LAURIE OAKES: Mr Hockey, welcome to the program. JOE HOCKEY: Thanks Laurie LAURIE OAKES: Now you were dancing in your office before you got up to give that speech. Why were you dancing? JOE HOCKEY: Dancing? — Channel Nine News, 13th May, 2014

Hello I'm Paul Barry, welcome to Media Watch.

And that opening question to Joe Hockey on budget night from Nine's Laurie Oakes must rank as one of the great ambushes of all time.

Moments before inflicting all that pain on the masses, the heartless Treasurer had been dancing in his office ... and worse still ... just wait till you hear what the music was.

JOE HOCKEY: Dancing? LAURIE OAKES:Yeah, you put on a song called 'This will be the best day of my life' and danced with your wife. JOE HOCKEY: Ah, well, oh, I think it was more about our little boy was there and I hadn't seen him for three weeks. So, I think that was more of a focus ... — Channel Nine News, 13th May, 2014

Poor old Joe didn't know what hit him.

After all his hard work he looked like he hadn't slept for days.

And before he could marshal a defence, Oakes hit him with the next shot

LAURIE OAKES: ... the unemployed, the sick, the welfare recipients who were hit by the budget, they're not going to be dancing are they? JOE HOCKEY: Uh, no Laurie, they're not, but I ... LAURIE OAKES: It won't be, it won't be the best day of their life? JOE HOCKEY: Ah, no but it is the, it is the best day for Australia, Laurie. It is the best day for Australia ... — Channel Nine News, 13th May, 2014

It was certainly riveting television and a cut-through moment in that great mass of budget coverage.

But fair it was not.

There's plenty of other things to hit the Treasurer with-like breaking election promises and bashing the poor. But that was a cheap shot.

Next day on Network Ten's Wake Up, Tony Abbott also ran into a budget ambush. Only this time he was mugged by an angry granny.

NATARSHA BELLING: ... Prime Minister, finally this morning, we have Vilma and she is a pensioner in Brisbane. Vilma, what is your question for the Prime Minister this morning? VILMA WARD: Mr Prime Minister, I have never heard of such rubbish in all my life ... — Channel Ten, Wake Up, 14th May, 2014

Vilma was one of several members of the public invited to put questions to the Prime Minister, who had not been warned they were coming.

And this feisty 85-year-old was soon whacking Mr Abbott with one that retirees were longing to ask.

VILMA WARD: ... why don't you leave the pensioners alone? If, if we pull the belt any tighter, we'll choke to death, and you're sitting there saying: 'we're going to do this, we're going to do that, we're going to do something else,' and you're hitting the pensioners. — Channel Ten, Wake Up, 14th May, 2014

Tony Abbott of course is an old boxer, who likes a bit of biffo, and he had no trouble parrying this attack.

Praising Australia's democratic system, which allowed Vilma to take a swing at him, and guessing she had never been one of his supporters, he went for the knock out.

But it was not to be.

TONY ABBOTT: ... this is a fair budget. Everyone is doing his or her bit, including, dare I say, politicians, and ah, that's the way it should be VILMA WARD: Ha, ha, ha. Oh, you're a comedian, sir, you're a comedian! JAMES MATHISON: Vilma, Vilma, unfortunately we're out of time. The Prime Minister's got a very busy morning, but we appreciate your candour this morning, and Prime Minister we appreciate your time. Obviously you've got a very busy morning and you'll have a lot of different questions to answer from a lot of different parties including some of the Vilmas of the world as well so - NATARSHA BELLING: Thanks Prime Minister, we appreciate your time. TONY ABBOTT: And, look it's, it's, it's, always, always good to have a chance to talk to people like Vilma. — Channel Ten, Wake Up, 14th May, 2014

This vigorous exchange was soon trending on Twitter and making headlines around Australia.

And before long people were asking who is this Vilma? And discovering that Tony Abbott had guessed right .

Budget 2014: Granny who attacked Abbott on TV 'a Labor supporter' — Yahoo7, Finance, 14th May, 2014

Labor plant: the real Vilma, angry Rudd loyalist I wonder how she got chosen — Herald Sun, 14th May, 2014

Vilma Ward, to give her her full name, is president of the Bulimba Senior Citizens Centre in suburban Brisbane.

But she's also a former Labor activist and member of Kevin Rudd's local election committee.

So why didn't Ten disclose this fact?

Wake Up's Executive Producer Steve Wood told Media Watch they had no idea she was a Labor stalwart when they invited her on.

