Winamp Logo
Mediawatch Cover
Mediawatch Profile

Mediawatch

English, Mass media, 1 season, 1156 episodes, 2 days, 4 hours, 20 minutes
About
Mediawatch looks critically at the New Zealand media - television, radio, newspapers and magazines as well as the 'new' electronic media.
Episode Artwork

Does bad economic news trump good news?

Stories about surging inflation, successive food price rises and more Kiwis in arrears topped bulletins and filled front pages last year. But recent news about slowing inflation, cheaper food and rising business confidence hasn't had the same impact. How come?
2/3/202410 minutes, 36 seconds
Episode Artwork

Todd Scott - taking a punt at NBR

It’s more than a decade since Todd Scott staked everything to buy the business news weekly where he worked, the National Business Review. Since then NBR’s gone online-only, axed ads entirely and the owner moved to Fiji. During a flying visit back to HQ, Mediawatch asks Scott if he’s still in it for the long haul.  
2/3/202419 minutes, 22 seconds
Episode Artwork

With one last hurrah, goneburger is goneburger

When James Shaw tweeted "James Shaw goneburger" it was the zenith of one political reporter's eight-year effort to goneburger every departing politician in New Zealand. But Jo Moir is now leaving Twitter (X) - and goneburgering - behind.
2/3/202412 minutes, 11 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 4 February 2024

This week on Mediawatch, does bad news about the economy trump good news? The end of the line for goneburger? 
2/3/202442 minutes, 18 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - RNZ shuffles its pack

Midweek Mediawatch - Mediawatch’s weekly catch-up with Nights. Colin Peacock talked to Emile Donovan about just-announced changes to RNZ National's schedule and an RNZ news story last weekend which prompted complaints. Also: an ex-MP's emotional interviews; defining sport once and for all - and what do Jacinda Ardern and Liverpool FC have in common?
1/31/202422 minutes, 8 seconds
Episode Artwork

Media cop flak over MP’s startling downfall 

The summer holidays are usually a dead zone for domestic political news - but the unseasonal and unexpected downfall of Golriz Ghahraman bucked the trend this month. Media copped criticism from some for reporting the allegations that led to her resignation - while others railed at media for failing to condemn her alleged crimes and playing the ‘mental health card'. 
1/27/202415 minutes, 33 seconds
Episode Artwork

Water woes flood silly season as news runs dry

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water, predictable reports of shark sightings signalled the start of the summer silly season. And with water running out in the capital, and a controversial campaign from Auckland’s Watercare, even the culture wars didn't run out of steam over the holidays.    
1/27/202418 minutes, 7 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 28 January 2024

What you missed over summer: harmless sharks, woke worries, sewage smells and water woes flood the holiday news drought; media cop flak for coverage of Golriz Ghahraman's downfall.
1/27/202432 minutes, 59 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - Hōhā over hui coverage

In this week's edition of Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Emile Donovan about accusations of bias over media commentary on the national hui at Tūrangawaewae marae and the media response to the downfall of Green MP Golriz Gharahman.   
1/24/202420 minutes, 41 seconds
Episode Artwork

The Mediawatch Christmas bonus

A special edition of Mediawatch looking back on the year in the media - ending with the Mediawatch five-minute mashup of 2023’s news.  
12/23/202336 minutes, 24 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - 2023 Awards

Midweek Mediawatch - Mediawatch’s weekly catch-up with Nights. Hayden Donnell and Colin Peacock joined Mark Leishman to hand out Mediawatch’s not very prestigious and not at all coveted annual awards - including worst media cliche, most shameless ripoff, best media drama, and media over-reaction of the year. 
12/20/202343 minutes, 35 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 17 December 2020 - Horowhenua special

Covering news all over the country is a struggle for media companies dealing with rising costs and falling income. But some local outlets are surviving - and even thriving. Mediawatch's Hayden Donnel finds out who's doing the business in Horowhenua - and how they're doing it.
12/16/202333 minutes, 57 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - The case of the missing mayoral footage

In this week's Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Mark Leishman about a much-reported recording of Wellington’s mayor which made many headlines recently - but has not yet appeared in the real world. Also: a report into New Zealand’s media landscape - and what will replace The Project in the 7pm current affairs slot on Three - and Dunedin set to lose its local TV news.
12/13/202329 minutes, 27 seconds
Episode Artwork

From paper to platform - media's online dependence

Five years ago Dr Merja Myllylahti warned our news media were becoming dangerously dependent on global digital platforms which gave them online audiences but undercut their income and didn’t seem to care much about news. What’s the story five years on?
12/10/202317 minutes, 51 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 10 December 2023

Parliamentary pomp and ceremony - but no honeymoon; 'From Paper to Platform'- media's online dependence; Todd Niall - local matters really matter
12/9/202336 minutes, 56 seconds
Episode Artwork

Todd Niall - local matters really matter

‘Look ahead, not back’ - the last words of Todd Niall after 46 years in daily journalism. The last of these were spent reporting the complicated and highly-contested issues afflicting Auckland and its supercity council. Unlike his other passion - yacht racing - that’s not glamorous, but Todd tells Mediawatch local matters really do matter for every citizen. 
12/9/202320 minutes, 55 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch ‘Kin oath’ - new Parliament sworn in

Midweek Mediawatch - Mediawatch’s weekly catch-up with Nights. Colin Peacock talked to Mark Leishman about the new government getting underway with plenty of ceremony, lots of protest - but no honeymoon. Also: Sky puts prices up; The Project comes to an end - and are letters to the editor on the way out?
12/6/202328 minutes, 30 seconds
Episode Artwork

Claims of media 'bribery' derail new government on day one

It didn't take long for Winston Peters’ news media grievances to make headlines - and headaches - for the new government. Mediawatch looks at how the media reacted to his claims of media 'bribery' - and what he was hinting at.   
12/2/202318 minutes, 22 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 3 December 2023

Claims of media 'bribery' derail new government on day one; politics shows off air just as politics hots up; mayor under pressure after rumour-based reports.
12/2/202341 minutes, 48 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mayor under pressure after rumour-based reports

Wellington’s mayor is under pressure after acknowledging an alcohol problem. Her admission was prompted by media questions about drunken ‘antics’ based in part on a reported recording which no media outlet has yet confirmed - and which was contradicted by the only eye-witness on the record. 
12/2/202316 minutes, 48 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch: Winston's war

In this week's edition of Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Mark Leishman about Winston Peters' war with the media, a new streaming app for Three, and Kim Hill's farewell to RNZ.
11/29/202326 minutes, 32 seconds
Episode Artwork

Not the greatest story ever told

The three political coalition partners finally sealed the deal on Friday, bringing to an end more than 40 days of limbo - and Shane Jones' biblical quotes. Never has so much been said by so many political reporters with so little information for so long. It wasn't exactly season 4 of Borgen.        
11/25/20236 minutes, 18 seconds
Episode Artwork

Watchdog warns media laws need urgent upgrade

The chief of the country’s most powerful media watchdog says we need new laws now to hold media to account in future. The outgoing government had a plan for one single body to oversee rules for all media, including the internet, but that slow-moving overhaul looks stalled. What does the Broadcasting Standards Authority want from our new rulers? 
11/25/202315 minutes, 38 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 26 November 2023

Parties seal the coalition deal to end long limbo for media; watchdog warns media laws need urgent upgrade; media tuning out of music journalism; Covid response reckons ramp up in inquiry season.
11/25/202339 minutes, 41 seconds
Episode Artwork

Music journalism all but vanishes from our media

This week the country’s biggest arts funding agency published a plan to boost coverage of culture which has been dwindling in our media. Music reviews and writing used to be eagerly-read and hotly-contested in our papers and magazines. We ask a former entertainment editor where that went and what could bring it back.
11/25/202314 minutes, 18 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - Are we there yet? No . . .

Midweek Mediawatch - Mediawatch’s weekly catch-up with Nights. Colin Peacock talks to Mark Leishman about the ongoing process of forming a new government testing the patience of political reporters - and the audience. Also: more financial woe for media companies, 123 years of history ends in Invercargill - and Australia’s rugby boss meets a sticky end. 
11/22/202330 minutes, 38 seconds
Episode Artwork

Producers pressure government to tax Netflix and co

This week the people who make the local stuff for our screens big and small urged the powers-that-be to tax the likes of Netflix and Disney Plus to fund it. But producers here can already get tax breaks and public funding, so can they really persuade the incoming government to make the streaming services another source of funds? 
11/18/202314 minutes, 49 seconds
Episode Artwork

Media campaign of the century?

As we wait for a new government, one election did deliver a clear-cut result this week - Forest and Bird's Bird of the Century poll. The winner had considerable offshore input thanks to a celebrity comedian's campaign which generated heaps of media exposure - but also some claims of media manipulation.   
11/18/202313 minutes, 15 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 19 November 2023

Media campaign of the century; producers push for tax on streamers; the legacy of a 'true newspaperman'.
11/18/202332 minutes, 35 seconds
Episode Artwork

'True newspaperman' Fred Tulett leaves a legacy

Long-serving Southland Times editor Fred Tulett has died - leaving a legacy of more than 50 years in journalism in which he mentored many top journalists who followed in his footsteps.  
11/18/20234 minutes, 11 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - feathers fly over election outcomes

In this week's edition of Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Mark Leishman about allegations of foreign interference in the Bird of the Century vote  - and dubious concerns about the general election result.
11/16/202335 minutes, 12 seconds
Episode Artwork

Three bananas and a coalition cauliflower

The news media see themselves as the eyes and ears of the public - but so far political leaders have mostly turned a deaf ear to their questions about forming the new government. How are they handling the silent treatment? 
11/11/20239 minutes, 14 seconds
Episode Artwork

Burying the Bird - is trashed Twitter facing extinction?

Twitter emerged as an important source of live updates, news and images during the Arab Spring more than a decade ago. Many in the media also joined the platform to share news and commentary with users worldwide. But a year after Elon Musk took it over, 'X' is a mess - and a group of local users recently gathered to 'Bury the Bird' for good. 
11/11/202326 minutes, 4 seconds
Episode Artwork

Are the Irish twice as rich as us?

Mediawatch - A business lobby group is urging New Zealand to emulate Ireland, which has a GDP twice as big as ours - but is the GDP picture warped? 
11/11/20235 minutes, 54 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 12 November 2023

This week Mediawatch looks at how the media have followed the formation of the next government going on behind closed doors.   Also: a push to persuade policymakers to emulate Ireland’s economy - and local media people lamenting the decline of what was the media’s favourite social media platform, Twitter.  [picture id="4KZR3WE_Bury_the_Bird_ad_jpg" crop="original" layout="full"] 
11/11/202337 minutes, 54 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch 8 November 2023

Midweek Mediawatch - Colin Peacock talks to Mark Leishman about political reporters’ ongoing efforts to get party leaders to talk about forming a new government and media companies’ growing financial problems. Also  - an opportunity for journalists honouring Brian Gaynor - and the UK press picks up on the controversial British TV star accused of ‘colonising’ a Tasman town. 
11/8/202328 minutes, 21 seconds
Episode Artwork

Rugby in recovery as a media spectacle

Anger about rules and referees ruining rugby matches ran for days in the media after last weekend's Rugby World Cup final. Players, pundits and even current national coaches have said the game is 'broken' and bad to watch. But billions ofdollars of media companies' money keep rugby going - so will the media fix it for fans?
11/4/202319 minutes, 42 seconds
Episode Artwork

Keeping it confidential to properly protect sources

Protecting people who offer the media important information is a fundamental obligation for journalists. Chris Cooke quit TVNZ after it didn't keep a promise to Erin Leighton, whose off-the-record disclosures ended up being aired in court in the defence of her abusers. They're now pushing for a 'shield law' to ensure our media can guarantee confidentiality.
11/4/202319 minutes, 47 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 5 November 2023

Rugby in recovery as a media spectacle; keeping it confidential to protect sources; Musk trashing Twitter.
11/4/202335 minutes, 12 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - Gaps in Gaza coverage

In this week's edition of Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Mark Leishman about a comparative lack of coverage on Gaza, sympathy for Supie's leaders even as their employees miss out, and a wake for the Twitter-that-was.
11/1/202330 minutes, 52 seconds
Episode Artwork

Whanganui - What we miss when we miss out on local news

Major news media outfits have cut back in the regions in recent years. That doesn't just leave locals worse off - it also means all New Zealanders miss out on important ideas, events and perspectives. But even though the media's margins are tight, intrepid publishers and people are still doing the business there. Mediawatch checks in on Whanganui to find out how their media are doing - and how they're doing it.
10/28/202328 minutes, 45 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 29 October 2023

Covering news from all over the country is a struggle for media companies dealing with rising costs and falling revenues. But some local outlets are surviving - and even thriving. Mediawatch's Hayden Donnel finds out who's doing the business in Whanganui - and how they're doing it.
10/28/202331 minutes, 34 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - screwing the scrum

Midweek Mediawatch - Colin Peacock talks to Mark Leishman about the media’s mounting problems covering the crisis in Gaza and Israel; TVNZ under pressure over compromised confidentiality; the PM talking policy on The Rock - and rugby pundits reacting badly to the way the World Cup’s panned out. [audio_play] [picture id="4M43O30_image_crop_130293" crop="16x10" layout="full"]
10/25/202329 minutes, 31 seconds
Episode Artwork

Take me to your leader

Our new political leaders got off on the wrong foot this week with the political press pack by keeping them at arm's length over their negotiations to from the new government. Was this a genuine media freedom issue with the interests of the public at stake? Or just a bit of collective posturing to pressure the politicians? 
10/21/202318 minutes, 15 seconds
Episode Artwork

Media in the middle of Gaza claims and counterclaims

Major media organisations all over the world are copping criticism for the way they’re reporting what’s happening in Gaza and Israel. Mediawatch asks BBC news boss Jonathan Munro how they’re handling it - even when it's coming from the UK's own government.  
10/21/202320 minutes, 39 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 22 October 2023

Take me to your leader - political press pack gets off on wrong foot with our new political leaders; media in the middle of Gaza claims and counterclaims; World Cup fever - and Irish anguish.
10/21/202342 minutes, 25 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - PM's parlour game claim peeves press pack

Midweek Mediawatch - Hayden Donnell talks to Mark Leishman about how media handled the claims and counter-claims that followed the deadliest incident yet in the Gaza conflict. Also - friction between the press pack and PM preparing to form the next government - and rugby pundits ripping their Irish peers after last weekend’s World Cup quarter final . . . with the benefit of hindsight.  
10/18/202324 minutes, 23 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch special - campaign culminates in a 'bluenami'

Mediawatch looks back on how the media covered a long, long campaign - and how election night played out across the media after the polls finally closed on Saturday. Hayden Donnell in Auckland - and special guest Robbie Nicol (host of RNZ's politics series The Citizens Handbook) joined Colin Peacock for live RNZ National election coverage special on Sunday morning.
10/14/202333 minutes, 50 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - major scrutiny for minor parties

Midweek Mediawatch  - Colin Peacock talks to Mark Leishman about minor parties under the microscope and more heated head-to-head election debates. Also: and the horror in Israel/Gaza gives media a dilemma - and Rachel Smalley vs Pharmac. 
10/11/202331 minutes, 33 seconds
Episode Artwork

Media shift blame for misleading tax policy headlines

This week political reporters seized on fresh figures showing the National Party overstated the benefits of its tax cut policy - and accused its leaders of misleading the public. Yet some of them had repeated the party's spin in their own reports when it was unveiled a month ago - and even praised the 'political marketing.
10/7/20237 minutes, 31 seconds
Episode Artwork

What are the political parties' plans for media?

The media have been a political football this year - and now some politicians are complaining the media are against them in this election. But hundreds of millions of dollars of public money is spent on media each year - so what do the political parties plan for the media if they're in power?
10/7/202310 minutes, 15 seconds
Episode Artwork

Murdoch's real life succession becomes reality

After seven decades up to his neck in media - and having a profound and world wide influence on them - now nonagenarian mega mogul Rupert Murdoch’s starting up the succession plan for his empire. Or is he? We ask an Australian expert who wrote all about this ten years ago when one of Murdoch’s biggest companies was mired in an epic scandal, he’d just been divorced and it looked like the succession was on. So is it now?
10/7/202313 minutes, 57 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 8 October 2023

Media shift blame for misleading tax policy headlines; political parties' policies for the media; Rupert Murdoch steps down and starts up the succession - or does he?
10/7/202333 minutes, 7 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - a sacred shield soiled

In this week's edition of Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Mark Leishman about an outcry over the soiling of the sacred Ranfurly Shield, a rancorous interview with Winston Peters, and media complaining about Christopher Luxon not turning up.
10/4/202327 minutes, 59 seconds
Episode Artwork

Giving young people an election voice

The TVNZ Young Voters' debate run by Re:News was a rowdy interjection into what had been a relatively subdued election campaign. Its moderator has some ideas on how media organisations can better cater to young people.
9/30/202326 minutes, 32 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 1 October 2023

The undecided could decide the election; giving youth a voice in the election; ZB's 'straight talking' subscribers' service.
9/30/202336 minutes, 11 seconds
Episode Artwork

A new paid-platform for news and opinion

A new subscriber service offering "straight talking" reporting and opinion was launched this week by talk radio network Newstalk ZB. Owner NZME has several other services putting content behind a paywall, but this one has a provocative blogger in charge of a line-up of pro-business and right-leaning commentators - some of whom are harsh critics of the news media.
9/30/20236 minutes, 37 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - The state of debates

Midweek Mediawatch - Colin Peacock talked to Mark Leishman about the ever-growing volume of election campaign coverage - and the latest TV (and off-TV) debates putting party leaders under the spotlight. 
9/27/202327 minutes, 59 seconds
Episode Artwork

Current and future state of Stuff

Three years ago Sinead Boucher took over the country’s biggest publisher of news from Aussie owners who gave it away “like a set of steak knives.” In the absence of big backers and the government backing away from funding journalism, does its future now depend on getting money from Google and Facebook? And does she still have the Stuff staff on board for the future? 
9/23/202325 minutes
Episode Artwork

Debate stalemates fuel election fatigue

The election campaign went up a gear in the media this week as party leaders lined up on live TV for the first time. But while the public tuned in in numbers, the pundits reckoned the debates failed to fire up the campaign. The same could be said of the other exposure opportunities the media made for the leaders.  
9/23/20239 minutes, 58 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 24 September 2023

Debate statemates add to election frustration; the current and future state of Stuff; some good - but overdue - news for Dunedin.
9/23/202339 minutes, 30 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch: A game of two Chrises

In this week's edition of Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Mark Leishman about the first live TV leaders' debate of the election campaign and the sports analogy-filled post-match analysis.
9/20/202330 minutes, 55 seconds
Episode Artwork

Un-spun numbers don't derail duelling versions of the economy

The Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Update lifted the lid on the nation’s finances this week - and Treasury's projections for the foreseeable future. This dropped some ‘un-spun’ numbers into the election debate - but our media still seized on support-seeking politicians airing irreconcilable opinions about the state of our economy.
9/16/20238 minutes, 8 seconds
Episode Artwork

Stuff keeps Open AI at arm's length

New Zealand's biggest publisher of news this week joined big global names in blocking Open AI from using its content to power generative artificial intelligence tool Chat GPT. Stuff says it is being harvested without permission for AI products already turning out low-quality results. Mediawatch asks Stuff's if keeping Ai at arm's length is a good move. 
9/16/202321 minutes, 3 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 17 September 2023

Un-spun numbers don't derail duelling versions of the economy; Stuff keeps AI at arm's length; medical school row - and a made-up university.
9/16/202339 minutes, 12 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - dogs on a plane & sporting flops

Midweek Mediawatch - Colin Peacock talks to Mark Leishman about the coverage of two huge disasters in North Africa; a little local political difficulty in Dunedin - and political party leaders under heavy scrutiny on TV. Also: a much-hyped weekend of sport which didn’t go well for our national teams - and whether pets on planes, trains and buses is really a good idea.  
9/13/202328 minutes, 38 seconds
Episode Artwork

AI coming ready or not for our news and music 

Business is booming in artificial intelligence technology and new applications appear in the news almost daily. At an AUT symposium this week, experts said it’s already being deployed in creative industries to create instant ad campaigns, virtual influencers, robo-journalism and machine-made music. But is AI a creative collaborator - or just a 'handy butler'? 
9/10/202326 minutes, 8 seconds
Episode Artwork

Advocacy angst as campaign begins - officially

The Herald copped criticism for publishing a front-page attack ad targeting the National Party leader this week - but it was far from the first time ads like it have appeared in print. Meanwhile questions were asked about other coverage that looked like it might be taking sides as the official campaign period begins. 
9/9/202310 minutes, 4 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 10 September 2023

Angst over advocacy adverts and content as official election period begins; AI - coming ready or not for news and music.
9/9/202338 minutes, 21 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch: The return of the octopus

In this week's edition of Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Mark Leishman about National's attempt to weather a storm of journalistic scrutiny of its tax plan, Patrick Gower's unusual aquatic analogy for Winston Peters, and a controversial front page ad in the New Zealand Herald.
9/6/202327 minutes, 34 seconds
Episode Artwork

Horse race journalism as National takes aim at squeezed middle

As National announced its long-awaited tax plan, some journalists took a hard look at its numbers, while others focused more on political strategy and impact.
9/3/202322 minutes, 54 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 3 September 2023

Mongrel and maths collide as campaigns launch - and media ponder National's tax plan; scrutiny of candidates' online footprints prompts pushback and claims of 'agendas'.
9/2/202337 minutes, 32 seconds
Episode Artwork

Scrutiny of candidates prompts pushback and claims of 'agendas'

Scrutiny of political parties' policies intensified this week - and so did the scrutiny of some candidates for seats in Parliament. When TVNZ reported some election candidates’ controversial past statements this week, critics hit back with claims its own news was compromised.  
9/2/20238 minutes, 57 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - Spain's football boss (& mum) v the world

Midweek Mediawatch - Colin Peacock talks to Mark Leishman about the strange saga sparked by the sexist behaviour of Spain’s football chief at the Women’s World Cup final. Also - broadcasters' election plans; the political heckler problem - and alarm over the All Blacks record-breaking beating and claims Wellington’s golden mile is on the slide. 
8/30/202328 minutes, 43 seconds
Episode Artwork

Low-key reveal of law to make big tech pay for news

Long-awaited legislation to force big tech platforms to pay New Zealand media for the news they disseminate online is now before Parliament. It could give our media with much-needed money in years to come if it becomes law and also fill a funding gap for the government at the same time. But neither the media or the government have made much of it. 
8/27/20235 minutes, 57 seconds
Episode Artwork

Brought to you by . . . 'partners'

It’s meant to be clear what’s advertising and what isn't, but 'sponsored content' and 'native advertising' blurred that line a long time ago. Now some outlets form ‘partnerships’ with clients to get messages across in exchange for big bucks - and even get their own journalists to help out.   
8/26/202333 minutes, 18 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 27 August 2023

Brought to you by 'partners' - critics question sponsorship deals pushing clients' content into news media; IMANZ - a new umbrella body for independent local media marketing agencies; low key reveal of legislation to push big tech platforms to pay for local news.
8/26/202340 minutes, 15 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - polling death spiral & sandwich slump

In this week's edition of Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Mark Leishman about a dire poll for Labour raising the spectre of a media-driven death spiral; a reorganisation at NZME; a plea for help from Discovery; a political apology from TVNZ - and does the demise of one cafe chain signal doom for the capital's CBD?
8/23/202323 minutes, 40 seconds
Episode Artwork

Migrant exploitation finally in the media spotlight

A spike in shocking cases of exploitation has put the plight of migrant workers in the media spotlight. But these latest stories are part of a longstanding issue that's sometimes flown under the radar.
8/20/202319 minutes, 44 seconds
Episode Artwork

Our World Cup runneth over - and out. What next?

