The Front Page podcast: The Alan Jones stoush - when does criticising politicians become offensive?

Australian broadcaster Alan Jones said PM Jacinda Ardern needed a sock shoved down her throat, and a few backhanders. Photo / File

Each week The Front Page takes you behind the scenes of the biggest story from the New Zealand Herald and Newstalk ZB. Today it's where to draw the line when holding politicians to account. Hosted by Frances Cook.

Australian radio host Alan Jones practically caused a transtasman diplomatic incident after saying on air that our Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern needed a sock shoved "down her throat", and that Aussie PM Scott Morrison should give her "a few backhanders".

It's led to widespread backlash, and big name advertisers leaving his show in droves.

But Jacinda Ardern isn't just anyone, she's the Prime Minister, and leads a country, so where does strong criticism cross the line?

For this week's Front Page podcast I talked to NZ Herald editor Murray Kirkness, and political reporter Jason Walls.

We discussed what sparked the comments from Jones, the political reaction, and where reporters draw the line when covering such stories.

For the interview, watch the video podcast.

If you have questions about Herald investigations, or want to stay up to date on social media, you can find host Frances Cook on Facebook here, Instagram here and Twitter here.

You can subscribe to this podcast on the podcast apps, including iHeartRadio here, Apple podcasts here, Spotify here, and Google podcasts here.