KEY POINTS:
Newstalk ZB breakfast show host Paul Holmes appears to have given the benefits of his media training to National leader Don Brash free of charge last year during the closing days of the election campaign.
National Party emails published in Nicky Hager's book The Hollow Men reveal Holmes had a session with Brash at a hotel room at the Sky City hotel in Auckland.
Brash, you might remember, came close to winning power despite being prone to political mis-steps on the hustings. The Hager book said Holmes was helping Brash prepare for interviews with Larry Williams on Sky and Kim Hill on TV One, which Hager said was a conflict of interest because Holmes' session was kept secret from listeners.
We emailed Holmes with questions about the media training role but he did not reply. But soon after the revelations were made Newstalk ZB manager Bill Francis said there was no conflict. He refused to comment further when contacted on Friday.
Francis - a friend of Holmes - suggested that Holmes was free to spend time with politicians of different hues.
He told the Herald's Errol Kiong: "Whatever relationships Paul's had with a variety of politicians, from both sides of the political spectrum, it's never, ever interfered with the integrity of his work.
"I have never had cause to speak to him about shutting out a point of view or anything like that, so I'm confident that there's been no conflict [of interest].
"He's never favoured anyone in those terms, but if someone's asked him about how to do certain things on television he's always been happy to offer his advice."
Media training is a normal part of elections and Labour Prime Minister Helen Clark has used the services of husband-and-wife team Judy Callingham and Brian Edwards to train herself and Cabinet ministers.
But Holmes appears to be in a different category from Edwards and Callingham, who run a media training business. He is a high-profile broadcaster with top-rating shows on air.
Wayne Eagleson, the chief of staff for the Opposition leader's office, confirmed he never received an invoice and said he was confident there was no payment.
National MP Murray McCully, who was the party's media strategist, said that was his understanding as well.
Tower to the people
The truth is that radio is more relaxed than television or newspapers about having its big-names doing work on the side on brands they support, whether they be political or consumer brands.
Roger Beaumont, of the competing CanWest MediaWorks radio chain, says his company would not allow its main presenters to have a media training role as Holmes did.
On the other hand, Radio Live hosts Willie Jackson and John Tamihere are both former MPs for Labour and the Alliance respectively. CanWest Radio Live mid-morning host Michael Laws is also Mayor of Wanganui and his views are well known. He secured a special clause in his contract where he does not have to promote products.
We're not sure about the politics of Radio Live breakfast host Martin Devlin but, as frontman for a high-profile ad campaign for Tower Insurance, he appears to be well covered.
Ramage on rampage
Y&R Advertising's poaching of executive creative director Paul Catmur from rival DDB will be a feather in the cap for Y&R chief executive Jon Ramage, who joined the agency in February. Catmur was not cheap - advertising people said estimates that he could command $500,000 plus were a bit light - but he is one of the most sought-after admen in this part of the world. What is up with Y & R? The company was battling in the early 2000s and chairman Ross Goldsack was appointed to put it back in order. And the appointment of Ramage (pronounced Ram-marj) accelerated the move.
During that time Y&R has picked up Postie Plus, Telecom retail and, most significantly, Ramage brought the BNZ Bank account to Y&R when he defected from Colenso BBDO.
Ramage insists that the action will not end this year and the company will look significantly different in three years.
The other once low-key agency to watch is Ogilvy, which had a difficult transition after buying MTC Advertising and incorporating it into the company, but which recently bought another high-profile independent agency, Metromedia.
Mr Hide as Mr Hide
We hear South Pacific Pictures is moving ahead with the film based on property developer David Henderson and his battles with the Inland Revenue Department.
Producers are at the point of casting, with Rodney Hide, leader of the Act party and supporter of Henderson, apparently keen to play the part of Rodney Hide. Word is that producers are keen to get a professional actor and former Fred Dagg John Clarke is tipped as a contender. The film, by the way, was conceived by Jonathon Cullinane - a backroom creative at TVNZ where he makes programme promotions. He is the brother of New Zealand advertising veteran Peter Cullinane, of the Assignment team and a former chief executive of Saatchi & Saatchi.
The show business
The annual meeting of publicly listed Charlie's juice company last week was another example of the combination of show business and business.
The Business Herald was surprised to find the annual meeting bursting at the seams and wondered why until we saw the line of board members.
Chairman Ted Van Arkel was as amiable as always, but all eyes among the 130 or so investors were on directors Marc Ellis and Diane Foreman. Ellis, who acknowledged the obvious - that he epitomised its "cheeky" branding for Charlie's - was back on the board after he withdrew because of what Van Arkel called "personal challenges" - a reference to his facing drugs charges.
Diane Foreman - deputy head of the Business Round Table - joined the board this year at the invitation of Van Arkel and was standing for election for the first time. Foreman suggested to investors that they may not have heard of her, which was a little optimistic. She was, of course, the other woman who had been in a much-publicised relationship with Don Brash.
If there were any negative thoughts about the company's image, nobody brought them up and several investors were keen to have a chat when the formal business was over.