The Women's World Cup 2023 attracted record crowds in the stands and on TV - both here and in Australia. It also delivered drama and off-pitch stories that livened up standard sports coverage. But will all that change the way the media cover sport? Mediawatch asks two journalists with an eye on the media on both sides of the Tasman.
8/19/202336 minutes, 4 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 20 August 2023

Our World Cup runneth over - what legacy will it leave? Lifting the lid on exploitation of migrant workers and human trafficking.
8/19/202342 minutes, 26 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - football and fruit & veg frenzies

Midweek Mediawatch: Colin Peacock talked to Mark Leishman while Australia’s Matildas were playing England’s Lionesses in Sydney and breaking TV viewing records. Also: election fever building in the media here; a frenzy over fruit and vegetables - and overwrought claims of collusion.
8/16/202322 minutes, 57 seconds
Episode Artwork

Report finds history repeating in coverage of calls for crime crackdown

Political calls to crack down on crime are echoing in our media ahead of the upcoming election - not for the first time. Two seasoned journalists showed this was part of a pattern in a report on crime coverage which recommended new approaches. It was commissioned five years ago - but never saw the light of day. 
8/13/202334 minutes
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 13 August 2023

Reporters' report on crime coverage urges new thinking - and highlights electoral 'crime crackdown' pattern; RNZ's Richard Sutherland calling it quits after 30 years; free sports streaming options on the up.
8/12/202345 minutes, 35 seconds
Episode Artwork

Calling it quits after 30 years

RNZ’s head of news Richard Sutherland’s called it a day after more than 30 years in the news. He’s worked at almost every major news broadcaster in the country and led the outfit representing their mutual interests, the Media Freedom Committee. But he’s not the only news leader to leave the business lately amid warnings about the increasing intensity of it.
8/12/202318 minutes, 30 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - climate, cellphones and how not to spell cat

In this week's edition of Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Mark Leishman about one news broadcast foregrounding climate while another hones in on cellphones and Chris Luxon misspelling 'cat', before delving into a leaked letter hinting at unrest at Stuff - and how the media hounded a mayor's dog out of her office.  
8/9/202326 minutes, 43 seconds
Episode Artwork

Political road rage - budget holes and emissions omissions

The UN says we've reached "the era of global boiling". Given that, you'd think climate might have got more of a mention from the media as the National Party released its road-heavy $24 billion transport package.
8/6/202314 minutes, 25 seconds
Episode Artwork

Putting right what went wrong with RNZ's online news

A review of RNZ's online news has called for greater oversight and enforcement of standards after a crisis sparked by a single staffer making 'inappropriate' edits to international news online. Mediawatch asks RNZ’s chief executive if this was the result of a digital shift done on the cheap - and how he'll put right what he himself called ‘pro-Kremlin garbage.
8/5/202318 minutes, 23 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 6 August 2023

Political road rage - budget holes & emissions omissions; what went wrong with RNZ's online news - and putting it right,
8/5/202337 minutes, 30 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - RNZ review, Cup crackers, Palmy peeved

In this week's Midweek Mediawatch, Colin Peacock talks to Mark Leishman about what a review of the ‘inappropriate editing’ of online news at RNZ has revealed. Also  - the FIFA Women’s World Cup captivating the media - even though the Football Ferns got knocked out and Palmerston North was dissed by Spain. 
8/2/202323 minutes, 33 seconds
Episode Artwork

Allan’s resignation sparks another at RNZ

A board member at RNZ appointed less than a month ago quit this week after making public comments on Kiri Allan’s downfall and criticising media coverage of it. RNZ had asked Jason Ake to stop and the government said he breached official obligations of neutrality, but he was unrepentant.
7/30/202313 minutes, 23 seconds
Episode Artwork

Minister’s downfall triggers premature election speculation

The media could scarcely ignore the startling story of a minister of justice under arrest, but the circumstances of that and her sudden resignation raised many other issues. Many in the media seized on one - the possible impact it could have on an election still almost three months away.
7/29/202313 minutes, 32 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 30 July 2023

Minister's downfall triggers election speculation - and another resignation at RNZ.
7/29/202330 minutes, 27 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - a media storm over a mental health crisis

Midweek Mediawatch - Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Nights. This week Hayden Donnell talks to Mark Leishman about the coverage of Kiri Allan's arrest and subsequent resignation - and media pushing back against criticism of lurid coverage of the Lauren Dickason trial.   
7/26/202323 minutes, 48 seconds
Episode Artwork

A triumph - after a day of tragedy

On a day when Auckland was the focus of the biggest story in world sport and the Football Ferns ended up making history, deadly shootings a stone's throw from football teams' hotels and the fan zone confronted media primed for a good news story.    
7/23/202312 minutes, 25 seconds
Episode Artwork

Poll analysis unhitches itself from reality

Nothing much changed in a 1News Verian poll released on Monday. Some commentators treated the boring results as a blank canvas on which to express their creativity.
7/23/20237 minutes, 27 seconds
Episode Artwork

Political parties roll out crime control policy

After it emerged that Matu Reid was on home detention for family violence offences, the media rapidly raised questions about home detention, the discounting of prison sentences and gun control. Politicians have mostly refrained from adding their views, but they had already made crime and punishment election issues this past week.
7/22/20237 minutes, 19 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 23 July 2023

A triumph on a tragic day; political parties roll out crime control policies; creative interpretations of a pretty prosaic political poll.
7/22/202331 minutes, 32 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - too much information too soon?

Midweek Mediawatch - Colin Peacock talks to Mark Leishman about intense coverage of a mother accused of killing her children - and the media finally covering the crimes of Sir James Wallace. Also: Tova O’Brien returning to the media as some senior news editors depart; the media response to the PM ruling out wealth taxes - and the tabloid scoop giving the BBC a big headache.
7/19/202325 minutes, 31 seconds
Episode Artwork

Could a 'mortgage bomb' blow up borrowers?

Recent reports have warned of a ‘mortgage bomb’ that could blow up - and a growing number of people unable to pay back debts. Is the story as explosive as some headlines would have you believe? 
7/16/202312 minutes, 23 seconds
Episode Artwork

Australia puts big tech under more pressure

These days the platforms that pump news round the internet make more money out of it than the media who make it. In Australia they’ve done deals to ensure the media get more. Now the government also wants big fines for platforms publishing falsehoods. How will that work? And what’s the story here?
7/15/202315 minutes, 52 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 16 July 2023

Warnings of a 'mortgage bomb' about to blow up; Australia puts big tech' under more pressure; Mary Holm's 25 years with readers and writers.
7/15/202338 minutes, 16 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mary Holm - 25 years with readers and writers

Mary Holm's been writing about personal finance weekly for the same paper for more than 25 years. But she tells Mediawatch it's really the readers who have kept it going.  
7/15/202317 minutes, 8 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - Greens gazumped; Cane caned

In this week's Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Mark Leishman about the Greens' entire manifesto crowded out by coverage of a single law and order tweak from Act . Also a Mediawatch mess-up; a sub-par speed limit story; more BBC presenter problems, commentators cheering Cane's kick (or was it a trip?) and remembering Steve Orsbourn.
7/12/202331 minutes, 32 seconds
Episode Artwork

The death and rebirth of a long-lasting column

The New Zealand Herald column Sideswipe ended in May after a 21-year run. Its creator attributes its longevity to good curation and building a community.
7/9/202311 minutes, 30 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 9 July 2023

100 days to go; unknown Luxon; Listener goes online and brings back NZ's longest lasting columnist; confusing news on the economy.
7/8/202330 minutes, 34 seconds
Episode Artwork

Christopher Luxon, the unknowable man

Political reporters often say people need to get to know National leader Christopher Luxon. But he's ubiquitous in the media and has been in the job 18 months. Is it possible he's unknowable? Or is it time to retire the narrative?
7/8/20238 minutes
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - tipsy Tory & allegedly angry Allan

Midweek Mediawatch - Colin Peacock talks to Mark Leishman about the reaction to two politicians who both filled the front page of The Post this past week: cabinet minister Kiri Allan and Wellington mayor Tory Whanau. Also: the PM dodges a China crisis - and intense coverage of petrol pump pain. 
7/5/202332 minutes
Episode Artwork

Shock of the news - and the state of the arts

A new report says the arts and culture get just half of the space in our media that's devoted to sport. Mediawatch asks a leading local culture critic if the arts are just a 'nice to have' for our media now - and why he's warned cultural criticism could disappear with the older Pākehā blokes like him.
7/1/202327 minutes, 22 seconds
Episode Artwork

The right to be wrong - even in a crisis

Dolphins mating in a prime-time TV documentary was deemed a breach of broadcasting standards this week by the broadcasting watchdog - but dismissing official information and experts on air during Cyclone Gabrielle was not.
7/1/20234 minutes, 52 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 2 July 2023

The shock of the news - and a critical shortage in the state of the arts; TVNZ top-table changes; reserving the right to be wrong - even in an emergency.
7/1/202332 minutes, 15 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - a Titanic amount of coverage

In this week's Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Mark Leishman about a titanic amount of coverage of the Titan submersible tragedy. Also: complaints about an unfair focus on Christopher Luxon; a harsh headline for Michael Wood; media caning Chiefs' captain for post-defeat no-show - and a tonally jarring lifestyle mag on the supermarket shelves.    
6/28/202329 minutes, 59 seconds
Episode Artwork

One weird trick for getting uncritical media coverage

Most publications would never dream of running advertising for free, or publishing a highly ideological press release verbatim, but they may do so if the same information is presented in the form of research or study results.
6/25/20239 minutes, 31 seconds
Episode Artwork

Surgery scoop sparks rows over equality and equity

A scoop revealing that ethnicity is factored into Auckland-region surgery waiting lists sparked strong reactions against ‘race-based healthcare’ and claims that Māori and Pacific patients were “getting to the front of the surgery queue.” But it turned out to be nothing new - and the formula might actually mean patients’ ethnic background has less impact on waitlist positioning.
6/24/202314 minutes, 56 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 25 June 2023

Surgery, equality and equity; starling survey results score easy exposure; independent local radio pioneer 1XX changes hands - but the mission remains the same.
6/24/202337 minutes, 14 seconds
Episode Artwork

1XX changes hands - but not the mission

A leading local, award-winning and proudly-independent radio station based in Whakatāne has changed hands after more than 50 years on air. We ask the boss who’s been there for most of them: is it the end of an era? 
6/24/202312 minutes, 33 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - 'Mad Max' mob scenes; election fever; Ellsberg RIP

Midweek Mediawatch - Colin Peacock talks to Mark Leishman about a ‘tough on crime’ policy triggering media - after ‘Mad Max’ Mongrel Mob scenes in the news. Also: media war-gaming the election too soon; a political column winding back the news; problems that scrapped a big newspaper story emerge - and the ‘grandfather of whistleblowing’ dies.
6/21/202329 minutes, 50 seconds
Episode Artwork

Further fallout as RNZ takes out the ‘garbage’

External experts are poring over the ‘inappropriate editing’ of international news published online by RNZ. It has already tightened editorial checks and stood down an online journalist. Will this dent trust in RNZ - or news in general? Were campaigns propagating national propaganda a factor? Mediawatch asks two experts with international experience.
6/17/202343 minutes, 57 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 18 June 2023

Mediawatch looks at the response to the revelation of 'inappropriate editing' of online world news at RNZ - and asks two experts what may come out of the investigation into how it happened. Also: Mediawatch asks about claims that state-sponsored offshore disinformation campaigns could be undermining our media.
6/17/202343 minutes, 57 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - RNZ's Russiagate; 'rinky-dink' politics & forecast fatigue

In this week's Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Anna Thomas about RNZ's 'pro-Russia edits' saga now extending stories about other countries - and a newspaper's feature story that fell short of standards. Also: one RNZ host leaves the broadcaster while another returns to air; the intense focus on political party leaders' 'rinky dink' phrases  - and what they say off-message; the media war over Australia's most famous soldier- and whether people can weather the long forecasts. 
6/14/202330 minutes, 34 seconds
Episode Artwork

Digging out the facts on crime and punishment

Crime is set to be a big election year issue, with polls showing the public feels unsafe and the opposition claiming the government is 'soft' on offending. A pair of Herald journalists have tried to get to the truth behind the political jousting.
6/10/202325 minutes, 12 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 11 June 2023

How stories about the war in Ukraine ended up with a pro-Russian slant on RNZ's website; reports of crime are on the up but does the story change when reporters run the numbers before running a story?
6/10/202338 minutes, 56 seconds
Episode Artwork

RNZ investigating Kremlin-friendly story edits

RNZ is investigating how online stories about the war in Ukraine, supplied by an international news agency, were edited to align with the Russian view of events. A staff member has been stood down while other stories are audited. It's also prompted an external review of RNZ's online news publishing.    
6/9/202310 minutes, 35 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - on the outside looking in

Midweek Mediawatch - Colin Peacock talks to Tod Zaner about Auckland mayor Wayne Brown antagonising the media . . . again; a shake-up of Stuff's top brass; TVNZ boosting free-to-air sport; a dead radio station winning three national awards; Nicky Hager honoured for lifting the lid on secrets. 
6/7/202333 minutes, 46 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 4 June 2023

Mediawatch talks to the radio industry's top spokesperson who called on commercial companies to curb their rivalry - and the brains behind a small music radio network spreading around the country - but without ads. Also: a controversial proposal to change the way our media content is regulated.
6/3/202333 minutes, 18 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - a potentially toxic election season

In this week's Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Mark Leishman about racist abuse of journalists and the potential for more of it in a toxic election campaign. Also: an eyebrow-raising Media Council decision; two enduring magazines changing hands; exclusive coverage of awards that excludes other award winners - and some surprising talkback debate about cycling.      .
5/31/202330 minutes, 48 seconds
Episode Artwork

The long game of investigating Loafers Lodge disaster

Years before the Grenfell Tower fire killed 72 residents, it was foreshadowed by another fatal fire in London which wasn't adequately investigated. A journalist who has worked on that story for six years so far tells Mediawatch our media must pursue what went wrong at Loafers Lodge to prevent something worse happening elsewhere in future. 
5/27/202316 minutes, 37 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 28 May 2023

Lessons for Loafers Lodge investigation in the long game of the UK's Grenfell saga; new fund backing business and economics coverage; an hour of Gower (and friends . . . and his issues).
5/27/202344 minutes, 35 seconds
Episode Artwork

An hour of Gower

Three's new current affairs show Paddy Gower Has Issues walks a tonal tightrope - balancing comedic heckling and faux-serious investigations with in-depth reporting on important issues of the day.
5/27/202323 minutes, 10 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch: Miami not nice

Midweek Mediawatch -  Colin Peacock talks to Mark Leishman about the outrage over Paora that sparked escalating apologies from Zoo Miami - and how the media reacted to a Budget which wasn't quite what the pundits predicted. Also: a media watchdog's warning about taking care with facts  - and the ‘the worst movie of the year’? 
5/24/202328 minutes, 26 seconds
Episode Artwork

A little local political difficulty pulls national media focus

The nation’s news outlets aren’t usually interested in local government ructions in the south, but deep rifts in one dysfunctional council have made many headlines lately. When a ‘showdown’ meeting in Gore was livestreamed on major websites this week, peace broke out instead. Was that because of the media attention?
5/20/202318 minutes, 45 seconds
Episode Artwork

Politicians seeking platforms for political reveals

Brian Tamaki couldn't get on TV last weekend to announce the launch of a new umbrella movement to contest the next election. But other political leaders had better luck recently week getting a media platform to air new plans and policies.   
5/20/202310 minutes, 17 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 21 May 2023

Gore blimey - a little local political difficulty pulls national media focus; Politicians seeking platforms for political reveals.
5/20/202332 minutes, 23 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - putting a disaster in context

In this week's Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Mark Leishman about coverage putting the Loafers Lodge disaster in context - even in the midst of chaos and confusion, some impressive political fact-checking, whether the media needs to change tack reporting economists' forecasts - and an exclusive interview with a party-swapping MP which wasn't hard to get.
5/17/202330 minutes, 31 seconds
Episode Artwork

Some broadcasters still shrugging off storm warnings

Some in the media learned the lessons of Cyclone Gabrielle and the Auckland Anniversary Weekend floods, just as the emergency management authorities have done - and they made a concerted effort to take this week’s weather warnings seriously. Others, not so much.
5/13/202310 minutes, 43 seconds
Episode Artwork

Offshore outfit rating the reliability of our media

US-based NewsGuard is rating New Zealand's significant news sites for reliability - and even preparing ‘nutrition labels’ to warn users to treat them with caution. NewsGuard is also using human journalists to train generative AI innovations like ChatGPT to minimise the potential for misinformation-spreading on an epic scale.  
5/13/202331 minutes, 14 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 14 May 2023

Safe or sorry? Some still shrugging off storm warnings; an offshore outfit rating reliability of our news - and trying to train the AI chatbots; angst over not-so-Super Rugby on screen.
5/13/202331 minutes, 11 seconds
Episode Artwork

Angst over not-so-Super Rugby on screen

Midweek sports bulletins and commentaries declared that a former All Blacks coach had "slammed" modern rugby and declared it "unwatchable," prompting push-back from current All Blacks about changing the rules and refereeing. But Wayne Smith didn't quite condemn the state of the nation game in the way some reports would have you believe.         
5/13/20234 minutes, 42 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - out with the old, in with the new

Midweek Mediawatch - Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Nights. Colin Peacock talks to Mark Leishman about criticism of the Coronation coverage - and the PM grilled by the BBC on republicanism and sausage rolls. Also - RNZ releases critical comments from a minister; and a new radio station and podcasts emerge from the closure of talk station Today FM. 
5/10/202328 minutes, 18 seconds
Episode Artwork

A constitutional conundrum - or simply a king-size spectacle?

The Coronation this weekend was an historic event that anointed a new head of state for us for the first time in 70 years - and also a made-for-media spectacle that captivated broadcasters. After the death of QE2 last year, pundits predicted a debate about cutting ties with the Crown would follow, but the media have shown little appetite for it.   
5/6/202323 minutes, 9 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 7 May 2023

The Coronation - constitutional conundrum or just a king-size media spectacle?; political defection takes media by surprise.
5/6/202334 minutes, 6 seconds
Episode Artwork

Political defection takes media by surprise 

Te Pāti Māori livestreams from local marae don’t usually attract much mainstream media interest. But the defection of government minister Meka Whaitiri on Wednesday was carried by every major outlet after Whakaata Māori's late-night scoop sparked a media scramble. It also created a “constitutional cluster” that needed clarity.
5/6/202310 minutes, 4 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - a media muddle over Meka Whaitiri

In this week's Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Mark Leishman about Meka Whaitiri's defection to Te Pāti Māori taking the media by surprise, a media organisation and a politician censured for inaccuracy on important health matters - and media coverage of an airline PR stunt.
5/3/202327 minutes, 33 seconds
Episode Artwork

Stuff takes paywall plunge

After putting almost all its news online for free for a quarter of a century, Stuff launched subscription-based websites this weekend for its biggest daily papers - The Press, Waikato Times and The Post. Its main news website stuff.co.nz will remain free - but its regional titles could also put up paywalls soon.   
4/30/202316 minutes, 12 seconds
Episode Artwork

Citizenship celebration turns sour in record time

For 22 years, media stories regularly bemoaned Kiwis treated as second class citizens across the ditch. This week, the problem finally got resolved, only for coverage to turn to fears of a 'Great Exodus' within hours.
4/29/20239 minutes, 8 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 30 April 2023

Stuff takes the paywall plunge; fear of brain drain drowns out victory for Kiwis' rights across the ditch; economic predictions wide of the mark.
4/29/202332 minutes, 56 seconds
Episode Artwork

Stuff to put up first paywalls for news

The country’s biggest publisher of news will soon begin charging readers of three titles for news online for the first time. Stuff is launching subscription-based websites for The Dominion Post, The Press and Waikato Times, but access to its main national news website stuff.co.nz will remain free. 
4/27/202316 minutes, 12 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - big bills for media billionaires

Midweek Mediawatch: Colin Peacock talks to Mark Leishman about a very bad week for two billionaire media barons - Elon Musk and Rupert Murdoch - burning up credibility and cash in court, online and in space; and more critics copping flak for Succession spoilers.
4/26/202332 minutes, 27 seconds
Episode Artwork

What’s the government’s post-merger media plan?

The government is beefing up RNZ’s budget after scrapping the new public media entity it planned over four years. But what’s the ‘broadcasting strategy for all New Zealanders’  the minister says he’s putting together? And what’s the plan for state-owned TVNZ?
4/22/202318 minutes, 28 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 23 April 2023

What's the government plan for public media now?; regional news start-up seeking reporters and backing; airline snack swap secures sparks media appetite.
4/22/202341 minutes, 20 seconds
Episode Artwork

New regional news network seeks reporters and backers

This week ads for a new start-up appeared seeking reporters in the regions - and offering salaries reporters only get in the big cities these days. What is Regional News Network? How does it plan to set up the sort of regional coverage big news outlets have struggled to maintain in recent years?
4/22/202329 minutes, 16 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - an unwanted Twitter tag

Midweek Mediawatch - Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Nights. Hayden Donnell talks to Mark Leishman about Twitter tagging public broadcasters around the world - including RNZ - as 'government funded'; politicians being grilled on TV about their policies - and their personalities, and some research findings which made news but needed a little more context.
4/19/202332 minutes, 51 seconds
Episode Artwork

A rainy day for the mayor's media freeze out

Auckland mayor Wayne Brown has maintained a relationship with the media that's been - at best - frosty. A new report into the Council's flood response shows the limits of that approach. The mayor's promised changes to emergency planning in future. How could this help media do their job in an emergency?  
4/15/202319 minutes, 28 seconds
Episode Artwork

Droning on about flying pizza - again

This week the prospect of pizza by drone from store-to-door hit the headlines again - seven years years after a similar PR fly-by prompted stories insisting this was just around the corner for needy and greedy fast food fans. Meanwhile other drone delivery innovations already under way or in the pipeline don't seem to interest the media much.
4/15/20239 minutes, 30 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 16 April 2023

Auckland flood response review finds arms-length Council didn't use media effectively; media droning on about flying pizza - again; a fake news backflip.
4/15/202334 minutes, 5 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - Lobbying, OIA angst and spoiler rage

Midweek Mediawatch - Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Nights. Colin Peacock talks to Mark Leishman about how the media reacted to a sudden switch of rules for those who lobby politicians. Also - an investigation lifting the lid on health spending, a solo Southlander giving local media a run for their money - and the LA Times spoiling ‘Succession’ for fervent fans.   
4/12/202329 minutes, 10 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch: Turning off the news?

