Tova vs JLR

This interview of Jami-Lee Ross by Tova O’Brien has been viewed almost six million times. It is quite brutal.

What some MPs should perhaps reflect upon is that almost beyond doubt Jami-Lee was one of those leaking stories to Tova for some time. He was a source. Tova would never reveal this, but it seems pretty obvious.

There is a lesson here for MPs. You may think leaking stories to a journalist helps build a relationship and will get you a friend in the gallery. But it doesn’t. The journalist is doing their job, in cultivating you. You are useful to them. They are doing their job.

And as you see in the above interview, it doesn’t mean you get the kids glove treatment. If anything, you arguably get treated harsher.

So the lesson here, is don’t leak to journalists. If you think doing so means you will get favourable treatment in future, you are wrong.