KEY POINTS:
Now why didn't I think of that? Most of my adult life I've spent chatting up contacts, seeking scoops, while all along the easy answer was staring me in the face. Organise the event myself, then a few days before D-Day, publish an erudite piece predicting the inevitable.
I was impressed with a fact-filled column by Herald on Sunday columnist Matt McCarten about the likely mayoral bids of his two mates, John Tamihere and Willie Jackson. Both, he revealed, were being lobbied by prominent community groups in Waitakere and Manukau to stand for the respective mayoralties and had "a huge following" from their daily radio show.
Mr McCarten had seen a secret poll revealing that "astute businessman" and "prominent broadcaster" Mr Jackson would be level-pegging with prominent Manukau politicians Len Brown and Dick Quax, if he contested that city's mayoralty. As for Mr Tamihere, he "has a significant power base and support to give Harvey [Waitakere City sitting mayor, Bob Harvey] a run."
Last Thursday, it turned out that columnist Mr McCarten was one of the campaign activists he wrote about.
A "Media Advisory" from campaign headquarters revealed he was one of two media contacts we hacks rang to get the latest details about the mayoral bids of John and Willie.
Mind you, Mr McCarten is not the only one pushing the ethical boundaries in this little circus. Radio and television stars John and Willie and their media bosses should be examining their navels as well. The two talkback hosts were full of injured innocence at the suggestion that their candidacies might be a stunt linked to the latest round of commercial radio station rating surveys beginning September 1. But they don't plan to absent themselves from their radio slot during the election campaign, despite the unfair advantage this free exposure gives them.
You might have thought publicly funded Television New Zealand would be taking a more responsible attitude with its weekly chat show Eye to Eye With Willie Jackson on which Mr Tamihere frequently appears, but no. It seems to be dithering about what is more important, sacrificing ratings or ensuring an equal playing field for all electoral candidates.
What planet are these radio and television people beaming in from? It takes me back to early 1998 when then king of the airwaves, Paul Holmes, wanted to capture the mayoral throne of Auckland as well.
He argued there was no conflict in his ruling the radio breakfast and evening television airwaves and being mayor of Auckland. Any "potential conflict could always be resolved with openness, humour, decency and professionalism".
Then head of TVNZ television, the late Neil Roberts, in a widely circulated internal email puncturing Mr Holmes' delusion, said it would be "impossible" for him to do both jobs, that he would be "hopelessly compromised" journalistically.
It's time TVNZ dusted down Mr Roberts' memo.