Mediawatch looks at the results of the biggest annual survey of New Zealanders’ trust in news - which shows it’s on the slide for the fourth year in a row. For the first time it also shows many of us avoiding news altogether. Is that because so much of it has been 'bad news' for so long? Or are we doing it badly? Mediawatch the authors of the 2023 Trust in News report.
4/8/202335 minutes, 10 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - All the President's luggage

In this week's edition of Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Mark Leishman about Donald Trump getting arrested, trust in news falling again, a controversy involving a Cabinet minister and RNZ- and the working poor getting a platform.
4/5/202327 minutes, 38 seconds
Episode Artwork

Today FM turned off - and erased

Why did MediaWorks kill a network launched with heavy hype only a year ago - which was also the source of news for half the country's commercial stations? The major media company also scrubbed the station’s digital content and brought to an end more than 30 years of talk radio history. Mediawatch asks why - and what happens next.
4/2/202318 minutes, 28 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 2 April 2023

The untidy end of Today FM - and 30 years of talk radio history; further fallout from coverage of the short-but-sharp visit of provocateur Posie Parker - and the protest that drowned her out.
4/1/202334 minutes, 46 seconds
Episode Artwork

Media mismatch on an 'out-of-control mob'

The protest that overwhelmed a rally for anti-trans rights activist Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull in Auckland last weekend was described as out-of-control and violent in some accounts. Two reporters who covered the protest on the ground tell Mediawatch that doesn't reflect what they saw.​
4/1/202313 minutes, 24 seconds
Episode Artwork

Today FM goes up in flames after on-air explosion

The future of MediaWorks talk network Today FM and its news service are in doubt after a proposal to close the station prompted an on-air staff revolt. Today FM abruptly cut to pop music after breakfast host Tova O'Brien announced she and all her colleagues were losing their jobs - and morning host Duncan Garner said they had "been betrayed."
3/29/20234 minutes, 49 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - incorrect Corrections ad?

Midweek Mediawatch: Colin Peacock talks to Susana Lei’ataua about the advertising watchdog scuppering an expensive and important TV advert - and a surprise rise in the media’s income from ads. Also: an editor promising inside information on our media - and further fallout from the controversial visit of Posie Parker. 
3/29/202331 minutes, 34 seconds
Episode Artwork

Lifting the lid on lobbying, ministers - and the media

An RNZ investigation lifted the lid this week on lobbyists and how they communicate with politicians outside the public gaze or official oversight. But it also raised questions for the media about how the lobbyists lobby them - and appear in the media while the public have no idea who their clients are.    
3/26/20238 minutes, 46 seconds
Episode Artwork

Posie the provocateur captures media's attention

The fly-in fly-out visit of provocateur Posie Parker was obviously a divisive issue - with people going to court to try to prevent it and then taking to the streets when that failed. Opponents drowned out her public appearance in Auckland, but there was plenty about her - and her opinions - in the media this week. 
3/25/202313 minutes, 54 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 26 March 2023

UK provocateur captures media's attention; lifting the lid on lobbying, ministers - and the media; a source burned and spurned - in the public interest?
3/25/202333 minutes, 44 seconds
Episode Artwork

A source burned and spurned - in the public interest?

An RNZ investigation this week revealed ministers and their staff are messaged by lobbyists using apps out of the public gaze - but discoverable under the OIA. In the UK, one minister’s messages exposing ‘government by WhatsApp’ are also in the headlines because of one journalist brutally betraying her source - and kicking off an angry ethical debate.
3/25/202312 minutes, 44 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - Lobbyists, Iraq, provoking the woke & angst over activist

In this week's Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Susana Lei'ataua about revelations on political lobbying from RNZ, a new online outlet seeking to provoke the woke; how US media boosted the war in Iraq 20 years ago -  and challenges for reporters covering an anti-trans rights campaigner's tour.
3/22/202336 minutes, 45 seconds
Episode Artwork

A muted media response to March 15

The media did little to mark the fourth anniversary of the March 15 terror attack, and some victims and their families say they are starting to feel forgotten.
3/19/202315 minutes, 41 seconds
Episode Artwork

Climate policies burn on the bread and butter bonfire

Chris Hipkins won media plaudits for his political strategy after scrapping or deferring some of Labour's policy in his latest policy bonfire, including ones to reduce emissions. But a poll released just hours after his announcement showed voters want more climate action, not less. 
3/18/20238 minutes, 44 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 19 March 2023

Polls and policy bonfire create climate contradiction; a muted media response to March 15; apology; talk radio outbursts spark apology.
3/18/202335 minutes, 52 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mis-match of the day at the BBC 

Midweek Mediawatch - Colin Peacock talks to Todd Zaner about how a former footballer took on the top brass of the BBC - and won.  Also: a confronting front-page story about a high-profile death - and two papers challenged on the fairness of local politics coverage.
3/15/202330 minutes, 55 seconds
Episode Artwork

Kids and consultants - Media run the rule over opposition policy

The National Party unveiled two dove-tailed policies last weekend - pumping up childcare subsidies while cutting down on consultants to cover the cost. Mediawatch looks at how the media ran the rule over these - and talks to the author of a timely investigation into the lucrative childcare industry.
3/11/202323 minutes, 52 seconds
Episode Artwork

Big bills for aborted media merger - but what next?

The broadcasting and media minister spoke about the collapse of the public media merger for the first time this week when a Parliamentary committee asked about the sums spent on it. He gave little away about the next strategy for RNZ which he’s taking to Cabinet soon. 
3/11/20236 minutes, 18 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 12 March 2023

Media run the rule over policy on kids and consultants; Michelle Duff on journalism and switching to fiction; awkwards questions over media merger bills - and what comes next.
3/11/202332 minutes, 23 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 12 March 2023

Media run the rule over policy on kids and consultants; Michelle Duff on journalism and switching to fiction; awkwards questions over media merger bills - and what comes next.
3/11/202332 minutes, 23 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - transport reporting skids and u-turns

In this week's Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Susana Lei'ataua about some skids and u-turns in transport reporting, a growing glut of daily news podcasts - and a new online outlet for those de-platformed by The Platform. Also: public servants expressing political views in the media - and PM's pie preferences.
3/8/202329 minutes, 42 seconds
Episode Artwork

Documenting the March 2 convulsion one year on

Coverage of the occupation of Parliament was wall-to-wall in our media as it dissolved into violence and came to an end one year ago this week. An RNZ team has trawled the overflowing archive of images for a documentary to show how it played on the the ground. Will it help us understand future stand-offs which capture the attention of the media?
3/4/202320 minutes, 30 seconds
Episode Artwork

Signal to noise - is AM radio really under threat?

Old-fashioned AM radio was an information lifeline for many during Cyclone Gabrielle when other sources wilted without power. Now a little-known arrangement that puts proceedings of Parliament on the air has been cited as a threat to its future. But is a switch-off really likely? And what’s being done to avoid it?
3/4/202310 minutes, 56 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 5 March 2023

Documenting the March 2 convulsion one year on; apology to Tim Beveridge; claims that AM radio is in jeopardy; is the G-word still fit for primetime TV?
3/4/202339 minutes, 23 seconds
Episode Artwork

G-word deemed a slur in news, but still fit for primetime TV

Does a surprising call by our broadcasting watchdog about a fleeting TV news item months ago mean that a primetime TV show shouldn’t really be on our screens right now? 
3/4/20234 minutes, 49 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - contested crime wave claims

In this week's edition of Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Susana Lei'ataua about the media covering claims of a post-Gabrielle crime spike that was questioned by Police; the fiery exit of a top public servant, MediaWorks' boss preparing to take off - and a radio host hitting back at Pharmac for playing favourites with the media. 
3/1/202324 minutes, 17 seconds
Episode Artwork

Claims and counter-claims on post-cyclone crime spike

Media on the ground in cyclone-hit communities found road-blocks and local people reporting looting, theft and threats backed up with firearms. Meanwhile police and politicians insisted there was no spike in crime and complained of disinformation in the media and online.
2/25/202310 minutes, 59 seconds
Episode Artwork

Boring old infrastructure rises to the top of the agenda

Once the scale of Cyclone Gabrielle’s destruction became clear, politicians of all parties agreed restoring and improving our infrastructure is our top priority. We’re told we’ve underinvested in it for decades and now the expense will be epic. So how can the media help us get to grips with this daunting challenge - and even understand infrastructure actually is? 
2/25/202317 minutes, 25 seconds
Episode Artwork

Climate minimisation still has a foothold in media

National MP Maureen Pugh was censured by her bosses and made to walk back her words after calling man-made climate change into question earlier this week. But similar sentiments still find a platform in the media.
2/25/202310 minutes, 12 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 26 February 2023

Claims and counter-claims on post-Gabrielle crime spike; boring old infrastructure surges to the top of the agenda; climate minimisation still has a foothold in the media.
2/25/202340 minutes, 20 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - cyclone talkback backlash

Midweek Mediawatch: Colin Peacock talks to Susana Lei'ataua about coverage of Cyclone Gabrielle's destruction - and the backlash against talk radio hosts who played the disaster down early on. Also: claims Roald Dahl’s books have been censored by 'PC gone mad' - and Fox News facing billion-dollar problems.
2/22/202333 minutes, 4 seconds
Episode Artwork

Radio hosts fixate on schools closing as Gabrielle closes in

Cyclone Gabrielle buried homes and took lives, including those of rescuers, this week. But as it bore down on the country, front-rank hosts at Newstalk ZB played down the danger it posed and complained about a day of school closures.
2/18/20239 minutes, 23 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch - before and after Gabrielle

Our media were in emergency mode yet again this week, offering hours of extra coverage on air, online and in print. Outlets in the hardest-hit places reported the basics - even without access to basics like power, communications and even premises. What will Gabrielle's legacy be for media's role in reporting disasters and national resilience?
2/18/202348 minutes, 10 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - Covering another catastrophe

Midweek Mediawatch - Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Nights. Hayden Donnell talks to Susana Lei'ataua about some good journalism - and some ill-advised commentary - on Cyclone Gabrielle. And in other news: a truancy announcement that didn't turn up - and the end of the show formerly known as Police Ten-7 / Ten-7 Aotearoa - and claims it got ‘cancelled.’
2/15/202329 minutes, 23 seconds
Episode Artwork

Supermarkets shaping the food price story

Recent media reports have blamed rising grocery prices on supermarket suppliers and even shoplifters. One business journalist is calling on the media to focus on the market power of our supermarket duopoly, now facing a law change to improve competition and lower prices. 
2/11/202313 minutes, 28 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 12 February 2023

Media merger out of its misery; supermarkets shaping the food price story; Southlander goes solo to tell southern stories.
2/11/202335 minutes, 53 seconds
Episode Artwork

Southlander goes solo to tell southern stories

Logan Savory spent years covering local stories for the long-established local daily paper Southland Times. Now he’s gone solo in the Southland Tribune - which sounds like a paper but isn’t. Why the change?   And what’s the difference? 
2/11/202310 minutes, 48 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - the day the merger died

Midweek Mediawatch - Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Nights. Colin Peacock talks to Karyn Hay about the government dumping its public media plans - again - and Karyn talks to National's Melissa Lee about her reaction. Also: Waitangi Day passing peacefully - apart from a little cue-card controversy. 
2/8/202339 minutes, 42 seconds
Episode Artwork

Public media policy put out of its misery

The PM has confirmed what pundits have predicted for weeks: the plan for a public media entity has been scrapped – before they even settled on a name for it. It’s the second time in five years Labour’s backed away from its public media policy, leaving RNZ and TVNZ in limbo again.
2/8/202310 minutes, 13 seconds
Episode Artwork

Communications recriminations after the deluge

The communications failures following the downpour  - now under review - weren’t all Wayne Brown’s fault, but the mayor’s antagonistic and arm's-length management prolonged a media pile-on which raised questions about the priorities of both parties in a crisis.
2/4/202314 minutes, 9 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 5 February 2023

Communications recriminations after the deluge; rebooting crisis coverage in the social media age; public media plan proclaimed a dead duck by other media.
2/4/202338 minutes, 34 seconds
Episode Artwork

Rebooting crisis coverage in the social media age

When the heavens opened last weekend, some channels of official information closed. Emergency management agencies and the news media both copped criticism for lagging behind events - and behind social media feeds fed by citizens and ordered by algorithms. Can the content from the crowd in real time be harvested for a big picture the news media and the authorities alike can all use?
2/4/202317 minutes, 45 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Drongowatch: A woeful week in Wayne's world

In this week's rebranded Midweek Drongowatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Karyn Hay about a flood of criticism for Auckland mayor Wayne Brown, a pair of polls that perked up the political press pack  - and how TVNZ handled the story of the first-ever All Black to come out as gay. Also - Hayden's summer season news bingo-card check - and his mancave confusion clarified.
2/1/202330 minutes, 50 seconds
Episode Artwork

Political pressure on media merger pumped up

Legislation for a new public media entity due by March has been reviewed and is due to be debated in Parliament soon. But pundits and opposition politicians alike are urging the government - now under new 'bread and butter'-focused management - to pull the plug on it.
1/28/20238 minutes, 57 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 29 January 2023

PM's exit and epic rain blow up 'slow news' summer; political pressure pumped up on media merger; mixed messages on state of the highways.
1/28/202336 minutes, 14 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mixed messages on state of the highways

Anger over the state of our highways deepened this summer - along with the potholes at the heart of constant claims the roads are “the worst they’ve ever been.” But political pressure and a startling stat in the media might have given people the wrong idea - and also undermined the push for lower speeds and fewer crashes.
1/28/20238 minutes, 44 seconds
Episode Artwork

PM’s exit and epic rain blow up 'slow news' summer

Along with the politicians, the media were caught on the hop when Jacinda Ardern suddenly called it quits last week. This week, more than a summer's worth of rain in a few hours blew away the 'slow news' season.     
1/26/202325 minutes, 14 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - suprise demise of a PM

Midweek Mediawatch - Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Nights - back for 2023.  Colin Peacock talks to Karyn Hay about the media response to Jacinda Ardern’s surprise demise. Also: big job cuts at a big radio broadcaster; little local stations fighting their corner; on-air changes at RNZ and the Dom Post - and the death of a record-breaking long-serving radio host. 
1/25/202333 minutes, 37 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch: The year in review

In this week's edition of Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell recaps the big stories of 2022 and the questions they raise for 2023, and delivers his own personal worst of and best of list for the year in media.
12/21/202233 minutes, 45 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch December 21

A roundup of the weeks & the years happenings. There's even an awards slot!
12/21/202233 minutes, 45 seconds
Episode Artwork

Turning a more sceptical eye on the tech titans

For years, Silicon Valley's stars have been able to drum up positive media headlines with their visions of a future tech utopia. In 2022, several of them ran into the hard wall of reality.
12/17/202218 minutes, 30 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 18 December 2022

Mediawatch's mash-up of 2022 in review; reversal of fortunes for Silicon Valley moguls in the media.
12/17/202238 minutes, 53 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch's mashup of 2022 in review

Mediawatch says goodbye  - and good riddance - to 2022 in the media. 
12/17/202219 minutes, 30 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - more media merger manoeuvres

Midweek Mediawatch - Colin Peacock talks to Karyn Hay about the government’s media merger under the spotlight again - along with top brass of TVNZ and RNZ. Also: the death of two much-admired journalists; Qatar’s issues overshadowed by the World Cup spectacle; overheated reports of road repair rage, and who’s telling the Prime Minister what to do on her summer break? 
12/14/202232 minutes, 40 seconds
Episode Artwork

Stuff’s regional rejig - and staff strife

Why has our biggest and only truly national news publisher Stuff just rejigged its regional reporting to have fewer reporters in its local newsrooms - and none at all in some at certain times of the week? The move has antagonised some staff against the backdrop of disputes over journalists' pay.
12/11/202213 minutes, 16 seconds
Episode Artwork

Media merger meets mounting resistance as clock ticks

The PM’s hints this week reforms will be pared back in 2023  - and an untidy interview by the broadcasting minister - added to skepticism about the government’s public media plan. But while the media have aired angst about editorial independence, trust and costs, the opportunities have barely been addressed - or the consequences of sticking with the status quo. 
12/10/202213 minutes, 34 seconds
Episode Artwork

Newspaper deserts - and some green shoots - replace rivers of gold

American newspaper editor turned academic Kenton Bird traveled this country in 2010 to see if the ‘news deserts’ caused by newspaper closures in the US could happen here. 12 years on, he’s back - and happy to find our papers still in print even though the ‘rivers of gold’ dried up long ago and our biggest publisher was sold for a single gold coin in 2020. 
12/10/202225 minutes, 8 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 11 December 2022

Media merger meets mounting resistance as clock ticks; Stuff's regional rejig of news - and staff strife; local papers: from rivers of gold to news deserts - and some green shoots.
12/10/202241 minutes, 33 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch: A good news story gone bad

In this week's edition of Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Karyn Hay about a media tussle with Pharmac, a so-called 'trainweck' interview by the broadcasting minister and two interesting Media Council decisions.
12/7/202232 minutes, 2 seconds
Episode Artwork

Anti-vax parents create media conundrum

One press conference question at a Prime Ministerial summit kicked off a wave of social media scorn this week - and even criticism and international headlines about sexism. But media made a better fist of the awkward questions thrown up by parents withholding consent for the treatment of their sick baby and their supporters.     
12/4/20228 minutes, 31 seconds
Episode Artwork

Programme-makers anxious about public media project

For more than 30 years the nation's independent producers have been able to bid for money from the public purse to make programmes via New Zealand on Air. But from next year, the new public media entity that replaces RNZ and TVNZ will hold the purse strings for the bulk of the taxpayers' money - and they're anxious about it. But if there's more money available for the stuff they make, what's the problem?
12/3/202222 minutes, 48 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch: 4 December 2022

Handling awkward questions; programme-makers anxious about public media project; why Stuff journalists walked off the job.
12/3/202236 minutes, 19 seconds
Episode Artwork

Why did Stuff journalists walk off the job?

Journalism’s never been an especially well-paid job, except for a few bosses and stars in big jobs at the top end. But industrial action is rare - and no journalists at major news media have gone on strike here for almost a decade and half. Why did some Stuff reporters walk off the job this week and picket their own premises?
12/3/20229 minutes, 43 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - crime and ‘angertainment’

Midweek Mediawatch: Colin Peacock talk to Karyn Hay about how the media responded to anger about violent crime and death of dairy worker Janak Patel. Also: journalists walking off the job; the rise of 'angertainment'; a new local series asking existential questions; unexpected media moments from the controversial Qatar World Cup.  
11/30/202231 minutes, 25 seconds
Episode Artwork

COP 27 climate coverage cop-outs

The latest global climate policy summit in Egypt failed to create binding agreements on emissions reduction. But COP 27 did pave the way for compensating countries bearing the brunt of climate change. Commentators in our media were quick to claim 'COP was a flop' and proof that big international gatherings of governments and institutions are a waste of time and taxpayers' money.
11/26/202215 minutes, 2 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 27 November 2022

COP 27 climate coverage cop outs; blowing the whistle on 'normalised' corruption in world sport; relapse reports upset gang-based rehab programme.
11/26/202235 minutes, 23 seconds
Episode Artwork

Relapse reports upset gang-based rehab programme

A controversial gang-led drug rehab project funded by seized proceeds of crime was back in the news recently, thanks to headlines that highlighted the proportion of participants relapsing. That prompted critics to condemn it as a failure. Was that fair? 
11/26/202210 minutes, 7 seconds
Episode Artwork

Blowing the whistle on World Cup corruption

Qatar’s ‘sports-washing’ World Cup has backfired in PR terms, but it's taken the heat off world football’s corrupted governing body FIFA who gave it a green light in the first place. Mediawatch talks to a whistleblower who became a journalist and publisher herself to get the story out.
11/26/202226 minutes, 3 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch: Follow the leader

In this week's edition of Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Karyn Hay about a blizzard of commentary about Christopher Luxon's performance, Chinese state-sponsored propaganda in the Herald, and a respected Stuff reporter turning to climate coverage.
11/23/202227 minutes, 52 seconds
Episode Artwork

Media wrestle with ‘sportswashing’ Qatar’s World Cup

The FIFA World Cup in Qatar was already controversial before this weekend’s kick-off. Organisers have told the media to ‘focus on the football’ but human rights, workers’ suffering and and allegations of corruption in securing the tournament in the first place are impossible to ignore. Will media draw attention to that while the planet’s best players are on show?
11/20/202225 minutes, 31 seconds
Episode Artwork

Framing farming’s important debates via the mailbox

Opposition to agricultural reforms gets a wide airing in the media, along with protest and lobby groups fighting the corner against ‘unworkable regulations.’ But farming industry groups - and many farmers - also know adaptation and compromise is inevitable. Mediawatch talks to the editor of Farmers Weekly, whose views end up in the mailbox of almost every farm in the land.
11/19/202215 minutes, 4 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 20 November 2022

Media wrestle with 'sportswashing' Qatar's World Cup; framing farming's big issues via the mailbox; politics pundit calls it quits.
11/19/202235 minutes, 56 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - Ferns fire up rugby's rulers

Midweek Mediawatch:Colin Peacock talks to Karyn Hay about a sporting victory that stirred emotions - and calls for a level playing field. Also: Stuff staff push back at bosses; an exploding whale anniversary - and is social media’s social impact overstated? (Warning: contains traces of peanuts . . .)
11/16/202231 minutes, 37 seconds
Episode Artwork

Irreplaceable images on the block again

A decade ago our biggest newspaper publisher made an ill-fated deal to send its almost all of its entire archive of photos offshore to be digitised. They never came back - and now their LA-based owner has put them on the market online, hoping a buyer will put them in public hands.
11/13/202225 minutes, 27 seconds
Episode Artwork

Herald’s bid to short-circuit short-termism and tribalism

The Herald - and its publisher NZME - has embarked on a months-long series to push back at short-term thinking and political tribalism holding back the post-Covid recovery. Mediawatch asks the driving forces of ‘Rebuilding Better’ how that can be done - and if that means confronting some of the shrillest voices on NZME’s own platforms.
11/12/202230 minutes, 2 seconds
Episode Artwork

Annoying both sides doesn't equal getting it right

Amid a barrage of criticism from across the political spectrum, Elon Musk reached for a defence beloved by editors and journalists. 
11/12/20227 minutes, 22 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 13 November 2022

The Herald's bid to confront big national issues and 'Rebuild Better'; annoying left and right wing doesn't mean doing the right thing; irreplaceable images from papers past on the block.
11/12/202242 minutes, 34 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - Follow the leaders

Midweek Mediawatch - Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Nights. Colin Peacock talked to Karyn Hay about the Labour Party’s conference overshadowed by the latest TV opinion poll - and reporters’ fixation on the party leaders. Also: Winston Peters slams our media offshore; more reactions, reports and revelations about the new public media entity. 
11/9/202225 minutes, 27 seconds
Episode Artwork

Who are New Zealand's journalists today?

