Seven Sharp at the end of 2017.
In November 2020 he was named one of the best dressed men in show business on David Hartnell MNZM's Best Dressed List.
Personal life
In 1989, Hosking married Marie Angela Hosking, and, in June 2001, she gave birth to twins Ruby and Bella. They parted in August 2002. In 2003, they were involved in a court case against Pacific Magazines
Pacific Magazines was a magazine publisher operating in Australia owned by Seven West Media. In March 2020, it was acquired by Bauer Media Australia in April 2020. In June 2020, Mercury Capital acquired Pacific Magazines as part of its purcha ...
, that involved photos taken by tabloid journalist Simon Runting in December 2002 of Marie and her two daughters. The case in question ''Hosking v Runting'' lead to the creation of the tort of privacy in New Zealand common law
In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipresen ...
.
In 2012, Hosking married fellow broadcaster Kate Hawkesby
Kate Hawkesby (born April 1st, 1973) is a New Zealand radio announcer and television presenter who currently works as the 'Early Edition' presenter (weekdays from 5am) for Newstalk ZB. While working as a reporter, presenter and news reader for TV ...
. She has three children from her previous marriage
Politics and business interests
In an interview with North & South in 1990, Hosking described himself as "a money person, I’m a capitalist. I’m to the right of Roger Douglas
Sir Roger Owen Douglas (born 5 December 1937) is a retired New Zealand politician who served as a minister in two Labour governments. He became arguably best known for his prominent role in New Zealand's radical economic restructuring in the 198 ...
."
In 2012, Hosking was revealed to have received $48,000 in payments and perks from SkyCity Auckland
Skycity Auckland is an entertainment complex and casino in the central business district of Auckland, New Zealand, between Victoria and Federal Streets. Located at the base of the Sky Tower, it was the second casino in New Zealand, and is the on ...
Casino for doing regular work for them, while still working as presenter for TVNZ. During controversy over proposed taxpayer subsidies for Sky City building a national convention centre, Hosking wrote in defence of the subsidy, describing the convention centre as an "aspirational investment".
In 2013, he was the master of ceremonies at Prime Minister John Key
Sir John Phillip Key (born 9 August 1961) is a New Zealand retired politician who served as the 38th prime minister of New Zealand, Prime Minister of New Zealand from 2008 to 2016 and as Leader of the New Zealand National Party from 2006 to ...
's state of the nation speech, which he also endorsed. Hosking rejects the scientific consensus on climate change
There is a strong scientific consensus that the Earth is warming and that this warming is mainly caused by human activities. This consensus is supported by various studies of scientists' opinions and by position statements of scientific org ...
, stating on ''Seven Sharp'' that he doesn't believe in the IPCC report.
In 2015, Hosking was accused of overt political bias
Political bias is a bias or perceived bias involving the slanting or altering of information to make a political position or political candidate seem more attractive. With a distinct association with media bias, it commonly refers to how a re ...
by NZ First
New Zealand First ( mi, Aotearoa Tuatahi), commonly abbreviated to NZ First, is a nationalist and populist political party in New Zealand. The party formed in July 1993 following the resignation on 19 March 1993 of its leader and founder, Winst ...
leader Winston Peters
Winston Raymond Peters (born 11 April 1945) is a New Zealand politician serving as the leader of New Zealand First since its foundation in 1993. Peters served as the 13th deputy prime minister of New Zealand from 1996 to 1998 and 2017 to 2020 ...
and Labour leader Andrew Little, a claim strongly denied by Hosking and Prime Minister John Key.
During the 2017 election campaign, Hosking was appointed moderator of one of the televised leader debates, and was again accused of political bias by much of the New Zealand public. This led to a petition for his replacement being widely circulated, and collecting over 75,000 signatures. Debate host and organisers TVNZ responded that it would not placate the petition signers, and affirmed that it will keep him on as moderator.
Controversy
In 2016 the Broadcasting Standards Authority (BSA) received complaints about comments by Hosking critical of New Plymouth Mayor Andrew Judd
Andrew Judd is a New Zealand local government politician and activist. He won the mayoralty of New Plymouth from one-term incumbent Harry Duynhoven with a resounding 9,206 vote majority in 2013 and served one term before announcing he would not s ...
who resigned from office following abuse Judd received for proposing a Māori ward on the local district council. Complaints referred to racism implicit in Hosking's remarks. The BSA did not uphold the complaints, noting that the Seven Sharp presenters regularly give their opinion on issues, and the outspoken and opinionated presenting style of Mr Hosking is well known to viewers. The BSA believed that overall Mr Judd was not unfairly treated and his comments balanced Hosking's view.
On 23 August 2017, a month before New Zealand's general Parliamentary election, Hosking asserted that only those enrolled in a Māori electorate were able to vote for the Māori Party. He said “…you can’t vote for the Māori Party because you’re not enrolled in the Māori electorate”. Members of the Māori Party and the general public criticised his statement as being misleading. The Māori Party lodged formal complaints with broadcaster TVNZ and the Electoral Commission over Hosking's comments.
Hosking made further comment the following night saying, “The fact that anyone can vote for he Māori Partyas a list party I automatically assumed we all knew given we have been doing this for 20 years… and it went without saying. So hopefully that clears all of that up.”
The Māori Party complaint was referred to the Broadcasting Standards Authority (BSA) which upheld the complaint. The BSA ruled Hosking breached its accuracy standard when he said to his co-presenter, "…you can't vote for the Māori Party because you're not enrolled in the Māori electorate". The comment was made on 23 August, just under a month out from the 2017 general election. The BSA found Hosking's comment could have misled voters. The BSA found that the potential harm caused by this broadcast, in leaving viewers misinformed about their ability to vote for the Māori Party, outweighed the broadcaster's right to freedom of expression. The BSA consider that Mr Hosking's statement during broadcast on 23 August 2017 was inaccurate and misleading, and that the clarification subsequently provided was confusing and insufficient to correct the inaccuracy. This was an important issue, particularly during the election period, and had the potential to significantly affect voters’ understanding of the Māori roll and of New Zealand's electoral system.
The results of the 2017 general election
This national electoral calendar for 2017 lists the national/federal elections held in 2017 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included.
January
*5 November ...
saw the Māori Party lose its electorate seat. It also failed to meet or exceed the five percent voting threshold needed for election and the Party lost its representation in Parliament.
Coronavirus pandemic
On 6 April 2020, Hosking made comments about COVID-19 death rates, stating that deaths were much the same as during the flu season two years ago and claimed that "almost everybody in Italy said to have died of Covid-19 had in fact died 'with the virus' – but not 'of it'." A complaint about his comments was made to the Broadcasting Standards Authority. It was upheld and the ruling, recorded on 14 September 2020, summarised that "Mr Hosking’s comments about people with underlying health conditions and Italy’s death-rate statistics breached the accuracy and discrimination and denigration standards of the Radio Code of Broadcasting Practice". The BSA noted that "Mr Hosking did not consider or acknowledge the possibility that hese peoplemay have died a lot sooner than they might otherwise have, due to contracting Covid-19,” '' nd that' "the broadcast had the potential to mislead listeners about the facts behind Mr Hosking’s relatively strong views critiquing the Government’s measures to manage the impact of Covid-19.”
See also
* List of New Zealand television personalities
This is a list of New Zealand television personalities, including presenters and journalists. It includes those who left the profession, retired, or died.
A
* Suzy Aiken – television personality and Prime News presenter
* Peter Arnett – te ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hosking, Mike
New Zealand television presenters
Living people
1965 births
People educated at Linwood College