Vilma is a well-known campaigner for pensioners in Queensland ... When Vilma was contacted by one of our producers she was not asked about her political associations ... — Steve Wood, Executive Producer, Wake Up, Network Ten, Response to Media Watch questions, 16th May, 2014

Wood then went on to say

Our aim was to find a cross section of Australians that were affected by [the budget] changes ... Wake Up agrees that our viewers should have been aware of her political background. — Steve Wood, Executive Producer, Wake Up, Network Ten, Response to Media Watch questions, 16th May, 2014

As usual it was more cock-up than conspiracy.

And Wake Up returned the next morning for a sort of sorry.

But the last word really went to Vilma, who was asked back onto the program to comment on all the fuss she'd caused ... and...took another swipe.

VILMA WARD: For heaven's sake. If the Prime Minister can't take a little bit of criticism from an 85-year-old pensioner, God help us. — Channel Ten, Wake Up, 15th May, 2014

Out in the Twittersphere the budget also came under sustained attack ... and the sharpest comments were soon picked up by the mainstream media, which homed in on mimics of Mr Abbott's pre-election slogans.

Twitter's three-word reaction to Budget — Sky News, 14th May, 2014

How Twitter tore apart #Budget2014 in three words or less — Business Spectator, 14th May, 2014

Several websites went trawling for tweets, but it was Business Spectator that netted the best, with examples like this from yet another Labor diehard

dont get sick dont be old dont be young dont be unemployed dont be students dont have families dont have cars — Business Spectator, 13th May, 2014

There was more commotion on Twitter when a picture of the Prime Minister drinking on budget night briefly appeared online

Taken at a Canberra restaurant, Portia's, where Daily Telegraph journalists were relaxing, it showed a happy Mr Abbott dropping in to say hello.

That's Tele editor Paul Whittaker on the right and chief political correspondent Simon Benson on the left.

And it all looks very chummy.

But the fun began when the photo, which had been tweeted by Sunday Telegraph chief reporter, Linda Silmalis, was hurriedly taken down

Wonder who demanded the Daily Telegraph Reporter delete this tweet — Twitter, @Quiet_Please, 13th May, 2014

Anyone wondering how sympathetic the Daily Tele will be tomorrow: Here's Abbott at their party tonight. — Twitter, @jeremysear, 13th May, 2014

The coverage in the Telegraph next day was very sympathetic, at least by comparison with its Fairfax rivals.

The front page had Mr Hockey as a surgeon with the headline

Dr Joe's Debt Cure

Simon Benson's analysis inside was headed

Doing hard yards to pay for our future

And further into the paper there was

No more free rides

And a story on Western Sydney called

The Road to Progress

All pretty positive stuff. And barely a word about broken promises.

But back on Twitter ... News Corp's Miranda Devine and her colleagues were busy pointing out that Mr Abbott had also been snapped at Portia's with reporters from Fairfax.

Nice of the PM to stop by the SMH post-budget dinner tonight w Peter Hartcher & Michael Gordon ... — Twitter, @mirandadevine, 13th May, 2014

So, collapse of story? Well, not quite.

Several Fairfax journalists tell Media Watch that Mr Abbott was certainly not there to see them

Or as Crikey put it next day

... Abbott very much focused on the Tele crew at Portia's. While the Fairfax tables were nearby, he made no effort to talk to them. Instead Fairfax senior journos Michael Gordon and Peter Hartcher approached Abbott and instigated the chat. — Crikey, 15th May, 2014

But it's not just at parties that Mr Abbott is on warmer terms with Rupert Murdoch's News Corp.

And it's not just him.

Thanks to this story in The Age and Herald , which recently accused Joe Hockey of selling access to political donors, the Treasurer also gave Fairfax reporters the budget freeze

STEVE PRICE: ... Joe Hockey did that this week. I think he made a very strong point - ANDREW BOLT: Yeah, I've read that. STEVE PRICE: - about not going to see anyone from Fairfax, the Fin Review or the Herald. ANDREW BOLT: Is that true, is it? STEVE PRICE: Yes. In the lock up, because of what they ran on their front page that he's now taking legal action about, which was the headline 'Treasurer for sale'. ANDREW BOLT: I thought that was a disgraceful headline in both The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald - STEVE PRICE: Yep. ANDREW BOLT: - right across their front page. — 2GB, Nights with Steve Price,14th May, 2014

Andrew Bolt told 2GB listeners last week the Coalition should consider freezing out any media that "don't play fair."