Journalists have long suffered the scorn of the public, rating as poorly as the politicians they report on – and used car sellers – when it comes to trustworthiness. But what New Zealand journalists are actually like is rarely examined. Mediawatch looks at the findings from the biggest-ever survey of our media people.
11/6/202225 minutes, 38 seconds
Episode Artwork

Minister and media puts pressure on suppression

The new justice minister has said name suppression in our courts “is not working” because it’s granted too often to people with the means to make a strong bid for it. That puts Kiri Allan on the same page as the media which want greater freedom to report details of court cases of public interest. But would that also jeopardise the right to fair trial? 
11/5/202223 minutes, 2 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 6 November 2022

Minister and media puts pressure on name suppression; who are New Zealand's journalists today?
11/5/202231 minutes, 22 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - political photo ops & tech titans under pressure

Midweek Mediawatch - Hayden Donnell talks to Charlotte Ryan about how the media handle politicians' photo opportunities  - and one politician keeping the media at arm's length. Also - unprecedented scrutiny of the tech titans as Musk takes control of Twitter and Zuckerberg suffers a sudden slide in Facebook’s fortune . . . and Charlotte Ryan held to account for teasing her own followers.  
11/2/202230 minutes, 41 seconds
Episode Artwork

On the overlap - TV rugby double-up stuff-up

NZ Rugby was panned for overlapping the Black Ferns and the All Blacks on the pitch - and on TV - at the same time this weekend - but it wasn’t the first international double-up during the Women’s Rugby World Cup. Meanwhile, some top Auckland schools don’t want their top players on TV any more at all.
10/30/20227 minutes, 23 seconds
Episode Artwork

PM’s exit speculation goes another round

Pundits and presenters aired excitable opinions about the possibility - or probability according to some - that Jacinda Ardern would quit while she was ahead before the next election. It's a re-run of this time last year, when the same source-less speculation filled columns and airtime - and ended up wide of the mark.
10/29/20229 minutes, 29 seconds
Episode Artwork

A doco revival spotlights crime and injustice

A recent revival of local prime-time TV documentaries has highlighted some thorny social issues and raised awkward questions about justice and equality. Among them was a revealing investigation this week showing the cost of white-collar crime dwarfs that of welfare fraud, but draws lighter punishments and gets a lot less scrutiny in the media than the kind of crimes that play out in public.
10/29/202218 minutes, 13 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 30 October 2022

PM's exit speculation goes another round; a doco revival spotlights crime and justice; on the overlap: rugby TV clashes create controversy.
10/29/202234 minutes, 20 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - Politics overkill, talk radio overcooked

Midweek Mediawatch: Colin Peacock talks to Karyn Hay about the media in overdrive over the UK’s political drama; more PR problems in the push for the new public media entity and a talk radio host censured for being mean to a teenager - and who went on to insult an entire country this week.
10/26/202228 minutes, 50 seconds
Episode Artwork

On the sidelines of big news in China

This week's five-yearly meeting of the Chinese Communist Party signposted China's economic and foreign policy for the foreseeable future under President Xi Jinping. That's a big deal for trading nations like ours, but propaganda, vested interests and media restrictions make the coverage difficult and confusing.
10/22/202217 minutes, 48 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 23 October 2022

Bard-gate; on the sidelines of big news in China; chaotic politics sparks crude comebacks - and decency dilemmas.
10/22/202231 minutes, 39 seconds
Episode Artwork

Chaotic politics sparks crude comebacks - and decency dilemmas

The political turmoil in the UK sparked some spectacular emotional reactions - and language not normally fit for broadcast. Meanwhile, one radio host here was pondering just what words should be used on the air and in political interviews. 
10/22/20226 minutes, 5 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch: A media tempest over Shakespeare

In this week's edition of Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Karyn Hay about a misleading and sometimes fact-free media uproar over a small arts grant, new developments in the Kamahl Santamaria saga, and regional reporting cutbacks at Stuff.
10/19/202225 minutes, 49 seconds
Episode Artwork

Heated emissions from media on gas charging plan

Settling on a scheme to charge for agricultural emissions has taken 20 years of consultation, compromise and scientific research - and agriculture’s leading lobby groups were partners in the process. But obstinate objections and contestable claims from loud outsiders got pride of place in some media this week. 
10/16/202213 minutes, 8 seconds
Episode Artwork

Ex-media minister’s hasty move to lobbying

Kris Faafoi masterminded the public media merger that’s now in train, before quitting politics to spend more time with his family last June. Now he wants to spend more time with government again, lobbying for commercial clients. Critics complained about a 'revolving door' between lobbying and government, but the media is part of the equation too.
10/16/20228 minutes, 14 seconds
Episode Artwork

The media and low local election turnout

Once again the local elections were plagued by low voter turnout and a lack of engagement. Is the media coverage, or lack thereof, contributing to the problem - and what can it do to help? 
10/15/202216 minutes, 50 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 16 October 2022

Heated emissions from media on greenhouse gas charging plan; the media and the low, low, local election turnout; ex-media minister's hasty move to lobbying.
10/15/202240 minutes, 49 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - Election angst and rugby joy

Midweek Mediawatch: Colin Peacock talks to Karyn Hay about the fallout from the local elections - Mayor Brown keeping media at arm's length: Also - Women's Rugby World Cup media fever, in spite of competition; speculation about who will lead the new public media entity next year - and Liz Truss as a lettuce. 
10/12/202231 minutes, 53 seconds
Episode Artwork

TVNZ's media marriage at first sight

Media execs aired their angst about the government’s public media plan in parliamentary hearings this week - and the commercial clout TVNZ will bring to the new entity.  TVNZ’s Simon Power talks to Mediawatch about what needs to change, rivals’ fears of its commercial clout - and FBoy Island as a symbol of incompatible cultures. 
10/8/202229 minutes, 29 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 9 October 2022

FBoy Island controversy; TVNZ's boss on the concerns about the public media merger aired on Parliamentary hearings; can epic-scale social media platforms be hacked down to size?
10/8/202243 minutes, 38 seconds
Episode Artwork

Hacking social media down to size 

The world’s richest person put US$44 billion to make Twitter his personal property. Social media pioneer Evan Henshaw-Plath - who co-founded Twitter’s forerunner Odeo - is now here in New Zealand trying to break down the big social platforms. But if they are worth billions of dollars because they have billions of users - isn’t a bit late for that?
10/8/202220 minutes, 58 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch: Journalists become the story

In this week's edition of Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Karyn Hay about journalists coming under fire from the subjects of their stories and an unsurprising scandal over a TVNZ reality show.
10/5/202222 minutes, 18 seconds
Episode Artwork

Hard stats and new voices enter the 'youth crime spike' coverage

Two new pieces of reporting have added context and depth to the headlines blaring about a youth crime wave.
10/2/20229 minutes, 32 seconds
Episode Artwork

More rancour on the road to a new public media entity

This week a Parliamentary committee heard concerns from other media companies about the new public media entity, as opposition attacks on the cost of it intensified.  Meanwhile a significant funding shift for local content came to light, revealing further tensions and uncertainties.
10/1/20228 minutes, 41 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 2 October 2022

More rancour on the road to a new public media entity; youth crime facts and headlines don't match; Christchurch Call digs deep into algorithms.
10/1/202235 minutes, 22 seconds
Episode Artwork

Christchurch Call pushes against the algorithms

New Zealand is leading a bid to break open social media’s secret algorithms as part of The Christchurch Call  response, with backing from some big tech outfits. But without input from the biggest ones, will it undercut the extremism on social media platforms?  Mediawatch asks a social media pioneer who founded the forerunner of Twitter, but now wants to break the power of the big platforms.
10/1/202215 minutes, 18 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - public media angst & awkwardness on air

Midweek Mediawatch: Colin Peacock talks to Karyn Hay about developments in the progress of a new public media entity, and where the money for the content will come from. Also: a couple of awkward on-air interviews that sparked complaints. Were they unfair - or just a bit mean?
9/28/202224 minutes, 51 seconds
Episode Artwork

The push for open justice

Journalists are shining a light on our legal system, revealing some important cases and systemic problems. They're doing so in the face of impediments inside the courts and uncertainty about where the money to pay for the reporting will come from.
9/25/202214 minutes, 37 seconds
Episode Artwork

QE2, queues and cultural cues

A long Anglican church service bookended by mostly-military parades became possibly the most-watched event in media history this week. But many media outlets struggled with what the Queen’s funeral really meant to different people around the planet.
9/24/202214 minutes, 58 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 25 September 2022

QE2, queues and cultural cues; the push for open justice; minister prods TVNZ over public media progress; 'tis the season for tomato angst.
9/24/202240 minutes, 28 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch: A right royal deluge of Queen coverage

In this week's edition of Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Karyn Hay about the deluge of coverage of the death of Queen Elizabeth  - and the not exactly full and frank release of an investigation into National MP Sam Uffindell's past misdemeanours.
9/21/202214 minutes, 27 seconds
Episode Artwork

Platforms under pressure to pay for news

There’s mounting pressure on tech titans Google and Facebook to pay local news media to carry their news online. Google has already done deals with some for its News Showcase, but other big names in news are still trying to get the platforms to pay - and the government’s hinting it could force the issue soon. 
9/17/202226 minutes, 37 seconds
Episode Artwork

Sketchy survey ruffles feathers in the capital

A headline in the Dominion Post this week claimed there was “a clear favourite” among the candidates for Wellington’s Mayor in a “straw poll” capital’s daily itself had run online. But it acknowledged its result was entirely unscientific - and a proper poll out this weekend has a different result.
9/17/20226 minutes, 3 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 18 September 2022

Pressure on the platforms to pay for news; a sketchy political poll that ruffled feathers in the capital; photographers recall the Queen.
9/17/202233 minutes, 54 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - more monarchy and Mike McRoberts

Midweek Mediawatch: Colin Peacock talked to Karyn Hay about the continuing coverage of the Queen’s death as her funeral approaches. Also: a primetime and publicly-funded documentary about a star journalist’s personal te reo journey and reactions to the plan for more Māori content across our media.
9/14/202216 minutes, 46 seconds
Episode Artwork

Queen's death was planned for - but still stressed the press

The media planned for the death of Queen Elizabeth the Second for many years, but when came it still upended the media - and the audience - in a way no other news could. And it also forced media to confront awkward questions about the future at a moment of heightened emotions. 
9/10/20229 minutes, 43 seconds
Episode Artwork

Suddenly, a strategy for Maori media

After four years, two reviews and one big false start, a long-awaited strategy for the future of MÄori broadcasting has been agreed by Cabinet, following substantial boosts to its budget in the last two years. But it’s still far from clear exactly how things will change - and when - for viewers listeners and readers.
9/10/202210 minutes, 39 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 11 September 2022

This week Colin Peacock begins by looking at how media here and overseas reacted to the death of Queen Elizabeth the Second.  He also looks at the reaction to a new government plan for Maori media - and Lotto coming under scrutiny. 
9/10/202234 minutes, 21 seconds
Episode Artwork

Lifting the lid on Lotto

Lotto has a lot of players, but not a lot of media scrutiny in the media compared to forms of gambling - even at a time when our spending on it is soaring. A new investigation shows people who can ill-afford it are spending more, but big decisions by our national gambling outfit have barely been reported.
9/8/20227 minutes, 13 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch: Housing coverage contradictions

Midweek Mediawatch: Hayden Donnell talked to Bryan Crump about a TVNZ emergency housing expose that also raised questions about coverage of the issue - and how the Herald set the record straight on a headline-making lockdown breach last year.  Also - a Mediawatch prediction that fell flat - and breaking news about Bryan himself.
9/7/202215 minutes, 48 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch 7_9

Midweek Mediawatch Sep 7
9/7/202218 minutes, 26 seconds
Episode Artwork

On the outside of the public media push

Commercial media companies fear the new public media entity replacing RNZ and TVNZ will be greater than the sum of those two parts. The draft legislation obliges Aotearoa New Zealand Public Media to “collaborate” with them - but the owner of the biggest local news producer, Stuff, says no-one knows what that means and the law must define its role and responsibilities properly. 
9/4/202211 minutes, 44 seconds
Episode Artwork

Media backlash sparks tax tweak backflip

The GST tweak to Kiwisaver fees that hit the headlines this week was a not bad idea, according to some experts. But the change that was buried in a dense Bill of tax tweaks got dumped in less that a day after it was brought to light by the media. 
9/3/20227 minutes, 23 seconds
Episode Artwork

Taking a more sceptical stance for business

While many big businesses are still posting big profits, workers and consumers are being squeezed by the economic downturn - and industrial unrest is on the rise. One business journalist tells Mediawatch reporting now needs to apply the same scrutiny it brings to politics to our businesses and their leaders.
9/3/202216 minutes, 42 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 4 September 2022

Media backlash sparks tax tweak backflip; taking a more sceptical stance for business; Stuff's Sinead Boucher - on the outside of the public media push; rugby media stuck in a rut by repeated defeats.
9/3/202239 minutes, 40 seconds
Episode Artwork

Stuck in a rugby rut by repeated defeats

The All Backs' win in Hamilton on Saturday will have steadied the nerves of the players, the coach and NZ Rugby - not too mention overwrought fans, pundits and commentators who reacted badly in the wake of the historic away win for Los Pumas last weekend with another wave of angst on air and in print.
9/3/20225 minutes, 48 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - Pumapocalypse and witch-hunt worries

Midweek Mediawatch - Mediawatch’s weekly catch-up with Lately.  Colin Peacock talked to Karyn Hay about yet another All Black rugby-pocalypse playing out in the media; conspiracy candidates under the media's local election lens - and the death of Diana 25 years ago, when breaking news spread much more slowly. 
8/31/202217 minutes, 43 seconds
Episode Artwork

'Funny Boy' Williams caught up in current affairs

The comedy current affairs of self-styled ‘volunteer journalist’ Guy Williams made real news recently when his now-notorious interview with Auckland mayoral hopeful Leo Molloy aired on TV. He’s also confronted conspiracy theorists on his show New Zealand Today. But a suit and a mic don't make him a journalist.
8/28/202216 minutes, 56 seconds
Episode Artwork

Pushback on public media legislation

The legislation for our new public media entity is now before Parliament - but the clock’s ticking on public input. This week media executives, experts and some legal eagles cast their eye over it - and they want changes to protect its independence and make it match the promises of the government's policy.
8/27/202220 minutes, 6 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 28 August 2022

Pushback on public media legislation; Guy Williams - comedian caught up in current affairs; radio interview opportunities for PM go begging.
8/27/202241 minutes, 25 seconds
Episode Artwork

Interview invitations fall on PM's deaf ears

Today FM’s Tova O’Brien said recently - tongue in cheek - it was easier to get President Zelenskiy in Ukraine on her show than our own leader. Her colleague Lloyd Burr got no response when he wanted her on a Today FM podcast about Labour's leaders. They're not the only ones at the network waiting in vain for Jacinda Arden to get in touch . . .
8/27/20223 minutes, 20 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch: Storms and Sharma

In this week's edition of Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Karyn Hay about wild weather reporting, and a political conclusion of sorts to what media called the 'Sharma drama' - which also the swung the spotlight onto poliitcians' attitude to the Official Information Act.    
8/24/202216 minutes, 21 seconds
Episode Artwork

A conundrum over how to cover the conspiracists

This week, a documentary from Stuff Circuit delved into the country's growing extreme far-right and anti-vax movement. Why did the makers of Fire & Fury decide to platform a group of conspiracy-minded idealogues, and what did it get right that others got wrong?
8/21/202231 minutes
Episode Artwork

Dr Sharma's drama plays out in the press

He's said plenty in the media, they've said as little as possible (on the record, at least). That's left media weighing up whether MP-gone-rogue Dr Sharma has really lifted the lid on serous bullying - or just reacted badly to the oversight and occasional coercion that's part and parcel of politics in a governing party. Meanwhile, his claims that MPs have been coached to frustrate official information requests have piqued the particular interest of the media.
8/20/20224 minutes, 15 seconds
Episode Artwork

Media zero in on candidates from the fringes

A notorious white supremacist hit the headlines this week by seeking a spot on his local school board. Amid reports of a shortage of candidates for some local bodies, media have begun probing the affiliations of some standing in upcoming elections - and pondering the prospects of fringe political parties becoming a national force in 2023.
8/20/20228 minutes, 24 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 21 August 2022

Dr Sharma's political drama played out in the press; media zero in on candidates from the fringes; 'Fire and Fury' confronts conundrum of how to cover conspiracists.
8/20/202235 minutes, 50 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - Ukraine at war up close

Mediawatch’s weekly catch-up with Lately. This week Colin Peacock talks to Karyn Hay about Kiwi reporters on the ground in Ukraine to see the effects of war first-hand. Also: reporters’ relationship with rugby management sinks to a new low in South Africa - and Leo Molloy blames media after scrapping his tilt at the mayor’s job. 
8/17/202221 minutes, 21 seconds
Episode Artwork

Political post-mortems - and lessons from the past

Has the media focus on political failings become just too intense? A new book lifting the lid on the National Party in opposition has revealed more about the struggles, scandals and scraps that were heavily reported at the time. Mediawatch asks a former political reporter who dug into Labour’s years in The Wilderness what we learn from political post-mortems like these. 
8/14/202215 minutes, 32 seconds
Episode Artwork

Media pile pressure on MPs' misbehaviour and missteps

One MP’s past misbehaviour put pressure on National - then another claimed bullying was rife in Labour during what turned into an expectedly turbulent week in party politics for the media. But even before all that hit the headlines, the media made a big deal out of minor political missteps that few people cared about.
8/13/202214 minutes, 20 seconds
Episode Artwork

Punching above our Commonwealth weight?

The Kiwi contingent at the The Commonwealth Games headed home from Birmingham this week with a record number of medals. Patriots in the press were pumped up, but did we really punch above our weight in a tournament one critic called 'The $2 shop Olympics'?
8/13/20225 minutes, 35 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 14 August 2022

  Media pile pressure on over MPs misbehaviour and mis-steps; political post-mortems and lessons from the past; punching above our Commonwealth weight?
8/13/202236 minutes, 10 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - political scoop hauls skeleton out of the cupboard

In this week's Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Karyn Hay about the media copping flak for how they handled MP Sam Uffindell's past misdeeds, a pair of great documentaries on student life - and why a defunct offshore outlet 's getting big bucks from the government to talk to our youth about relationships.
8/10/202220 minutes, 9 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch: Mounting fake news prompts calls for action

Two government agencies have revealed mounting concern about the intensity and the impact of online misinformation - and prompted loud calls for government action. But behind the scenes the government’s already reviewing how to regulate media content to better protect us from ‘harm’ online - and the mega-profitable digital platforms are heading in new directions.
8/7/202216 minutes, 29 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch: A government in the gun over accidental generosity

The government came under fire over some misdirected cost of living payments this week, but the more enduring story might be who didn't get paid, rather than who did.
8/6/20228 minutes, 47 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 7 August 2022

The cost of living cash controversy; calls for action over malicious misinformation - and the government review already underway.
8/6/202231 minutes, 43 seconds
Episode Artwork

‘Absolute scenes’ - but not on our screens

Midweek Mediawatch: Colin Peacock talks to Karyn Hay about scurrilous rumours that hit one media company in the pocket - and also amped up calls to curb social media misinformation, just as our media minister signaled his concern. Also: ‘absolute scenes’ from a headline making, barrier-breaking football tournament that wasn't screened on TV here.
8/3/202219 minutes, 27 seconds
Episode Artwork

Public media legislation takes another step

The Bill setting out the role and obligations of the new public media entity easily passed its first reading in Parliament this week. Members of the public can finally have their say on the plan formed behind-closed-doors when a Parliamentary committee scrutinises the Aotearoa New Zealand Public Media Bill over the next six months.
7/31/20224 minutes, 18 seconds
Episode Artwork

Greens’ grass roots 'revolt' excites media

Parliament’s press pack and political pundits alike made a big deal of Greens’ grass roots dissent undermining James Shaw’s leadership after last week’s AGM. But only a few of the many reports and commentaries sounded out the people at the heart of the issue. 
7/30/20229 minutes, 18 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 31 July 2022

Revolt among Greens' grass roots excites media; new public media legislation takes another step; conflict of interest claims; shock of the news - the art of short, sharp theme tunes.
7/30/202232 minutes, 29 seconds
Episode Artwork

Caustic claims of conflict of interest

A media report this week suggested TVNZ allowing some personalities to promote products online could cause conflicts of interest - and pose a problem in future within the new media entity replacing the broadcaster.  But the strongest concern about that came from a surprising source.
7/30/20228 minutes
Episode Artwork

Shock of the news - the art of short sharp theme tunes

What makes a good tune to go with the news today? Big, bold and bombastic? Subtle and smooth? Trad or mod? Mediawatch asks a journalist with world’s biggest collection of news theme music - and get his picks of the world's best and worst.  
7/30/202213 minutes, 54 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - Climate context & Hawaiian holidays

In this week's edition of Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Bryan Crump about a big resignation at TVNZ, media outlets getting it right on climate coverage, news stories vanishing without trace, and Christopher Luxon's Hawaiian holiday timeline tangle.
7/27/202217 minutes, 48 seconds
Episode Artwork

Criticism of mini-doco funding hits a dead end

Why did criticism of a modest sum spent on a single mini-documentary made two years ago suddenly spring up in the news in two national networks this week - and then disappear? 
7/24/20228 minutes, 11 seconds
Episode Artwork

Media go in boots ‘n all on ABs coach - and comms

An effort to shield the under-fire All Blacks coach from a media mauling last weekend fired up commentators already cranky about the high-handedness of rugby bosses. But given the intensity of some media calls for heads to roll, Mediawatch asks a veteran sportswriter if the move made sense.
7/23/202223 minutes, 31 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 24 July 2022

Media go in boots 'n' all on All Blacks coach - and comms; latest women's sports coverage stats reveal good and bad news ;criticism of mini-doco funding hits a dead end
7/23/202232 minutes, 58 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch: A nation in mourning

In this week's edition of Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Karyn Hay about an outpouring of grief and opprobrium following the All Blacks' home series loss to Ireland, an uproar over a comedian's venture into political coverage, and a threat to free speech we hardly talk about.
7/20/202221 minutes, 3 seconds
Episode Artwork

Sick and tired of the sickness

Covid has now killed around 1700 people in New Zealand, but much of our news reporting and commentary has focused on how we're learning to live with the virus. Why is there such a mismatch between the media coverage about "moving on", and the reality of a pandemic that's inflicting more suffering and death than ever before?
7/17/202219 minutes, 11 seconds
Episode Artwork

'Double your money' property pitches still circulating

Property prices are sliding after decades of big returns for investors - and property stories and ads have been highly profitable for the media in that time too. Recent warnings the ‘one way bet' on property could be a thing of the past have made headlines - but property investors with a media presence are still saying it's safe as houses.
7/16/20227 minutes, 55 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 17 July 2022

Sick and tired of the Covid sickness; property price predictions run hot in the media; the rugby clash that didn't make headlines.
7/16/202235 minutes, 36 seconds
Episode Artwork

The rugby clash that didn’t make headlines

The men in green won in a classic decider this weekend - after a win last weekend in which two men in black were carded after clashes of heads. Rugby writers and fans here complained the rules spoiled the spectacle - but overseas coverage carried much more concern about brand new rules to protect players’ brains being flouted.
7/16/20225 minutes, 43 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - noise over nurses

In this week's Midweek Mediawatch, Colin Peacock talks to Karyn Hay about an unvaccinated nurses intervening in the current crisis in healthcare - and another batch of journalism jobs and content funded from the public purse. Also: a road rage TV show pulled off the air - and a blunt assessment of a TVNZ dating show yet to screen.   
7/13/202218 minutes, 37 seconds
Episode Artwork

The worst of times?

