It looks like Simon Bridges has a long, long career ahead of him, as well as an heir to the seat, if the Sun Live editorial is anything to go by:
The Bridges had their baby this week and we wish Simon and Natalie and family well. Little Emlyn and his parents are the closest thing the region has to a royal family – in case we need one – and a lot of people are expressing their pleasure from seeing a youngster born into a stable and loving family.
Amidst the many positive comments, some question the newsworthiness of this event. Among the messages of congratulations on the SunLive daily news website are the odd comment, asking why it rates. The simple answer is: Because it does rate!
Anything to do with the Bridges, and any other high profile personalities for that matter, rates highly with readers and that is why the media follow such stories. It is a case of supply and demand. The media does not decide which stories to cover, you readers do. Especially in the case of SunLive, we can measure very precisely which stories are pushing your buttons – or in this example, your computer keys.
The Bridges Baby story rated as the fifth most visited story on SunLive between Friday and Monday.
In a world with far too many stories of bad parenting, it’s refreshing to see some good. Let’s hope these and other positive role models of planned, sensible parenting can help turn NZ’s woeful record of child rearing catastrophes.