And after Fairfax's front pages on the budget, Mr Abbott certainly won't be warming to them

Here's page one of Wednesday's Sydney Morning Herald

Hockey's world of pain — Sydney Morning Herald, 14th May, 2014

Here's Thursday

Budget backlash grows — Sydney Morning Herald, 15th May, 2014

And here's Friday

A budget built on lies — Sydney Morning Herald, 16th May, 2014

And here's a piece in The Ageby Michael Gordon, whom we saw chatting to the PM in that photo, which is not 100% supportive.

Abbott defiant on broken promises Phase one of Tony Abbott's strategy to sell the budget is to deny, point blank, that it is based on the deceit of broken promises made before last year's election. More than that, it is to assert -again point blank-that there were no broken promises and, in effect, that black is white — The Age, 15th May, 2014

Fairfax returned to this theme on Saturday with a blistering column from Mike Carlton headed

Oh yes, he's the great betrayer

which began:

The Prime Minister is a liar

And which listed some of the pre-election promises he's broken

Among them of course was a pledge not to cut the ABC and SBS

And ABC managing director Mark Scott told News Breakfast's Virginia Trioli that one has been broken too.

MARK SCOTT: ... the commitment was very clear, no funding cuts to the ABC and SBS, and what we're looking at is a $120 million funding cut over the next four years, and the bulk of that is the axing of Australia Network. — ABC News Breakfast, 14th May, 2014

The Australia Network has been getting some $22 million a year in taxpayer funding.

And that has helped pay for 10 ABC bureaus and 20 foreign correspondents around the world, some of which may now be at risk. ***

Even if they survive, jobs will certainly go among the 108 people ABC International employs, although it's not yet clear how many:

MARK SCOTT: That depends on what we decide the shape of our international service would be. You would think there could be dozens of job cuts on the back of a funding cut of this size, but that's the work that the management team and the board need to do now in coming weeks. — ABC News Breakfast, 14th May, 2014

The ABC domestic budget has also been cut, although only by 1% or $10 million a year.

In the current spending climate, where pensions, health, education and youth have taken a big hit, the ABC could see that as a victory, but Mark Scott warns there are more cuts on the way:

MARK SCOTT: ... the government has commissioned an efficiency review and they are saying that the funding cuts that came last night are simply a downpayment on further cuts to go. I think this is an ominous thing for ABC audiences. Where we have found efficiencies in the past, we have reinvested them in new services for audiences. So, iview, News 24, News Breakfast, all our online activity has all been funded by efficiencies the ABC has found. Now, if the government is going to take further efficiencies we can find and scoop all that money up, and take that away from the ABC, then the ABC becomes a smaller organisation and a less relevant and compelling organisation ... — ABC News Breakfast, 14th May, 2014

Now it's obviously in the ABC's interest to maintain the line that further cuts will hit programs.

But that doesn't mean to say it's not true. And either way one can be pretty sure there is a battle to come.

And finally this week we have an award for the best and busiest budget commentator.

Here's Chris Richardson of Deloitte Access Economics who popped up just about everywhere.

CHRIS RICHARDSON: Yes, it's tough, it's the toughest we've seen since 1997 ... — Channel Seven, The Morning Show, 14th May, 2014

CHRIS RICHARDSON: Yes, it's the toughest budget we've seen since 1997 ... — ABC1, 7.30, 13th May, 2014

CHRIS RICHARDSON: The toughest budget Australia's seen since 1997 ... — ABC Radio National, RN Breakfast, 14th May, 2014

CHRIS RICHARDSON: So, this may be the toughest budget we've seen since 1997 but it's not as tough as we've seen in times past ... — 2GB, Money News with Ross Greenwood, 13th May, 2014

We're being unfair of course.

Chris Richardson always offers intelligent insight and analysis in language one can understand. Which is why everyone wants to use him

We counted nine post budget interviews on TV and radio. And what's more it was his birthday.

So arise Sir Chris. We salute you.

And you can read more about these stories on our website, where you can also get a transcript and download the program. And you can catch up with us on iview.

And contact me or Media Watch on Twitter. But until next week, that's all from us, Goodbye.

***The Australia Network funds three foreign correspondent positions in Beijing, New Delhi and Jakarta and one Pacific correspondent position based in Brisbane. Australian Network does not fund other ABC correspondent positions and bureaux.