There‘s plenty of worrying news around at the moment - alongside crisis claims in the media about imminent economic recession and even collective national depression. Are the media helping us identify the structural stuff we really need to confront - or over-egging short-term problems that will come right?
7/9/20229 minutes, 25 seconds
Episode Artwork

Radio Australia? RNZ's musical outsourcing under fire

The bombastic tunes broadcasters use for news become so familiar we barely notice them - until they change. RNZ is being criticised by local musicians and their industry bodies over its decision to outsource the $43,000 contract for new theme music to an Australian outfit. 
7/9/202217 minutes, 5 seconds
Episode Artwork

Hospo's acute recruitment hassles hit headlines again

Hospitality's acute shortage of workers made headlines again this week after one minister told operators to up their game on pay and conditions. While bosses told media they can’t find workers no matter what they offer, the media couldn't seem to find any workers for their coverage - or useful facts for the audience about what’s on offer.
7/9/202211 minutes, 26 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 10 July 2022

The worst of times?; Hospo can't find workers - but neither can the media; RNZ changes the tunes for news.
7/9/202236 minutes, 43 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - suspected spoofs and strong satire

Midweek Mediawatch: Colin Peacock talks to Bryan Crump about a Country Calendar episode some thought was a spoof (it wasn’t) - and satire deployed to tackle two topics that are no laughing matter. 
7/6/202217 minutes, 42 seconds
Episode Artwork

New minister in charge at a pivotal media moment

Legislation to create a new public media entity entered Parliament this week. Mediawatch talks to the new broadcasting minister Willie Jackson about how that will work, the future of Māori media - and how he has given mainstream media a hard time as a broadcaster himself down the years.  
7/3/202231 minutes, 13 seconds
Episode Artwork

Roe v Wade ruling triggers intense media reaction

Some said the US Supreme Court’s controversial ruling on abortion was none of our business, because we don’t have the same legal or political set-up, let alone its religious cleavages and cultural conflicts. Opinion leaders in our media didn't agree - and provoked a significant political response.
7/3/20227 minutes, 36 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 3 July 2022

Abortion angst in America triggers media reaction here; Willie Jackson: new minister in charge at pivotal media moment.
7/2/202236 minutes, 46 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch: A sudden dose of empathy

In this week's Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Bryan Crump about the lessons ZB's Kate Hawkesby learned from a bad bout of Covid - and National leader Christopher Luxon squirming under the media spotlight following the US Supreme Court's decision on abortion.
6/29/202216 minutes, 9 seconds
Episode Artwork

Tragic crash sparks muddled media reaction

In the wake of one of our deadliest car crashes, the media upset some by lingering on the aftermath. Pundits and radio hosts claimed costly advertising campaigns came at the cost of safer roads - but deeper reporting revealed the real causes of deaths on our roads are much more complicated.
6/26/202212 minutes, 31 seconds
Episode Artwork

Public media: new name, new law, new minister, old questions

Draft legislation for a new public media entity was finally made public this week - and the new broadcasting minister also made his first appearance in that role in Parliament. But while MPs were supposed to scrutinise how pumped-up public media funding will be spent, Willie Jackson faced mostly party-political claims of 'buying' the news media.
6/25/20225 minutes, 56 seconds
Episode Artwork

The Conversation that's five years old

A platform that promises academic rigour and journalistic flair is marking a major milestone, and making plans for bigger things to come.  
6/25/202222 minutes, 46 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 26 June 2022

Tragic crash sparks muddled media reaction; New public media details revealed - but new Minister faces old questions; The Conversation is five years old.
6/25/202235 minutes, 53 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - Matters of life, death and health

Midweek Mediawatch: Colin Peacock talks to Karyn Hay about matters of life, death and health in the media lately - the strong reaction to a terrible tragedy on the roads; a follow-up to ‘Patrick Gower on Booze’ - and another TV show seeking to improve our health- ‘Match Fit.’ Also - the curious case of the vanishing BoJo scoop. 
6/22/202220 minutes, 7 seconds
Episode Artwork

'Minor' reshuffle sparks major media reaction

“Just a minor reshuffle” the PM said on Monday - angering political reporters and pundits always on the alert for ministerial downfalls.  But it was definitely a major for broadcasting, where a minister making more time for his family has made way for a new one who’s given mainstream media a hard time in the past.
6/18/20229 minutes, 54 seconds
Episode Artwork

Media grapples with misinformation in Fair Pay fight

Workers and employers took up predictable positions over legislation to usher in Fair Pay Agreements now being scrutinised in Parliament. A concerted campaign to have them declared illegitimate has been labeled as ‘misinformation’ by critics - and it’s given the media a problem too. 
6/18/202215 minutes, 34 seconds
Episode Artwork

New minister quizzed on bias, but not the big bucks

xxx
6/18/20225 minutes, 57 seconds
Episode Artwork

'Brexit bad boy' libel loss hailed as win for media

A self-styled 'bad boy of Brexit' who promised to make "mayhem and mischief" in politics here has lost a long-running libel case against a journalist who alleged he had ties to Russia. Media freedom advocates are hailing it as a win for journalism. But is it?     
6/18/20229 minutes, 45 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 19 June 2022

'Minor reshuffle' sparks major media reaction; Brexit bad boy's legal loss hailed as media victory; media grapples with misinformation in fierce fair Pay fight
6/18/202233 minutes, 51 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch: Booze and bad religion

In this week's edition of Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Bryan Crump about new revelations on Gloriavale from John Campbell, a deeply personal take on booze culture from Patrick Gower, and the 'soft on crime' narrative that spelled the end for police minister Poto Williams.
6/15/202217 minutes, 41 seconds
Episode Artwork

Whistleblower law leaves media out of the loop

The Protected Disclosures Act was updated for the first time in 20 years recently with little fanfare or media attention. The government says it better protects whistleblowers who stick their necks out to report wrongdoing where they work - but not if they go to the media with it. Why not? Does this matter?
6/12/202219 minutes, 33 seconds
Episode Artwork

Miscarriage of justice under media microscope

Several journalists over the years reported the flaws in the case against Alan Hall, whose conviction for the murder of Arthur Easton was finally quashed this week - 37 years after he was first arrested. Does this show the power of the media to expose wrongful convictions - or the limits?
6/11/202215 minutes, 35 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 12 June 2022

Miscarriage of justice under the media microscope; whistleblower law leaves media out of the loop; speed limit slowdown revs up radio rancour.
6/11/202236 minutes, 39 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawtch - Platty Jubes & mean Swedes

Midweek Mediawatch: Colin Peacock talks to Bryan Crump about a Christopher Luxon profile that fired up critics - and how the Internet turned on Sweden - while the UK got a glut of good global PR from the BBC’s ‘Platty Jubes’.
6/8/202215 minutes, 37 seconds
Episode Artwork

Santamaria strife echoes past misconduct mess at TVNZ

Presenter Kamahl Santamaria quit TVNZ in scandalous circumstances after just a month on air, making awkward headlines in the news all week. The company's mishandling of the news echoed other dramas from the broadcaster's past.
6/4/202214 minutes, 42 seconds
Episode Artwork

The Dominion Post gets real on climate action

Despite scientists issuing dire warnings about us being us on a path toward an unliveable world, climate action is often met with shock and concern in the media. This week The Dominion Post decided to flip the script.
6/4/202218 minutes, 1 second
Episode Artwork

Photojournalism fundraiser highlights history in images

When former Herald illustrations editor Rob Tucker put out a call for photos to auction for charity, photographers around the country responded with a stunning array of images which will be sold off in September. Not only are they vivid vignettes of our past, they’re also examples of an art form we won’t see again. 
6/4/202215 minutes, 6 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 5 June 2022

TVNZ struggles with Samtamaria saga; photojournalist compiles classic collection for a good cause; Dom Post campaign cuts across car culture to cut emissions.
6/4/202236 minutes, 35 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch: TVNZ reports a scandal at TVNZ

In this week's Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Bryan Crump about how TVNZ reporters are covering the sudden resignation of star host Kamahl Santamaria after just one month - and a mauve-tinged rebrand at Stuff. 
6/1/202214 minutes, 3 seconds
Episode Artwork

Two decades of internet disruption

The Internet hasn’t just disrupted the media business in this millennium so far: it’s transformed it - and, in some cases, overwhelmed it. As he steps down after two decades at Internet NZ, Jordan Carter looks back on how the web has become now the main means of reaching people - and the problems that brings with it. 
5/28/202220 minutes, 57 seconds
Episode Artwork

More unanswered questions about public media plan

The government’s planned new Public Media Entity - backed with $109m a year in last week's Budget - was debated in a virtual meeting this week. But beyond expanded public funding for three years, little more is known about how it will be run, by whom and what it will produce.  
5/28/202210 minutes, 47 seconds
Episode Artwork

Motoring money makes moral conundrum for media

New car sales have never been higher with more being spent on slick ads and sponsorships to make vehicles visible via the media. But for our media that much-needed money jars with commitments to cover the climate emergency. One outlet's drawn a line in the gravel with a clear commitment to give petrol power a swerve. Could others follow? 
5/28/202214 minutes, 39 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 29 May 2022

PM in USA; two decades of Internet disruption; more questions to answer on public media plan; motoring money gives media climate conundrum.
5/28/202234 minutes, 29 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch: Stuff's new stance on 'the C word'

In this week's edition of Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Anna Thomas about some kooky Australian election coverage, a bold new stance on car reviewing from BusinessDesk, a memo from Stuff on the 'C word', and war coverage with a difference from The Listener.
5/25/202219 minutes, 32 seconds
Episode Artwork

Slaves to the algorithm?

Big tech and social media bosses pledged to eradicate online extremism in Christchurch Call three years ago in Paris - and today they claim atrocities which echo the 15 March massacre don't go viral online anymore. But their algorithms which amplify extremism and radicalise people in the first place still operate unchecked.
5/21/202224 minutes, 44 seconds
Episode Artwork

Public media's future funding made public - partly

After months of behind-closed-doors planning, Budget 2022 has at last put some fresh figures for the government's planned public media entity into the public domain. The increase in public funding is substantial, but the precise mix of commercial and public revenue is still unclear - as is the future beyond 2026.  
5/21/20225 minutes, 44 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 22 May 2022

Slaves to the algorithm - big tech's mathematical maximising of engagement undermines the Christchurch Call three years on; Budget 2022 - public media entity's funding finally made public; Budget 2022 - more for Maori media, but where's the strategy?
5/21/202236 minutes, 14 seconds
Episode Artwork

More money for Māori media - but where’s the strategy?

Māori media got a $40m boost in Budget 2022, following a similar increase to fund more content and jobs last year. But where the strategic review of the Māori media sector that kicked off nearly four years ago?
5/20/202210 minutes, 11 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - covering the emissions mission

This week Colin Peacock talks to Karyn Hay about coverage of the climate change budget within a 'Budget'. Also: a local paper cartoon condemned as racist; health workers' ongoing disputes  - and is this country really listed among the worst for labour law breaches?
5/18/202224 minutes, 12 seconds
Episode Artwork

Re-Platformed: radio outcasts make their own outlet

Sean Plunket has launched a new news outlet for himself - and other broadcasters edged out of talk radio in recent years. The Platform proudly proclaims it's editorially and financially free from any government influence and finance - and is urging listeners to ‘join the resistance.’ Mediawatch looks back on its first week of live output and asks the founder if it's really any different to what’s already on the air.
5/14/202227 minutes, 32 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 15 May 2022

Re- Platformed - Sean Plunket launches new live outlet urging listeners to 'join the resistance'; outgoing censor on plans to re-jig regulation of media content.
5/14/202240 minutes, 22 seconds
Episode Artwork

Outgoing chief censor calls for media regulation re-jig

The Chief Censor’s Office used to worry about the odd boundary-pushing book, film or video game. These days it's  extreme stuff published online that forms the bulk of the work. David Shanks leaves the top job as the government embarks on a re-jig of regulating all media content to “better protect us from harm.” Could that compromise the media’s fundamental freedoms?
5/14/202217 minutes, 16 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch: Climate journalism that gets results

In this week's Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Karyn Hay about iffy info about the new Dr Who, a journalist making a change in policy on climate change; and an article echoing homeowners' fears of new houses - alongside one lifting the lid on the damp reality of renting rotten old ones.
5/11/202216 minutes, 7 seconds
Episode Artwork

Warning from history in ‘gang warfare’ panics

Recent reports about gangs and an upswing in gun crime echo a similar panic 25 years ago which prompted a political backlash and hasty changes in the law. A new report looking back at that says most changes didn't work - and the media was part of the problem. 
5/8/20227 minutes, 3 seconds
Episode Artwork

'Ram raid epidemic' reports deliver a distorted message on youth crime

Anyone reading the headlines on ram raids in recent weeks could be forgiven for thinking youth crime has hit crisis levels. But data shows that's not the case, and some say the media could do better at putting the robberies in context.
5/7/202215 minutes, 54 seconds
Episode Artwork

Top TV cop show returns after racism review

A year ago, the country’s top cop show - Police Ten-7 - was under fire for racial stereotyping. The show's makers rejected that - and so did their partners in the Police.  But broadcaster TVNZ ran a review and re-formatted the show as a result. It was back on air this week. What's changed?
5/7/20227 minutes, 45 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 8 May 2022

Headlines about youth crime surging and ramraids distort true picture; a warning from history over gangs-and-guns coverage; top TV cop show back after racial stereotyping review.
5/7/202232 minutes, 17 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch: Rule it out? Cut it out!

Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Lately. This week Colin Peacock talks to Karyn Hay about taxing the rich becoming a hot topic for political reporters - and one who says it's time to cut out 'rule it out' questions. Also: Simon Bridges bowing out with a shot at the media, a poll picking out public suspicion about public funds for private media, tough times for data journalism - and two Kiwi sportswomen telling it like it is.   
5/4/202223 minutes, 6 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch: Ukraine's war and the media

Some are already calling the invasion of Ukraine a turning point in world history. How we react is shaped by the media coverage - and most of what we get comes from outlets in countries that have taken sides. Does this matter? And how are both sides making the media a part of the battle plans? Mediawatch asks two offshore experts in international journalism and conflict.
4/30/202235 minutes, 18 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch: Elon's Twitter takeover

In this week's edition of Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Karyn Hay about a murderers' row of interviews for National leader Christopher Luxon and the free speech implications of Elon Musk's Twitter takeover.
4/27/202215 minutes, 43 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 24 April 2022

Two years ago this week the country's media chiefs told MPs Covid had crushed their cashflow and the viability of the news media was in doubt. Two years later, Mediawatch asks one boss: is the crisis all over now? Also - Tracey Martin, newly appointed as the chair of the transitional board forming the new public media entity - and Mike Noon, the main voice for motorists in the media for a decade and half.
4/23/202244 minutes, 53 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - Gotcha vs Google it, mate

Midweek Mediawatch - Colin Peacock talks to Karyn Hay about an Aussie politician whose ‘Google it, mate’ riposte to a reporter’s ‘gotcha’ question struck a chord recently - and the otherwise invisible (so far) Aussie election. Also: how some media seized on an off-the-cuff comment on public transport - and dumped on the Te Huia train.
4/20/202217 minutes, 45 seconds
Episode Artwork

Print and paper problems for publishers

‘Not worth the paper it’s printed on' is a common jibe at sub-standard journalism - but paper’s worth a lot these days and one of our biggest printing plants has closed citing shortages offshore. How did that happen in a country full of trees? And where does it leave local publications that struggled through the Covid crisis?
4/16/202212 minutes, 24 seconds
Episode Artwork

Missing voices in media marking the switch to Orange

The easing of restrictions on pubs, clubs, cafes and restaurants after the Covid traffic light went 'Orange' this week was celebrated by media urging us to 'put on our dancing shoes'. Owners and industry reps' approval was also front and centre - but not the people working at the front desk or front line.       
4/16/202215 minutes, 8 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 17 April 2022

Print and paper problems for publishers; missing voices as media mark the orange traffic light switch; MP's exit excites media.
4/16/202236 minutes, 12 seconds
Episode Artwork

MP's exit excites media keen on conflict

Louisa Wall left Parliament this week after condemning the colleagues who manoeuvred her out as a candidate - and telling the media the PM didn't want her as a minister or an MP. Several pundits and political reporters insisted this was a sign of wider rancour in the ranks of the government and intolerance of dissent. But that wasn't where the real public interest lay.
4/16/20227 minutes, 14 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch: A new angle on housing

Midweek Mediawatch: Hayden Donnell talks to Karyn Hay about alternative approaches to stories about our housing and transport problems - and news media getting a green light to try and get Facebook and Google around the table.
4/13/202216 minutes, 52 seconds
Episode Artwork

Measuring trust is tricky with suspicious minds

Last year the biggest annual survey of Kiwis’ trust in news found it was on the slide, though it wasn’t quite clear why. Since then there’s been plenty of anti-media sentiment at anti-government protests - and record levels of online misinformation misleading ever more people. So what's the story now? 
4/10/202222 minutes, 25 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mismatch in coverage of climate science and climate solutions

The media has for the most part accepted climate change is a crisis, and time is running out to implement fixes. But climate solutions, particularly when it comes to transport and housing, are still often framed in the most negative terms.
4/9/202219 minutes, 32 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 10 April 2022

Planes, trains and automobiles vs. climate change; measuring media trust gets tricky with sus pickups minds; pundit's claim of compromised coverage undermined.
4/9/202238 minutes, 49 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch 6 April 2022

Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Lately on RNZ National. Colin Peacock talks to Karyn Hay about new moves in the ‘post-Covid’ media; a new job for John Campbell; and an unusual censorship decision here that’s made headlines overseas.
4/6/202213 minutes, 58 seconds
Episode Artwork

NZME undermines collective bid to confront tech titans

Google and Facebook have distributed New Zealand media outlets' news online for years - for free. Local media companies joined forces last year in a bid to get them to pay for it. But one of the biggest - NZME - has now pulled the rug out from under it by doing its own deals.
4/3/20228 minutes, 24 seconds
Episode Artwork

Pushback against the upswing of political nastiness

Online abuse of politicians is on the rise - especially for women, including the PM and local councilors. This week one was able to unmask her anonymous abuser and the media played a part. But this weekend The Dominion Post showed vividly that there's plenty more where that came from - and the media face awkward choices about online trolling designed to damage political opponents.
4/2/202210 minutes, 30 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 3 April 2022

Pushback against the upswing of political nastiness; NZME undermines collective bid to confront tech titans; Today FM's Dallas Gurney .
4/2/202240 minutes, 8 seconds
Episode Artwork

Today FM's Gurney: Dallas cowboy - or talk radio saviour?

Before its launch, the boss of new talk station Today FM promised a new approach eschewing anger and antagonism just for the sake of engagement. The first fortnight's been a mix of some of that - as well as some old-school contrarianism from hosts notorious for it in the past. Mediawatch asks Dallas Gurney where it's all heading.
4/2/202220 minutes, 38 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - spotlight on falls from grace

Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Lately on RNZ National. Colin Peacock talks to Karyn Hay about TVNZ keeping allies abandoned in Afghanistan on the agenda; a revealing front page exclusive with a fallen sports star; and the Oscars slap heard  - and seen - around the world. 
3/29/202216 minutes, 17 seconds
Episode Artwork

Opening up not all it's cracked up to be for business

Even after the government announced it was relaxing Covid restrictions on Wednesday, business leaders responded with a familiar call for more freedom. But looser restrictions haven't shored up their bottom line so far - and some businesses aren't comfortable with the dominant media narrative.
3/26/202220 minutes, 27 seconds
Episode Artwork

New talk station offers new approach - but also same old bluster

MediaWorks launched its latest talk radio network this week - Today FM - promising a constructive approach in contrast with its predecessors and its rivals. It sounds like an upgrade, but there’s still plenty of opinionated bluster for familiar names from the past. Mediawatch listens in on the first week.
3/26/202216 minutes, 31 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 27 March 2022

Covid countermeasures canned amid chorus of commentators urging us to 'open up'; new talk station offers new approach - but also same old bluster; new TV channels add entertainment options.
3/26/202232 minutes, 49 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch: An anti-vax PR blitz?

In this week's edition of Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Karyn Hay about a good start for Tova O'Brien and a not-so-good one for Duncan Garner on new talk station Today FM - and the weekend papers airing more of the grievances of the Covid convoy crowd at Parliament.
3/23/202215 minutes, 6 seconds
Episode Artwork

Fast-rising prices - and loud cries of 'crisis'

After the media seized on 'pain at the pump' the PM was pressed to concede sudden spikes in prices constituted 'a crisis.' She eventually did, but - like a pricey petrol - that only gets us so far.
3/19/202213 minutes, 5 seconds
Episode Artwork

Pulling young Kiwis into the loop with news

Younger Kiwis have been turning away from traditional news media outlets and bulletins for years, and the media they’re using most heavily have little news. But podcast listening is growing fast among the young, and two journalists have created a new one to bring news to their peers.
3/19/202220 minutes, 55 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 20 March 2022

Fast-rising prices and loud cries of 'crisis' ; pulling young Kiwis into the loop with news; new talk network's soft-launch opinions.
3/19/202238 minutes, 19 seconds
Episode Artwork

A soothing scroll through Today FM's opinion section

Today FM is set to take on Newstalk ZB in a battle for talk radio supremacy. But in contrast to its controversy-courting crosstown rival, its website is demonstrating a surprisingly tranquil approach to opinion-making.
3/19/20226 minutes, 5 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - 16 March 2022

Midweek Mediawatch: Colin Peacock talks to Karyn Hay about foreign correspondents bringing Ukraine’s war to the small screen; big issues the backdrop to the big public media shake-up; groupthink on political polls - and a new radio network nearly ready to roll.
3/15/202221 minutes, 37 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 13 March 2022

The government has confirmed it is creating a new public media entity next year to incorporate RNZ and TVNZ. It's the biggest shake-up in broadcasting for years but unanswered questions remain. So what's the plan, how will it work, what will it cost and what will New Zealanders get out of it?
3/12/202239 minutes, 55 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch: 'Graph crime' - and corruption claims

In this week's Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Karyn Hay about a 'graph crime' amplifying anxieties about mental health - and what happened when the Herald's editors fronted up to readers' questions about media funding, corruption and bias.
3/9/202218 minutes, 5 seconds
Episode Artwork

Newsroom accused of publicising anti-vax PR pitch

A few days before the occupation of Parliament dissolved in a wave of fire and violence, Newsroom published soft-focus vision of it in a report called 'A visit to Freedom Village'. It's now being accused of falling for the PR strategies of professional purveyors of misinformation.
3/5/202218 minutes, 56 seconds
Episode Artwork

Shock and awe-ful takes on Ukraine's invasion

There were lots of were warning signs over recent months - and Russian-backed forces were already fighting in parts of Ukraine from 2014 onwards. But Russia's invasion this month still seemed to take many in the media by surprise.
3/5/20226 minutes
Episode Artwork

Broadcasting ‘flying blind’ on public media plan

What could be the biggest shake-up of public broadcasting for 30 years reportedly got a green light from Cabinet ministers last month. But the public’s still waiting for the government to announce what's been decided behind close doors - and so are the broadcasters, with TVNZ's chair telling MPs this week are they “flying blind.”
3/5/20225 minutes, 49 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 6 March 2022

Soft-focus protest portrayals jar with violent end to occupation; shock and awe-ful takes on Ukraine's catastrophe; broadcasters 'flying blind' on public media plan.
3/5/202232 minutes, 31 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - pitchforks at Parliament

Midweek Mediawatch - Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Lately. This week Colin Peacock talked to Karyn Hay about reporters targeted again at the flashpoints in Wellington - which jarred with with earlier soft-focus accounts of life at 'Camp Freedom.’  Also: why Sky TV dumped the '24-hour Putin People' channel.
3/2/202219 minutes, 49 seconds
Episode Artwork

Parliament protest: Making sense of extreme scenes and unsavoury stories

The occupation around Parliament has become the most heavily-covered protest since the ‘81 Tour- in spite of the considerable hostility reporters have faced documenting it. But arguments still rage about what’s really happened - and what it all means. 
2/26/202228 minutes, 27 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 27 February 2022

The occupation around Parliament has become the most heavily-covered protest since the '81 Tour- in spite of the considerable hostility reporters have faced documenting it. But arguments still rage about what's really happened - and what it all means. Also - big changes are afoot for state-owned media and the regulators - but they have barely been discussed so far at their annual reviews at Parliament.
2/26/202234 minutes, 20 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch: A shaky take on booster benefits

In this week's edition of Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Karyn Hay about Mike Hosking's regrets about being boosted, NZME's financial comeback from Covid - and emotional scenes as pioneering TV news show Te Karere turns 40.
2/23/202214 minutes, 37 seconds
Episode Artwork

Public service screened by 'communications complex'

Dominion Post editor Anna Fifield says after 20 years reporting offshore - she’s shocked at the “communications industrial complex” she says shields our government and public service from media scrutiny. It’s not a new complaint - but is it really worse here than in any other modern democracy?
2/20/202215 minutes, 26 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mad, bad or mostly moderate? Media's mixed message on protest

There was plenty of condemnation of the occupation of Parliament in the media at first - but this week some media painted a much more palatable picture of the protesters and their motivations. Those who track the far-right and the media channels they use warn that ignores and obscures the protest's dark undercurrents.
2/19/202227 minutes, 31 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 20 February 2022

Mixed messages from media on Parliament protesters; extremism and the media; DomPost pushes back on public service obfuscation; sweary dad's live TV f-bomb double.
2/19/202242 minutes, 3 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - 16 February 2022

Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Lately. This week Colin Peacock talked to Karyn Hay about mixed messages in the media about those protesters at Parliament. Also:  the value of public money for media questioned - and can spoken word songs count as journalism? 
2/16/202213 minutes, 59 seconds
Episode Artwork

Covid-19 convoy conundrum confronts news editors

Covid skeptics occupied Parliament grounds this week under the banner of ‘freedom’ - and many other things. Did media coverage amplify their fringe views? Should media do more to understand them and what motivates their movement - in spite of their obvious hostility to the media themselves? Mediawatch asks an editor wrestling with those dilemmas.   
2/13/202224 minutes, 4 seconds
Episode Artwork

Quest for certainty undercuts Omicron analysis

Everyone wants to know how bad our Omicron outbreak might get - and when. But experts running the numbers on that have copped flak in the media when scenarios they’ve been told to scope don't pan out. Meanwhile, media pundits who’ve been wrong in the past don't hold back on predicting the future.
2/12/202210 minutes, 35 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 13 February 2022

Convoy conundrum confronts editors; quest for certainty undercuts Omicron analysis; sweary Dad's minties moment.
2/12/202239 minutes, 50 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch: divining the polls a shaky science

In this week's edition of Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Karyn Hay about commentators reading the tea leaves over the latest political poll, Sean Plunket's new online talkback station, and a start date being set for Today FM.
2/9/202212 minutes, 36 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for Waitangi Day 2022

For years Māori  journalism leaders warned not enough training, investment or opportunities meant Māori  people and perspectives were mostly missing in our mainstream media. This Waitangi Day he looks at a big publicly-funded push to address the problem.
2/6/202230 minutes, 46 seconds
Episode Artwork

Publicly-funded boost for Māori media

For years Māori journalism leaders warned a lack of training, investment and opportunities meant Māori people and perspectives were mostly missing in our media. But more effort and money than ever before is now being put in. On Waitangi Day, Mediawatch talks to some of those involved in a publicly-funded push to address this  - and some of the problems.
2/5/202228 minutes, 35 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch: broadcaster's MIQ mission fires up media

Mediawatch’s weekly catch-up with Lately on RNZ National.  This week Colin Peacock talked to Bryan Crump about the fallout from broadcaster Charlotte Bellis’s media campaign against MIQ. Also: over-the-top overseas coverage of our Covid response; the first big political poll of the year zeroing in on party leaders’ popularity . . . and do presenters ever sneeze live on TV?
2/2/202218 minutes, 8 seconds
Episode Artwork

Covering Tonga’s eruption - without communications

That epic undersea eruption in Tonga was heard around the region - and recorded and analysed in minute detail, even from space. But a comprehensive communications wipeout cut reporters off from sources for days. So how do they cover a story with almost no access to basic facts? 
1/30/202212 minutes, 41 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 30 January 2022

Covering Tonga's crisis - without communications; summer silly season gets serious as Omicron arrives; reputations trashed in summer scandals.
1/29/202230 minutes
Episode Artwork

Silly season turns serious as Omicron arrives

It’s business as usual for the media again: all Covid, all the time with the whole country back in the red (traffic light). But even before Omicron inevitably broke through, anti-vaxxers and their fans provided rich pickings for our news-starved media - in spite of the fact they're now more of a minority than ever.
1/29/202215 minutes, 53 seconds
Episode Artwork

Thick-skinned stars savaged by summer scandals

While Brian Tamaki behind bars made headlines here, the world’s biggest anti-vaxxer created bulletin-leading drama round the world when he was detained across the Tasman. Meanwhile in the UK 'Partygate' revelations forced Britain’s mockery merchants to up their game. But a former Aussie hell-raiser is showing them there is a way back for trashed reputations. 
1/29/20228 minutes, 59 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 30 January 2022

Covering Tonga's crisis - without communications; summer silly season gets serious as Omicron arrives; reputations trashed in summer scandals.
1/29/202235 minutes, 1 second
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch: Tova O'Brien barred from starting Today on time

In this week's Midweek Mediawatch Hayden Donnell talks to Karyn Hay about the employment dispute keeping Tova O'Brien off the air and creating bad blood between broadcasters. Also - non-commercial RNZ falls foul of the advertising watchdog, good and bad in the latest North & South - and Hilary Barry cops a big bill for chocolate fish.
1/26/202216 minutes, 16 seconds
Episode Artwork

The Mediawatch Christmas Bonus

2021’s almost gone - but not forgotten - though it would be nice to be able to forget large parts of it.  Before we flip into 2022, Mediawatch looks at what's coming up next year - and some more acknowledgement of stuff in the year gone by which was outstanding . . . one way or another.
12/25/202132 minutes, 30 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 19 December 2021

2021 - media in the year of the vaccine; NZ news media in Oz-style ideological drift?
12/18/202133 minutes, 48 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch With Hayden Donell

Midweek Mediawatch With Hayden Donell.
12/15/202115 minutes, 3 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch: Anger, anxiety, and Kerre McIvor

In this week's edition of Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Bryan Crump about a sympathetic story on the plight of the unvaccinated, a new doco from TVNZ, and anger and anxiety directed at a caller to Newstalk ZB. [image:283042:full]
12/15/202114 minutes, 55 seconds
Episode Artwork

Young entrepreneur’s death sparks media backlash

The recent death of entrepreneur Jake Millar  - at the age of 26 - prompted an angry backlash against the media - over coverage of his failed venture Unfiltered. Some in business cited tall poppy syndrome and claimed the media scrutiny of risk-takers and innovators must change. But what sort of coverage should they expect?   
12/11/202127 minutes, 8 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 12 December 2021

Young entrepreneur's death sparks media backlash; angst over 'iwi checkpoints' obscures big picture.
12/11/202135 minutes, 55 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch: Style v substance; service station sausage rolls scandal

In this week's edition of Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Karyn Hay about style over substance in the coverage of Chris Luxon's first question time as leader, a Stuff column for the ages, and some new hires at Sean Plunket's online talk station.
12/8/202119 minutes, 51 seconds
Episode Artwork

RNZ’s Tahi -'the one' for rangatahi?

RNZ’s previous plan to reach younger people collapsed in early 2020 after opposition to RNZ Concert cuts - and pushback from commercial broadcasters. This week RNZ fired up Tahi - a more modest effort for the under-served youth audience. What’s the plan this time?
12/5/202117 minutes, 57 seconds
Episode Artwork

No man is an airline

The National Party has new leadership, after an intense focus on the outgoing leader Judith Collins. But while no-one will forget her in a hurry, the name of her successor still seems to confuse the media. 
12/4/20215 minutes, 10 seconds
Episode Artwork

An anti-intensification housing media blitz

Opponents of the bipartisan bill aimed at enabling housing blitzed the media over the past few weeks. Many of the reports failed to include relevant context and balancing opinion.
12/4/202111 minutes, 47 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 5 December 2021

Spotlight swings onto new National's new leader; an anti-intensification housing media blitz; RNZ's 'Tahi' - 'the one' for rangatahi?
12/4/202133 minutes, 36 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch: Chris Luxon's baptism of fire

In this week's edition of Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Karyn Hay about the barrage of tough questions that met Chris Luxon upon his ascent to the National leadership, a media acquisition, and the launch of a new youth service.
12/1/202116 minutes, 41 seconds
Episode Artwork

Bridges burned, Collins crushed, Reti takes the reins

Late on Wednesday night’s not prime time for political news to break, but Judith Collins' late-night kneecapping of rival Simon Bridges kicked off the chain of events that left her on the backbenches - with the media following every step.
11/27/20217 minutes, 39 seconds
Episode Artwork

New collective bid to make tech titans pay for NZ news

The umbrella group representing locally-owned news media wants to negotiate with Facebook and Google for "fair payment” for the local journalism appearing on their services. Australian news media have struck substantial - but confidential and individual - deals with the tech titans - but a former news boss in both countries tells Mediawatch it may be a bad idea.
11/27/20214 minutes, 47 seconds
Episode Artwork

Just fed-up farmers? Or 'radical right in gumboots'?

Groundswell took over about 70 centres nationwide - briefly and pretty peacefully - in last weekend’s Mother of All Protests. But the picture the media painted of who they really are and what they really want was confusing - and overlapping anger about the government and Covid-19 made the mix more murky.
11/27/202112 minutes, 3 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 28 November 2021

Bridges burned, Collins crushed, Reti takes the reins; Just fed-up farmers - or 'the radical right in gumboots'? ; New bid to get tech titans pay for NZ news.
11/27/202125 minutes, 51 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch: Soper's simmering stand-off

In this week's Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Karyn Hay about a Cold War brewing between Newstalk ZB's political editor and the PM, misinformation in local papers - and the need for better oversight of opinion pieces.
11/26/202116 minutes, 7 seconds
Episode Artwork

Radio in NZ 100 not out. But what next?

Radio in New Zealand marked its centenary this week with tributes to its staying power in the past - and confident claims it’s here to stay for the future. Several stations now have bigger audiences than ever and radio is the most profitable part of some commercial media companies.  But soon after he became RNZ boss back in 2013, Paul Thompson declared radio was a “medium in decline.”  Does he still think that?
11/20/202122 minutes, 47 seconds
Episode Artwork

Looking back on tech titans' takeover of media

Facebook’s all-powerful founder has rebooted his trillion-dollar company as ‘Meta’ and he’s planning for a new virtual ‘metaverse’ for us in five years. But the real world mess Facebook’s made in the past was recently compared to ‘Chernobyl’ by a respected AI expert.  Rory Cellan-Jones has covered technology for the BBC since the time before Facebook. Where is all this heading?
11/20/202129 minutes, 31 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 21 November 2021

Radio in NZ is 100 not out: RNZ's Paul Thompson on what comes next; looking back on tech titans' takeover of media with Rory Cellan-Jones.
11/20/202138 minutes, 46 seconds
Episode Artwork

The missing context in vaccine mandate coverage

Analysis: News organisations have devoted plenty of space to the unvaccinated healthcare and education workers being stood down this week. But many of those stories are missing vital context.
11/19/202116 minutes, 11 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch: Mandate reporting missing context

In this week's episode of Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Karyn Hay about a glaring lack of context in vaccine mandate coverage, a doco looking into our toxic alcohol culture, and a social media struggle at the Herald.
11/17/202116 minutes, 11 seconds
Episode Artwork

The risks of reporting displays of discontent - and amplifying aggro

Tuesday’s Covid protest at Parliament was a spectacle that had to be covered, but reporters who did so were targeted by protesters - and not for the first time. Does coverage risk ramping up the impression that resistance is more significant than it really is? And is the mounting hostility to the media a risk that editors and bosses now need to confront?
11/14/202133 minutes, 33 seconds
Episode Artwork

Experts denigrated by conspiricists - and radio hosts

A fresh analysis of Covid misinformation says it intensified after Delta arrived - and leading public figures and officials have “received specific targeting and abuse” online. But you don't have go down any digital rabbit holes for denigration of the experts. There's plenty of on top-rating talk radio too. . .
11/13/20214 minutes, 34 seconds
Episode Artwork

All journalists are climate reporters now

The climate talks in Glasgow are the big global story right now - but it doesn't always feel like it in our news. A climate change reporter tells Mediawatch every journalist should now be one too - and the lack of focus on this is a worry.
11/13/202114 minutes, 53 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 14 November 2021

The risks of reporting displays of discontent - and amplifying aggro; experts denigrated by conspiracists - and radio hosts; all journalists are climate reporters now.
11/13/202138 minutes, 24 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch: An anti-vax coverage conundrum

In this week's episode of Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Karyn Hay about Discovery announcing a pair of new TV channels, media coverage of an anti-vax march on parliament, and a valuable weekend interview with the prime minister.
11/10/202116 minutes, 12 seconds
Episode Artwork

Meta’s moves to boost our media underwhelms observers

Facebook - freshly rebadged as ‘Meta’ - gives local news media content huge extra reach, but it covers none of the cost of creating it while snaring the bulk of the digital ad revenue it attracts. This week the trillion-dollar company unveiled a programme to help sustain our news media - but some experts and editors are underwhelmed.
11/6/202115 minutes, 28 seconds
Episode Artwork

Avoiding the mistakes of the past in trans rights coverage

During the homosexual law reform campaign 35 years ago plenty of inflammatory, derogatory and sometimes downright bigoted portrayals of gay people were published and aired in our media. Some have apologised for that since then. Are our media repeating the same mistakes reporting controversies over transgender peoples' rights today?       
11/6/202114 minutes, 28 seconds
Episode Artwork

Alert level angst not leveling off on radio

Another Monday, another review of alert level condition for Auckland and other areas this week -  along with ample evidence in the media that the change can’t come soon enough for Aucklanders who are over it. Including radio hosts . . .  
11/6/20216 minutes, 12 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 7 November 2021

The owners of Facebook - now known as 'Meta' - announced a plan to boost news publishers here this week. Mediawatch looks at the media's response to that. Also: how media angst about upcoming alert level changes is not levelling off just yet -- and are our media getting it right when reporting on transgender peoples' rights?
11/6/202135 minutes, 21 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch: COP-26, Covid-19, radio re-jigs and grandstanders

Midweek Mediawatch - our weekly catch-up with Karyn Hay on Lately.  This week Colin Peacock talks to Karyn about a shake-up in news radio that made headlines - while another went under the radar. Also: covering COP-26; deep-dive but highly-readable Covid journalism, the dangers of allowing people to grandstand on air - and is the number of the beast actually 616?
11/2/202119 minutes, 11 seconds
Episode Artwork

Keeping calm (or not) as Covid comes to Christchurch

Did our media keep calm and carry on when Covid came to Christchurch this week? Or amplify anger and confusion about loose borders and unvaccinated travellers? Bit of both . . .
10/30/20214 minutes, 55 seconds
Episode Artwork

Te Rito - a new bid to boost diversity in our newsrooms

We’ve had too few journalists of Māori, Pasifika and Asian origin in our newsrooms for decades - and now there’s a new publicly-funded push to turn that round. Four established outlets are backing the Te Rito Journalism project. How will this work? And what’s the endgame?
10/30/202129 minutes, 55 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 31 October 2021

Keeping calm as Covid comes to Christchurch - and not; a new bid to boost diversity in our news; Australian media straying into fake news about NZ.
10/30/202137 minutes, 46 seconds
Episode Artwork

'Straya media strays from mainstream reporting NZ

One Australian news outlet seized on a Kiwi commentator's claim this week that our media is 'fully controlled' by the PM - while a big name broadcaster here seized on fake news from another Aussie outlet to hint at the same thing.
10/30/20218 minutes, 8 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch: Anti-vax messages in the media

In this week's episode of Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Karyn Hay about anti-vax messages finding a media platform, some outstanding local investigative reporting this week - and confirmation that you can't grow concrete, in spite of what talk radio tells you.
10/27/202114 minutes, 28 seconds
Episode Artwork

Media mull mental health amid lingering lockdowns

As the Covid crisis deepens and lockdown levels give way to traffic lights, the mental health effects of it all are being aired more than ever in the media - sometimes along with assumptions that don’t always stack up.
10/23/202126 minutes, 5 seconds
Episode Artwork

Wrapping up the vaxathon

Last weekend’s hastily-organised eight-hour Vaxathon TV extravaganza silenced most critics after a record number of jabs last weekend - but not all.  We ask the brains behind the broadcast - Bailey Mackey - what we learned from the effort, and why few opposition politicians were seen on screen.
10/23/20217 minutes, 52 seconds
Episode Artwork

Reflecting on a revolution-MMP in the rear-view mirror

The media marked a quarter of a century of MMP with a lot of mixed reviews on how it has changed our politics - and our country. Mediawatch talks to a documentary-maker who created one of the most vivid vignettes of MMP in action 25 years ago - and asks how it's changed the media.
10/23/202123 minutes, 6 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 24 October 2021

Media mull mental health impact of lingering lockdowns; wrapping up the Vaxathon, MMP in the rear view mirror.
10/23/202134 minutes, 51 seconds
Episode Artwork

A pundit backlash against actual experts

Analysis: Our epidemiologists and Covid modellers have faced an increasingly bitter series of barbs from commentators and columnists over the last month, and it's making their often thankless task even harder.
10/22/202110 minutes, 4 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch: Epidemiologists under attack

In this week's episode of Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Karyn Hay about an escalating series of media attacks on epidemiologists and layoffs at Newshub.
10/20/202110 minutes, 4 seconds
Episode Artwork

Thank you very much for your kind injection

Super Saturday’s vaxathon was the biggest and longest local live TV broadcast we’ve seen for years. While some critics carped about the entertainment value, all that mattered in the end was pumping up the jabs. 
10/16/20218 minutes, 11 seconds
Episode Artwork

Pressure piling up on tech titans - Australia leading the charge

Big tech platforms have failed to tackle the misinformation and toxicity they spread - and their dominance of the market for digital media revenue is becoming increasingly obvious. Australia's government has confronted them on both fronts and the news media have benefited. Can others - including ours - follow their lead?
10/16/202128 minutes, 38 seconds
Episode Artwork

Patients pressure group’s startling survey claims

Nine out of ten people think funding expensive new medical treatments is more important than Covid vaccines, according to news reports this week. That's pretty surprising when you consider how critical the vaccines are at this point in the pandemic - but not so surprising when you look at the survey at the heart of the story.
10/16/20217 minutes, 37 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 17 October 2021

Vaxathon rolls back the years to roll up our sleeves; tech titans under pressure as Australia squeezes them from the top; Patients pressure group's starling survey claims.
10/16/202136 minutes, 10 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch: The blame game

Mediawatch’s weekly catch-up with Karyn Hay on Nights. This week Hayden Donnell talked to Karyn about the media blame game as the country moves away from elimination - and an explosive live on-air allegation from Winston Peters. 
10/13/202117 minutes, 8 seconds
Episode Artwork

Anger management and roadmaps to nowhere

This week's call that Auckland must linger longer in Level 3 - but with picnics and double bubbles - upset those who wanted more freedom, those who saw it as waving the white flag and those demanding a roadmap out of lockdowns. Then rule-breakers putting Northland into Level 3 gave the media more anger to channel - and rumours to report.
10/9/202117 minutes, 52 seconds
Episode Artwork

Anthonie Tonnon: singing the news

Many songwriters turn inward for inspiration. Anthonie Tonnon turns to the newspapers, writing about toxic waste in the Mataura Paper Mill, the housing crisis, the decline of regional rail and even an ancient Australian air crash. He was shortlisted for a Silver Scroll for a song about irrigation on the Canterbury Plains. Can current affairs be done in song?
10/9/202116 minutes, 5 seconds
Episode Artwork

Pandora Papers highlight deals done in darkness

Five years ago, hundreds of reporters turned The Panama Papers into stories spotlighted the corruption and tax-dodging of some rich and powerful people all over the world. It eventually led to changes to the rules for offshore trusts held here in New Zealand. But publication of the The Pandora Papers this week proved the mega-rich and corrupt are still concealing their cash around the world wherever they can.
10/9/20215 minutes, 33 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 10 October 2021

Anger management, rumours and roadmaps to nowhere; Pandora Papers highlight deals done in darkness; Anthonie Tonnon: singing the news.
10/9/202139 minutes, 18 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch: A good 1pm press briefing gotcha

In this week's Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Bryan Crump about an incisive question at the daily 1pm press briefing, a backlash against NZME's premium product; Hilary Barry's sweet treat for vaccinating viewers - and an ex-employee turning on Facebook as an outage for the platform sparks joy for its critics.
10/6/202116 minutes, 58 seconds
Episode Artwork

Home by Christmas? Political Covid plans overpromise

Opposition parties’ plans for lockdown-free Covid management and re-opening our borders made headlines this week - kicked off former PM John Key last weekend. All of them dangled the prospect of free travel by Christmas and an end to ‘MIQ misery’ - but the devil was in the details which were missing.
10/2/202113 minutes, 9 seconds
Episode Artwork

Huge journalism jobs boost from public purse

110 new journalism jobs have been bankrolled by the Public Interest Journalism Fund - the biggest investment yet from this recent government initiative. News media companies welcomed this big boost but critics claim giving the fund $55m of public money undermines editorial and financial independence. What will we get from the new roles paid for by the public purse?
10/2/202128 minutes, 48 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 3 October 2021

Political Covid plans overpromise: huge journalist jobs boost from public purse; moving on from fast-food frenzy
10/2/202135 minutes, 13 seconds
Episode Artwork

Moving on from lockdown fast food frenzies

History repeated recently when our media joined the fast food frenzy when Auckland switched to Level 3 recently. But some in the media are getting sick of it and others say the real story should be the return to work  - and those who never stopped working.
10/2/20215 minutes, 27 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch: John Key's media takeover

In this week's Midweek Mediawatch Hayden Donnell talks to Bryan Crump about John Key's media blitz, dueling Covid recovery plans -  and some change-making stories from Metro and RNZ.
9/29/202113 minutes, 7 seconds
Episode Artwork

Commercial radio urges MPs to rein in RNZ

This week the big commercial radio broadcasters boasted of record-breaking audiences for their big brands when the latest audience figures came out. But at the same their bosses were also urging our MPs to rein in RNZ’s scope to reach new people - particularly younger ones. We ask the spokesperson for their mutual interests why.
9/26/202120 minutes, 52 seconds
Episode Artwork

Confused claims of Covid-compromised cancer care

A new campaign is urging people with possible symptoms of cancer to get a diagnosis - and never mind the lockdown.  This week two media outlets claimed  'almost half of new cancers' went undetected because of the Covid lockdowns last year - and it could be happening again now. Is it?       
9/25/20218 minutes, 49 seconds
Episode Artwork

Covid complications confuse the media

Worrying breaches of Auckland’s Level 4 border fired up the media this week - just as the Government prepared to green-light a risky shift to Level 3 in the supercity. Meanwhile the media also channeled South Islanders' irritation over Level 2  - and expats' MIQ misery over the new 'unlucky dip' lottery system.
9/25/20219 minutes
Episode Artwork

Collins’ snub startles media - but it cuts both ways

National's embattled leader surprised the media by spurning some interview opportunities this week - and the public exposure that would have come with them. But while political reporters often criticise the party for a failure to focus on the things that really matter, the same seems true of the news media when National MPs actually do.
9/25/20215 minutes, 27 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for Sunday 26 Sep 2021

Covid complications confuse the media; Collins' snubs startles media - but it cuts both ways; confused claims of Covid-compromised cancer care; Collins' snubs startles media - but it cuts both ways.
9/25/202129 minutes, 59 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch: Opining on elimination

Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Bryan Crump on Nights. This week Hayden Donnell talks to Bryan about media angst over whether ‘elimination’ is still our Covid strategy - and the Herald aiming high for vaccination, but with one big name conspicuously off-message. Also: anti-vaxxers fooling Facebook; and former broadcasters hired as columnists by NBR, whose owner once pledged to purge opinion from the outlet.
9/22/202113 minutes, 38 seconds
Episode Artwork

Rule-breaking fires up debate on fairness and privilege

As the lockdown in Auckland lengthened, the exposure of one couple’s rule-breaking prompted a predictably intense pile-on. Ironically, that actually helped to keep their names out of the headlines - briefly - and it also fired up long-running arguments about the right to know, privilege and fairness.  
9/18/202112 minutes, 10 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 12 September 2021

Mediawatch looks at how the media zeroed in on our social cohesion this week - as the current lockdown in Auckland became the longest we've had so far. Also: Mediawatch talks to the BBC's Peter Taylor, a reporter with 50 years of experience reporting terrorism and violence - and how it can be overcome
9/18/202130 minutes, 53 seconds
Episode Artwork

Peter Taylor: 50 years focused on a 100-year conflict

Few journalists on the planet have more experience of reporting terrorism than the BBC’s Peter Taylor. He has spent half a century covering Northern Ireland’s ‘Troubles - a consequence of the partition of Ireland 100 years ago. He’s risked his own life meeting face-to-face with terrorists  - and also the terrorised and those working for peace.
9/18/202118 minutes, 56 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - 15 September 2021

Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Bryan Crump on Nights. This week Hayden Donnell talked to Bryan about the media facing accusations that they're undermining the Covid response by airing the claims of critics of the elimination strategy. 
9/15/202112 minutes, 41 seconds
Episode Artwork

Reporting Afghanistan after abandonment

Twenty years after the 9/11 attacks prompted the US to invade Afghanistan, the Taliban announced they’ve taken the whole country again this week. Journalists who remain there are at risk in spite of assurances media freedom will be respected. Will proper journalism be possible under the Taliban? 
9/11/202117 minutes, 3 seconds
Episode Artwork

MediaWorks refresh fires up fans of outgoing veteran

In the midst of a bid to move away from its troubled internal culture, MediaWorks hired new people for news and talk radio this week. But the sudden retirement of controversial veteran host Peter Williams was the talking point for listeners  - making it a rough ride for his successor when the news broke. 
9/11/202112 minutes, 45 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 12 September 2021

Reporting Afghanistan after abandonment; MediaWorks rings changes and fires up fans of outgoing veteran
9/11/202130 minutes, 53 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - terror, hate and terrible tweets

Mediawatch’s weekly catchup with Bryan Crump on Nights. This week Colin Peacock talked to Bryan about where the media focus fell after the LynnMall attack; Patrick Gower ‘On Hate’; some in-depth Covid reporting; that Seymour tweet's insulting response  - and a sports stalwart starting anew.
9/6/202115 minutes, 54 seconds
Episode Artwork

Media confront thorny questions raised by terror attack

When a terrorist struck on Friday, the media were confronted with shocking reports and images - but also thorny questions about what happened and why - and how much they could reveal. 
9/4/202111 minutes, 21 seconds
Episode Artwork

Demands for greater scrutiny - and media push back

The opposition’s unhappy about the scrutiny the media are applying to the government, especially over vaccines - but some reporters pushed back at criticism of them this week. 
9/4/202112 minutes, 10 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 5 September 2021

How the media reacted to another shocking act of terrorism at home. Also: political pressure for greater media scrutiny of the Government - and TVNZ's boss giving up the top job.
9/4/202131 minutes, 35 seconds
Episode Artwork

TVNZ's long-serving boss creates a vacuum

TVNZ chief executive Kevin Kenrick will leave the state-owned broadcaster next February after almost a decade in charge. TVNZ will now have to find a new leader as the government progresses plans to create a new public media entity incorporating TVNZ and RNZ by 2023.
9/3/20214 minutes, 45 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch: scrutiny under scrutiny - and Lou Grant

Mediawatch’s weekly catchup with Bryan Crump on Nights. This week Colin Peacock talked to Bryan about the media reflecting on the fairness of the scrutiny they apply to those running our Covid response - and some of the criticism coming back at the journalists. Also: journalists facing a surge of state sector spin doctors - and how Ed 'Lou Grant' Asner put the newsroom on the small screen.
8/31/202118 minutes, 33 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 29 August 2021

Mediawatch looks at how our media covered the struggle to contain the Delta variant -- and how media reports of Covid clusters in Auckland this week sparked racist responses and claims that the reporting itself made the problem worse.
8/28/202134 minutes, 8 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - racist reactions and offshore opinions

Mediawatch's weekly catchup with Nights. This week Colin Peacock chats to Bryan Crump about the media in the middle as reports about Covid clusters spark racist reactions - and offshore opinions about our elimination strategy raise hackles here. Also: a big name in TV journalism signs of suddenly - and Facebook tries a little transparency for once.
8/25/202114 minutes, 29 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 22 August 2021

Media react to level 4 lockdown and the dawn of Delta; the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan.
8/21/202130 minutes, 50 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - Covid's media comeback

Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Lately. Colin Peacock talks to Karyn Hay about the media back in Covid-emergency mode; a business editor slapping down Covid complainers - and a truly clueless TV game show. 
8/18/202115 minutes, 39 seconds
Episode Artwork

Landmark climate report lands - but makes little mark on media

The first comprehensive IPCC stocktake of the global climate trends for years was easy to read and its confronting conclusions were clear. But after hitting front pages and headlining bulletins the day it landed, it didn’t make much of an impression on our media - or prompt much political debate.
8/14/20215 minutes, 56 seconds
Episode Artwork

The double standard in the bike bridge backlash

A proposed walk and cycle bridge over the Waitematā provoked a furious media backlash over the goverment's wasteful spending. Why don't roading projects get the same treatment?
8/14/202113 minutes, 21 seconds
Episode Artwork

RNZ challenged on turning stolen data into news

Unknown cyber-criminals sent stolen information to the media to pile on pressure to pay a ransom. RNZ subsequently aired a scoop sourced from it before a court ordered all media to dump the dodgy data. The Privacy Commissioner tells Mediawatch RNZ was unethical and he wants action - but RNZ insists the public interest was well served.
8/14/202120 minutes, 39 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 15 August 2021

Landmark climate report lands - but makes little mark on media; double standard in bike bridge backlash; RNZ challenged on turning stolen data into news.
8/14/202139 minutes, 44 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch: Olympic overload and conference crankiness

Mediawatch’s weekly catch-up with Lately. Colin Peacock talks to Karyn Hay about what the media made of an Olympics that turned out better than many expected in Tokyo - or did it? National Party members overlooked in coverage of the conference; reports of an MP's social media slip-up that prompted criticism  - and a student lifts the lid on the far-right.  
8/11/202119 minutes, 25 seconds
Episode Artwork

GOAT in a boat - and a trans trailblazer in Tokyo

While Lisa Carrington struck gold and set records, Laurel Hubbard struck out in competition but still made history and headlines as our first ever transgender Olympian. She also won hearts and minds speaking sparingly, but with dignity to the media about the controversy surrounding her. 
8/7/202111 minutes, 13 seconds
Episode Artwork

Making sense of ‘Milk and Money’

The recent Groundswell protest put farmers’ grievances about the government’s environmental policies front and centre. Good timing for a new six-part documentary series exploring the dairy industry, and its future in the midst of a climate crisis. But ‘Milk and Money’ is no ‘Country Calendar.’
8/7/202121 minutes, 40 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 8 August 2021

GOAT in a boat - and a trans trailblazer at Tokyo 2020; MediaWorks’ accountability still in question; making sense of ‘Milk and Money’; big-name broadcasters boosted by watchdog’s verdict.
8/7/202139 minutes, 38 seconds
Episode Artwork

Accountability in question after MediaWorks review

A review of the working culture at MediaWorks released this week is by far the most comprehensive airing of the internal problems of any New Zealand media company.  But its leaders and governors have not yet answered questions about it - and it’s far from clear if anyone is accountable. 
8/7/20217 minutes, 11 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch: News not fit for social media

In this week's episode of Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Karyn Hay about a mainstream media outlet getting kicked off YouTube, a court judgement against RNZ, and a harrowing culture review at MediaWorks.
8/4/202123 minutes, 36 seconds
Episode Artwork

‘Hussy’ OK says BSA (*in context)

ZB’s Mike Hosking called Meghan Markle “a hussy” on the air earlier this year. It was a rude and sexist slur on someone he didn’t know at all  - and it prompted formal complaints to the broadcasting watchdog. But the BSA says it wasn’t a breach of broadcasting standards.
8/1/20213 minutes, 45 seconds
Episode Artwork

Olympians strike gold - while media find plenty of colour

Kiwis finally struck gold in Tokyo this week - but the media didn't always get the colour they were looking for.
7/31/202110 minutes, 32 seconds
Episode Artwork

Media ramp up angst over arming police

A year ago, a trial of armed police teams was scrapped with opponents adopting the slogan ‘Arms Down.’ One year on, some in the media are now amplifying calls for arming all officers after the death of PC Matthew Hunt and an increase in officers being confronted by guns.
7/31/202113 minutes, 32 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 1 August 2021

Kiwi strike Tokyo gold - and give media plenty of colour; ramping up angst over arming police; 'hussey' is OK says BSA (in context)
7/31/202135 minutes, 11 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch: 28 July 2021

On this week's Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Karyn Hay about an error-strewn academic report, a prominent radio host's abrupt departure, some less-than-sympathetic accounts of people stranded overseas by Covid 19, claims that climate change was missing from reports of the recent floods - and a call to close down 'open letters' by columnists trying to make a point.
7/28/202121 minutes, 20 seconds
Episode Artwork

'Groundswell' exposes rural / urban divide in media

At the biggest national protest for years last week, farmers made it clear they're unhappy with the government and they feel unloved by the country - and the media. The media coverage also revealed a rural / urban divide itself.  
7/25/202118 minutes, 52 seconds
Episode Artwork

Government and media get on same page for terrorism

A group representing our major news media have agreed a set of principles for reporting terrorism and “national security events." It's a response to fears extremists could use the media for their own ends and that disclosures during an emergency could put lives in danger - especially when information is unverified. But does giving ground on this mean the media surrender their right to publish in the public interest?
7/24/20216 minutes, 20 seconds
Episode Artwork

The problem with economists' forecasts

The data is clear: economists' forecasts are often wrong. Given their track record, shouldn't these prognostications come with more caveats and disclaimers when they're broadcast by the media?
7/24/202111 minutes, 17 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 25 July 2021

Protests expose urban/rural divide in media; government and media on same page over terrorism reporting; the problem with economists' forecasts.
7/24/202133 minutes, 31 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - podcasting politicians

Mediawatch’s weekly catch-up with Lately. Colin Peacock talks to Susana Leiataua about surprises in Gerry Brownlee’s ‘Backroom’  while James Shaw jams with Brian Eno. Also - talk radio ringing the changes; ‘anti-woke’ UK TV news channel turns to Farage after viewers tune out.   
7/21/202116 minutes, 51 seconds
Episode Artwork

New journalism fund's first projects unveiled

The first tranche of the government’s $55m journalism Fund has been allocated - against a backdrop of criticism it could skew reporting of political issues. Māori journalism projects and a new training initiative are the major beneficiaries of the first $10m, but some of the money goes to things already funded from the public purse. Mediawatch asks talk to NZ On Air’s head of journalism about that - and what the public will get for their money.
7/17/202121 minutes, 7 seconds
Episode Artwork

A deeply unsympathetic media campaign

Employers have put their hands out for more migrant workers to fill gaps in their rosters over the last two weeks, but their campaign may have hit a sour note.
7/17/20219 minutes, 47 seconds
Episode Artwork

Money for the mob and hoha over koha

A regional paper’s scoop about $2.75m in public funding for a drug rehabilitation programme with Mongrel Mob connections kicked off a political controversy - and so did $200 koha. 
7/17/202110 minutes, 48 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 18 July 2021

Labour market's mixed messsages; new journalism fund unveils first projects; angst over money and the mob; good, bad and gruesome of sport.
7/17/202141 minutes, 12 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - revenge for pineapple on pizza

Mediawatch’s weekly catch-up with Lately. Colin Peacock talks to Karyn Hay about controversial sportscaster Martin Devlin reportedly returning to the radio; the Forever War in Afghanistan; football not coming home after all - but dominating the media.  
7/13/202117 minutes, 47 seconds
Episode Artwork

Afghanistan’s war dropping out of sight

Twenty years after the US invaded Afghanistan in pursuit of Al Qaeda, it suddenly pulled its troops out this week.  It’s the end of the longest war in modern history in which 3500 New Zealanders also served and 10 died.  Will it be out of sight and out of mind for the media now the country is on its own again?
7/10/20217 minutes, 58 seconds
Episode Artwork

Do top stars trump media power in sport?

Naomi Osaka will be a star at the Tokyo Olympics after taking time out for her mental health. Some say giving stressful press conferences a swerve was no-one else’s business, but those in the business of selling sport saw the seeds of doom in the tennis star’s stance. After all the noise, has she changed sports media for good - or for the better?
7/10/202117 minutes, 57 seconds
Episode Artwork

Sexist sports spray sparks startling sacking

A story about a little-known sports journalist losing a brand new job on a radio network that’s not even on air yet surged to the top of the ‘most-viewed’ lists on news websites this week. Why was producer Sam ‘Lashes’ Casey sacked for something he wrote for another media outlet?
7/10/202110 minutes, 56 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 11 July 2021

Afghanistan's war dropping out of sight; a sexist sports spray sparks a startling sacking; does star power trump media power in sport?
7/10/202130 minutes, 19 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch: A sport radio sacking

In this week's edition of Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Susana Leiataua about a sacking prompted by a sexist column, some illuminating commentary on proposed hate speech legislation, and some missing voices in  thhe media's coverage of a restaurant industry campaign.
7/7/202116 minutes, 13 seconds
Episode Artwork

Media turn up heat on hate speech

A discussion document on proposed hate speech laws generated plenty of discussion in the media - and spurious claims that merely insulting people could be criminalised. Some senior journalists seized on ministers muddying the waters - but did they give the public a clear picture of what’s actually at stake
7/3/20219 minutes, 31 seconds
Episode Artwork

Putting victims at the centre of reporting

The media has sometimes been guilty of sidelining, shrugging off, or silencing sexual assault and harassment victims. Stuff's Kirsty Johnston talked to Mediawatch about how to centre those victims in reporting.
7/3/202118 minutes, 50 seconds
Episode Artwork

Reporters stand in storm, confirm it's cold and wet

Most of us waited out this week's winter storm indoors, with heaters set to high. Not so the nation's journalists, who instead sought out the most miserable places in the country, and stood in the middle of them.
7/3/20217 minutes, 2 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 4 July 2021

Media turn up heat on hate speech; victim-cantered reporting; reporters weathering the storm.
7/3/202134 minutes, 26 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - 30 June 2021

Mediawatch’s weekly catch-up with Lately. Colin Peacock talks to Karyn Hay about new data on the media and misinformation in New Zealand - and a new podcast airing anxiety about China’s influence here. Also: a southern stalwart honoured by the ODT and a new talkback takedown on TV. 
6/30/202115 minutes, 42 seconds
Episode Artwork

Covid in the capital fires up media

How did our media react when a Covid case imported via the trans-Tasman travel bubble compromised this country’s long run without cases in the community?
6/26/20216 minutes, 46 seconds
Episode Artwork

New public media plan enters uncharted waters

The clock is ticking for the government’s proposed new public media entity. The next step is a business case and a new charter being drafted behind closed doors. But RNZ already has a charter that’s now under review  - and could mean more scrutiny of government's plan.
6/26/202114 minutes, 8 seconds
Episode Artwork

Small screen ‘sex scandal’ drama? Old news, actually

The shock - horror response sparked by news of a publicly-funded ‘sex scandal’ TV drama was almost as stale as the decade-old affair it was based on.
6/26/20216 minutes, 43 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 27 June 2021

Covid in the capital fires up media; government media plan enters un-chartered waters, more sport on air for free around the corner, angst over sleaze on screen is old news
6/26/202132 minutes, 31 seconds
Episode Artwork

More free-to-air sport around the corner

A new national radio network dedicated to sport will go live on air on Monday 19 July - just in time for the Tokyo Olympics. Australian-owned SENZ will fill a void left by the closure of NZME's Radio Sport in April 2020 during the Covid lockdown. Meanwhile TVNZ and Discovery have done deals with Sky to get the Olympics and Wimbledon on screen for free. 
6/23/20214 minutes, 6 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch: A silent night

On this week's edition of Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Karyn Hay about media angst over the Ministry of Health's communications concerning the Covid case in the capital, sensitive and insensitive reporting on Laurel Hubbard - and a New York Times headline for the ages.
6/23/202118 minutes, 59 seconds
Episode Artwork

Hui over Christchurch terror attacks puts media under the spotlight

A counter-terrorism hui intended to help heal the wounds inflicted in Christchurch two years ago sparked a walk-out which hit the headlines. 
6/19/202119 minutes, 38 seconds
Episode Artwork

Running the numbers on the PM's media schedule

When Jacinda Ardern changed her media schedule earlier this year, it raised heckles from commentators who felt she was ducking scrutiny. But what have the changes actually meant?
6/19/20215 minutes, 44 seconds
Episode Artwork

Undeclared SponCon causing political and editorial headaches

The Herald's dedicated property section printed 64 articles under the banner 'Our New Auckland' without declaring they were sponsored by Kāinga Ora, prompting NZME to review its processes on sponsored content.
6/19/20212 minutes, 8 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 20 June 2021

Media under the spotlight at Christchurch hui, running the numbers on the PM's media diary; Undeclared SponCon causing political and editorial headaches.
6/19/202131 minutes, 33 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - game of life and death

Mediawatch’s weekly catch-up with Lately. Colin Peacock talked to Karyn Hay about the launch of the new news channel labelled ‘Fox News for the UK,’ the bike bridge beat-up that’s still creating comment - and how a football game turned into a life and death dilemma for broadcasters.  
6/15/202118 minutes, 29 seconds
Episode Artwork

Climate message cutting through

When the Climate Change Commission released its first blueprint for cutting our carbon emissions earlier this year, there were plenty of spurious stories about the end of gas-fired barbies and private cars - and a slump in meat and dairy production. But there was a lot less of that when the Commission's final advice to the government was made public this week.
6/12/20214 minutes, 57 seconds
Episode Artwork

Too much heat makes transport fraught

The big budget for a new non-car harbour bridge in Auckland sparked a big 'bike-lash' in the media last week - and how we build and use our roads has become a huge wedge issue all around the country. Mediawatch asks a journalist dedicated to covering transport: do the deep divisions and inflamed opinions make it hard to report all this effectively?
6/12/202115 minutes, 37 seconds
Episode Artwork

Wrong numbers amplify anxiety over vaccine supplies

Against a backdrop of news reports about shortages and anger over delayed Covid-19 vaccinations, a Herald opinion piece this week claimed our supply would run dry within days. But swift fact-checking elsewhere established it was based on the wrong numbers. 
6/12/20219 minutes
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 13 June 2021

Climate message cutting through; too much heat makes transport fraught; wrong numbers dial up anxiety over vaccine supplies.
6/12/202130 minutes, 57 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch 9 June 2021

Mediawatch’s weekly catch-up with Lately. Hayden Donnell talks to Karyn Hay about journalists hitting out at government spin and information  control - and unhappiness over the release of a major climate report. Also: an odd documentary about a celebrity accused of harassment who’s accusing his accusers of manipulation.
6/9/202122 minutes, 2 seconds
Episode Artwork

For whom the bell trolls - cyclists

While record-breaking floods threatened to sweep away bridges in Canterbury, the inundation of the Auckland Harbour Bridge by cyclists  made headlines too - and sparked a big backlash on talk radio. The subsequent announcement of a new big-budget bridge just for cyclists and walkers further inflamed the divisive urban issue of ‘bikes vs cars’.
6/5/202117 minutes, 21 seconds
Episode Artwork

The Nimby photo formula

Stories about local issues, from housing developments to cycleway constructions, are nearly always illustrated the same way. Mediawatch asked a Voyager-winning photographer why angry people with their arms folded are so ubiquitous in our media.
6/5/20215 minutes, 16 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 6 June 2021

For whom the bell trolls - cyclists; the NIMBY photo formula; Aussie China crisis report falls flat.
6/5/202131 minutes, 56 seconds
Episode Artwork

Aussie China crisis report falls flat

Last week a comically overwrought ad for Australia’s 60 Minutes TV show hit headlines here, promoting an item suggesting ‘New Xi-land’ had gone soft in China. It aired across the ditch on TV this week. What was all the fuss about? Not much . . .
6/5/20219 minutes, 25 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - Eyes on the prizes

Mediawatch’s weekly catch-up with Lately. Colin Peacock talked to Susana Leiataua about who won what at journalism’s night-of-nights - and how it matters more to the companies than their journalists. Also - the wealth and health of top-level tennis under the media spotlight
6/2/202115 minutes, 9 seconds
Episode Artwork

The Australian outfit rebooting 24/7 sport on the radio

More than a year after Radio Sport shut down, an Australian outfit wants to set up a new national network here - and it's hired some big names to get it off the ground. But who is driving this across the Tasman? And what's their plan?
5/29/202120 minutes, 7 seconds
Episode Artwork

Bob's big birthday's goes round the clock

Did you know Bob Dylan turned 80 this week?  You did if you were tuned in to RNZ National last Monday.
5/29/20216 minutes, 8 seconds
Episode Artwork

A belated investigation into a skifield founder's Nazi past

Most of the media stories on Willi Huber focused on his work founding the Mt Hutt skifield. This month, North & South finally unravelled the other central event of Huber's life: his role in one of the most brutal divisions of the Nazi army.
5/29/202119 minutes, 21 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 30 May 2021

The Aussie outfits rebooting 24/7 sport on radio; a belated investigation into a skifield founder's Nazi past; Bob's big birthday goes round the clock.
5/29/202136 minutes, 30 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch: Who gets a voice?

In this week's episode of Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Karyn Hay about a run of bad headlines for radio networks, an AP journalist's controversial firing, and an about-turn in the media's coverage of the Samoan election.
5/26/202115 minutes, 41 seconds
Episode Artwork

Media can make and break leadership in volatile times

A new analysis finds media coverage is more important than ever after Covid in shaping our perception of leaders’ success, trustworthiness  and transparency (or a perceived lack of them). But - as we hear so often these days - trust in the media themselves is falling fast.  So how does that work?
5/23/202124 minutes, 43 seconds
Episode Artwork

Sportscaster's conduct put spotlight back on media culture

Newstalk ZB sports host Martin Devlin was back on air this weekend, after he apologised for lashing out at one junior colleague - and sending inappropriate messages and unwanted invitations to women in his newsroom. The  incidents went unreported for ten days - but they're not the only ones that raised alarm about the culture in our media companies this week.
5/22/202111 minutes, 56 seconds
Episode Artwork

Poll piles pressure on party leader - but do we care?

Political reporters and pundits confidently claied the end is nigh for Judith Collins’ National Party leadership - following another opinion poll showing she’s not particularly popular right now - and neither is her stance on race. But the relentless focus on her grip on the job is obscuring other issues.
5/22/20214 minutes, 45 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 23 May 2021

Sportscaster's conduct put spotlight back on media culture; poll piles pressure on party leader - but do we care?; media make and break leadership in volatile times.
5/22/202133 minutes, 26 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - Gaza, a gaffe and a brutal review

Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Lately. This week Colin Peacock talks to Karyn Hay about the media targeted in Gaza live on TV - and the Gaza crisis spilling over into sport on screen. Also - an epic US broadcasting deal that could change the game here, a front-page foul-up and a brutal book review.
5/19/202117 minutes, 1 second
Episode Artwork

Shocking news reveals southern reporting cutbacks

That shocking knife attack in Dunedin’s central city this week came out of the blue - but the coverage also revealed the ranks of reporters there are thinning out. One major TV broadcaster had to cover it from Christchurch on the day -  and the other is set to scrap its office in Dunedin altogether.
5/15/202110 minutes, 10 seconds
Episode Artwork

Crown Law takes aim at Newsroom

An online investigation that exposed Oranga Tamariki tactics - and prompted five inquiries and significant changes in policy and practice at the agency - is now being investigated by the Police. The publisher has also been ordered to pay thousands of dollars in costs incurred when Crown Law sought an injunction to take it offline, raising concern about media freedom and a chilling effect on journalism exploring the state’s use of its power over people.
5/15/20214 minutes, 57 seconds
Episode Artwork

Access all areas? The past and future of community broadcasting

The Access Radio movement is 40 years old and today 12 stations broadcast locally and online. Some fill local gaps left by stations hooked into national networks - and some produce programmes up for national awards. But low-budget broadcasting isn’t the only way to reach communities with content these days. Does access radio have a digital-age future?  
5/15/202121 minutes, 9 seconds
Episode Artwork

Host takes a swing at slack media - but misses

Top-rating talk host Mike Hosking apologised recently after he slammed political reporters for missing a big story  - and a colleague publicly pointed out he was wrong.  It didn’t stop Mike Hosking hitting out again this week  - but being wrong, again.
5/15/20215 minutes, 56 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 16 May 2021

Shocking news reveals southern reporting cutbacks; Crown Law takes aim at Newsroom; Access all areas? Community broadcasting turns 40; host takes swing at slack media - but misses.
5/15/202138 minutes, 37 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - 12 May 2021

Mediawatch’s weekly catch-up with Lately. This week Hayden Donnell talks to Karyn Hay about a magazine telling the full story of an SS soldier who became a "hometown hero" and a tourism pioneer here - and another mag's in-depth account of Tom Scott's piles. Also - reporting Covid vaccines without fueling doubts and the doubters; the government pushing back on reports of the 'pay freeze,' and ZB getting a bit more diversity on air.
5/12/202119 minutes, 50 seconds
Episode Artwork

China’s PR intensifies as media focus falls on Uyghurs

China used to deny or ignore media queries about the human rights of the ethnic Uighur minority. But before our government debated its response in Parliament this week, China’s embassy held an invite-only briefing for reporters and experts. What did they learn from the event one reporter called “extraordinary to the point of farce”?
5/9/202117 minutes, 30 seconds
Episode Artwork

Upping the game in women’s sport coverage

“Not good enough” was the verdict of Sport NZ boss Raelene Castle after a fresh analysis of thousands of sports reports across our media found women feature in only about one in seven. But offshore reports of the same results said our media lead the world in women’s sports coverage. What’s the story?  
5/8/202120 minutes, 7 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 9 May 2021

China's PR intensifies as media focus falls on Xinjang; the state of play in coverage of women's sport; more clarity on online polls.
5/8/202139 minutes, 55 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch: Return of Orewa, rabbits and The Apprentice

Mediawatch’s weekly catchup with Lately. This week Colin talks to Karyn Hay about the media unpicking the political strategy behind warnings of “separatism.” Also: ‘Bunny-pocalypse Now’ in the South, diminishing returns for The Apprentice - and anonymous agony advice in print.  
5/5/202120 minutes, 46 seconds
Episode Artwork

Silver Lake buy-in to Silver Fern no silver bullet for media

To sell or not to sell a slice of the commercial rights to New Zealand rugby was the squabble that pre-occupied the sports media this week. But the media couldn’t agree on who has the power over the ailing national sport’s direction.
5/1/20217 minutes, 50 seconds
Episode Artwork

The news stories making readers dumber

News organisations often report the results of informal polls they carry out by embedding surveys in stories or on social media. Mathematically minded people argue that in doing so, they're misinforming their audience members, and leaving them worse off.
5/1/202111 minutes, 39 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 2 May 2021

Silverlake buy-in to silver fern triggers sports media; trust on media on the slide; online polls misrepresent public opinion.
5/1/202140 minutes, 29 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch 28 April 2021

Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Lately. This week Hayden Donnell talks to Susana Leiataua about change at the top in the Herald's political coverage - sparked by a change for veteran political editor Audrey Young - as the Press gallery marks 150 years.         
4/28/202115 minutes, 49 seconds
Episode Artwork

We’ve got trust issues - with news

New research shows New Zealanders' trust in the news media slipping, even when it comes to the news they choose themselves. That's obviously a bad news story for our media - but what can they really learn from asking us what we think?
4/28/202136 minutes, 55 seconds
Episode Artwork

Reporters finally have a nice day

On Monday, New Zealanders tuning into the news witnessed something rare: bulletins filled almost entirely with joy, relief, and even a bit of singing.
4/24/20214 minutes, 54 seconds
Episode Artwork

Coping with Covid chaos disrupting sport on screen

A core part of your business is screening the world’s sport to customers keen enough to pay for it. Then Covid stops almost all of it stone dead. What do you do? Mediawatch asks a Sky exec how they handled that - and the threat of Covid chaos hanging over the Olympics and this week’s ill-fated effort to fire up an elite European football league.
4/24/202134 minutes, 18 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 25 April 2021

Coping with Covid chaos disrupting sport on screen; reporters finally have one nice day; following the flow of public money to the media and screen industry.
4/24/202138 minutes, 42 seconds
Episode Artwork

Following the money flowing to the media

Huge sums in subsidies will go to Amazon when a Lord of the Rings series is made here in the years to come. In the year just gone, a much more modest amount of public money was spent helping local media companies through the worst of the Covid crisis.  Mediawatch talks to Stuff's Thomas Coughlan, who deployed the Official Information Act to follow the money.
4/23/202122 minutes, 46 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - Football fans v billionnaires, Popstars v Fair Go

Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Lately. This week Colin talks to Karyn Hay about Prince Philip's funeral pulling in viewers, the emergency housing crisis coming into focus; football fans vs billionaires - and Popstars vs Fair Go.
4/21/202115 minutes, 26 seconds
Episode Artwork

Directory inquiries: Does the Yellow Pages have a future?

Once a billion-dollar business, its critics claim the country’s most widely circulated publication is a redundant and wasteful throwback to pre-digital times. But now under new management, the Yellow Pages has a digital plan.What’s the future for the once-ubiquitous directory whose fortunes mirror those of the news media?
4/18/202111 minutes, 19 seconds
Episode Artwork

‘Dead leader walking’ a familiar line from media

Last weekend political pundits and presenters reckoned the leader of the opposition was ripe for rolling and her days in the job were numbered. But - as in the past - it was all based on rumours recycled by political reporters with secret sources who offered the public few reasons to believe it was true.
4/17/202110 minutes, 59 seconds
Episode Artwork

Samoa election cliffhanger overlooked locally

After 23 years with one political party and one prime minister in charge, Samoa’s general election last weekend delivered a surprise neck-and-neck result. But it was barely reported in most national media outlets here. How come? And what might improve the situation?
4/17/202118 minutes, 51 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 18 April 2021

'Dead leader walking' a familiar line from media; Samoa's election cliff-hanger overlooked locally; Directory inquiries: Yellow Pages under pressure
4/17/202135 minutes, 51 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch: A disparity in coverage

Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Lately.  This week Hayden Donnell talks to Susana Leiataua about a surprising statement from MediaWorks about reported allegations of misconduct by company staff - and a reporter suffering a social media backlash because of mistaken identity. But first: how the intense coverage of the death of the Duke of Edinburgh last weekend overshadowed an international story much closer to home.  
4/14/202116 minutes, 24 seconds
Episode Artwork

Timing of Duke's death gives our media a headache

The media planned for the Duke of Edinburgh's death - but the timing of the announcement last night could hardly have been worse for firing up special coverage from scratch.
4/10/20217 minutes, 4 seconds
Episode Artwork

Pent-up travel demand bubbles up

A green light for a travel bubble with Australia was a good news story for people separated from loved ones - and businesses needing the cash of free-spending foreigners. But were the bubble-happy media too keen to accentuate the positive when the likely benefits are far from clear?
4/10/202111 minutes, 25 seconds
Episode Artwork

Cam Wallace - New broom fighting fires at MediaWorks

Cam Wallace has had a rocky start in charge at MediaWorks, the outfit that owns half the country's radio stations. Whistleblowers lifted the lid on a corrosive culture at the company that's now under investigation - and talk radio hosts went rogue on issues of race and Covid-19. That's put deep dents in its reputation as it faces the future as 'radio without pictures.'
4/10/202121 minutes, 44 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 11 April 2021

Timing of Duke's death trick for our media; Cam Wallace - new boss fights fires at MediaWorks; pent up demand travel demand bubbles up in media.
4/10/202139 minutes, 49 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - hold on to the rails

Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Lately on RNZ National. Colin Peacock talks to Karyn Hay about claims a new train service is a "railway renaissance" or a slow train to nowhere. Also: Stuff beefs up its business news; a tramping mag makes a fool of DoC - and a month after Jacinda turned Mike down, he says he doesn't want her back. Confused? You will be after this episode of Midweek Mediawatch.           
4/7/202118 minutes, 32 seconds
Episode Artwork

Simon Collins - a lifetime in journalism

Long-serving reporter Simon Collins spoke to literally hundreds of people to cover major public issues. He also confronted his own bosses to defend journalism from cuts and compromises undermining the quality of journalism.  As 45 years on the job come to an end, many reporters reckon we’ll never see another journalist like him (though he's not one of them).
4/4/202123 minutes, 10 seconds
Episode Artwork

Public media plan moves forward behind closed doors

The government appointed eight people this week to oversee a business case which could be a blueprint for a new public media entity to replace TVNZ and RNZ - but the public won't see it before the government decides the issue later this year. Why are RNZ's top brass backing an idea about which so little is clear? 
4/3/202119 minutes, 1 second
Episode Artwork

Local current affairs with a heavy Aussie accent

TVNZ recently launched its first new local TV current affairs show for years. But A Current Affair has a heavy Australian accent - and the local content revolves around TVNZ’s other entertainment shows.
4/3/20217 minutes, 27 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 4 April 2021

Public media plan moves forward - but behind closed doors; Simon Collins - a lifetime in journalism; local current affairs with a heavy Aussie accent.
4/3/202130 minutes, 27 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch: One step closer to fusion

Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Lately. This week Hayden Donnell talks to Susana Leiataua about the latest move towards a new a public media behemoth, Judith Collins' rough ride on RNZ triggering claims of bias, MediaWorks' inquiry into the conduct of its own employees amid reports of resignations.  
3/31/202120 minutes, 25 seconds
Episode Artwork

Investor-economist alliance dominates media's housing response

A  squadron of investors and economists blitzed the airwaves following the government's big housing announcement, often drowning out other voices.
3/28/20215 minutes, 13 seconds
Episode Artwork

Clamour to cancel TVNZ's top popular cop show

A single tweet sparked bulletin-leading calls to scrap one of our most enduring and most-watched local TV shows this week. Many arguing whether the show was racist or not also admitted they don't watch it, while the show's makers rejected the claim and TVNZ kept its head down.
3/27/202113 minutes, 36 seconds
Episode Artwork

Even more public money for journalism?

Last month the government announced $55m of public money will be made available for “at risk” public interest journalism over the next three years. But a recently-released cabinet paper has another $20m in the mix. What's the money for - and how will it be spent?
3/27/20217 minutes, 36 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 28 March 2021

Clamour to cancel top cop show; investors and economists dominate media response to housing announcement; much-admired reporter retires;  more millions for public interest journalism; trashy Aussie report finds scapegoat.
3/27/202133 minutes, 53 seconds
Episode Artwork

‘Trashy’ TV report from Australia “an error”

A news report showing restrained 501-ers being herded onto a repatriation flight while being harassed by an Aussie TV reporter raised hackles here because an Australian minister called it “taking out the trash.”  But how did this heartless report get made in the first place? 
3/27/20213 minutes, 28 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - mean streets, mean tunes

Mediawatch's weekly catchup with Lately. This week Colin Peacock talks to Karyn Hay about reports that the streets of the capital are increasingly unsafe and unpleasant- especially for women. Also - doubling down on political polls and an RNZ stalwart cops it for straying out of his lane on K-Pop. 
3/23/202118 minutes, 6 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 21 March 2021

One nation under Cup delirium; bid to boost censors' powers; Preferred PM? Don't ask me.
3/20/202141 minutes, 45 seconds
Episode Artwork

Battle against online harm beefs up censor's power

The government wants to beef up the chief censor’s power to root out harmful and hateful stuff online - but opposition politicians and internet freedom advocates say this is an overreach which could even mean significant newsworthy stuff could be censored. Mediawatch asks the chief censor what he thinks of his potential new powers.
3/20/202135 minutes, 41 seconds
Episode Artwork

Preferred PM? Don’t ask me

TVNZ and its pollsters will only call you on your mobile from now on - and the first poll under the new rules delivered a telling result in response to one of its key questions.
3/20/20217 minutes, 31 seconds
Episode Artwork

Total eclipse of the news

As the crowd went wild after the big win on the water on Wednesday, so did much of the media - triggering a total eclipse of the news. 
3/20/20218 minutes, 4 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch: A nationwide delirium

In this week's Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Karyn Hay about the media's delirious coverage of Team NZ's America's Cup win, a trashy bit of Australian reporting, and Google's latest moves to fund news.
3/17/202119 minutes, 38 seconds
Episode Artwork

Claims of cancel culture and media bias get political

Against a backdrop of gripes about ‘cancel culture’ in the media, the National Party’s broadcasting spokesperson has warned bias, balance and political influence need to be addressed - and news media might go soft on the government giving them more money. But she was once a programme-maker who faced similar questions herself. Mediawatch asks her where she thinks the problem lies.
3/14/202123 minutes, 46 seconds
Episode Artwork

A week of media meltdowns

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's decision to dump her weekly interview with Mike Hosking and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's interview with Oprah sparked a series of media meltdowns this week.
3/13/202112 minutes, 18 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 14 March 2021

Claims of cancel culture and media bias get political; National's broadcasting spokesperson Melissa Lee; media meltdowns and overreactions over the PM's media policy - and Oprah's chat with the rogue royals
3/13/202136 minutes, 40 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - PM drops Mike Hosking

Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Lately. This week Colin Peacock talks to Karyn Hay about the PM upsetting Newstalk ZB by giving a longstanding Monday slot a swerve and further fallout from NZME's Michael Bassett ban
3/10/202117 minutes, 6 seconds
Episode Artwork

Scramble to cover tsunami and earthquake emergency

The scramble to cover the tsunami alerts and evacuations on Friday - after the much of the nation was shaken awake by a swarm of hefty quakes - was seat-of-the-pants stuff. But it threw up some memorable moments of Kiwis keeping calm and carrying on.    
3/6/20214 minutes, 35 seconds
Episode Artwork

Covid-19 blame game and comms strategy questioned

Mediawatch looks at how the blame game played out in the media over the latest Covid cluster and the rulebreakers - while the previously-praised Covid communications strategy was called into question by the media, along with the concept of our team of 5 million.
3/6/202119 minutes, 11 seconds
Episode Artwork

Broadcast bosses quizzed about bias - but not the big picture

The bosses of state-owned RNZ and TVNZ fronted up to MPs for their annual review at Parliament this week. The government’s proposal to replace both of them by 2023 is the big issue for both of them - but that wasn’t what opposition MPs zeroed in on.
3/6/20217 minutes, 21 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 7 March 2021

Scramble to cover tsunami and earthquake emergency; Covid blame game and comms strategy questioned; Broadcast bosses quizzed about bias - but not the big picture.
3/6/202132 minutes, 54 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch: Broadcast bosses grilled on balance and bias

In this week's Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Karyn Hay about RNZ and TVNZ's bosses getting grilled by MPs about balance, bias and biting the hand that feeds (but not much about the proposal to replace both broadcasters within three years) - and the retirement of a much-admired reporter at the Herald.   
3/3/202114 minutes, 24 seconds
Episode Artwork

Ten years after: Marking a major milestone in Christchurch

Commemorating the anniversary of the deadly Canterbury quake was a huge undertaking for the media this week. 
2/28/202126 minutes, 36 seconds
Episode Artwork

Coverage of MIQ martyr raises red flags

Lucinda Baulch became an MIQ martyr and a cause celebre for Covid sceptics when she refused a Covid test and was held for a second stint in MIQ. The media reported her reasons for refusal in detail and made her stance appear almost rational - but not her fringe beliefs and anti-lockdown activism which were easy to find on the internet.  
2/27/20218 minutes, 24 seconds
Episode Artwork

Facebook refriends Australia after face-off over news

Last week Facebook turned off Australian users’ access to news over a looming law change to make them pay to distribute it. This week news is back in their feeds after a face-off with the government there. Australia’s been praised for taking Zuckerberg on - but would news media be better off in the long run without Facebook?
2/27/202114 minutes, 18 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 28 February 2021

Covid cases spark Saturday night scramble for media; MIQ martyr raises red flags10 years after - marking a major milestone in Christchurch; Facebook re-friends Australia after face-off over news; insult for Speaker raises decency dilemma.
2/27/202144 minutes, 14 seconds
Episode Artwork

It's newsworthy, I swear

When Simon Bridges called the Speaker "a twat" in Parliament, media pondered whether this unparliamentary insult was fit to print  - and broadcast. They all decided it was - with one surprising exception. Meanwhile, much worse could be heard during the cricket . . .
2/27/20212 minutes, 51 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - curious case of the MIQ martyr

Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Lately. This week Colin talks to Karyn Hay about a Covid campaigner getting the oxygen of publicity. Also: 'Novax' Djokovic being a sore winner, a mindblowing radio resource and new apps from Māori TV.
2/23/202118 minutes, 5 seconds
Episode Artwork

Taking it up a level (and down again)

How did the media break last Sunday’s sudden news of a change to Covid-19 alert levels? And how did they cover the response, the science behind it and the decision to shift back down again - just as the arrival of the first vaccine doses fired up sceptics and social media - and kicked off a public campaign to get the facts out.
2/20/202119 minutes, 40 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 21 February 2021

Taking it up a level - and down again; Facebook backs away from news across the Tasman; private correspondence vs public interest.
2/20/202137 minutes, 41 seconds
Episode Artwork

Private correspondence vs the public interest

The New York Times revealed texts telling the truth about Ted Cruz’s trip to Mexico this week to widespread acclaim. But Meghan Markle had a big win in court against a paper that published one of her letters unlawfully. Critics claim  that case "puts manacles on the media" - and it could crop up in privacy cases here.
2/20/202121 minutes, 14 seconds
Episode Artwork

Facebook backs away from news across the Tasman

News editors in Australia woke up to shock news that Facebook is effectively cutting itself off as an avenue for sharing their stories - after years of building a pre-eminent position as a digital distributor. It's the tech giant's unilateral response to a government-backed move to prompt digital platforms to pay the makers of news they share among Australians - and it could have a huge impact around the world, as well as here.
2/17/20216 minutes, 32 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - Framing Britney

Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Lately. This week Hayden Donnell talks to Karyn Hay about Google cutting deals with Australian news media which will mean millions more dollars for journalism, more Magic Talk fallout - and an eye-opening documentary about Britney Spears and the role the media played as she lost control of her own life.
2/17/202115 minutes, 19 seconds
Episode Artwork

Telco unveils ethical advertising policy amid talkback turmoil

Vodafone was quick to pull advertising from Magic Talk after a recent racist outburst sparked outrage. Now it’s gone further, launching an Ethical Advertising Policy, described by one media outlet as as a “blacklist of hateful media”. How will it work? And is it a contradiction for a company supposedly all about connectivity?
2/14/202114 minutes, 47 seconds
Episode Artwork

Turbulent times for travel - and Air New Zealand

Some positive press for our national airline and its boss last week was overwhelmed this week by harsh headlines about a controversy it should have seen coming. Meanwhile, the push to kickstart international flights as soon as possible is also playing out in the media  - and creating conflict with the public health plan.
2/13/202112 minutes, 42 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 14 February 2021

Turbulent times for travel - and Air New Zealand; public purse to bankroll more news; telco rolls out ethical ad policy amid talkback turmoil
2/13/202133 minutes, 49 seconds
Episode Artwork

Public purse to bankroll more of our news

The government has pledged $55 million for a new fund for public interest news and journalism - the biggest single boost in media funding for many years. Media companies countrywide will compete for the cash from NZ on Air over the next three years. Mediawatch looks at what it’s for and what it means for our media.
2/11/20219 minutes, 27 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - talk radio turmoil

Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Lately. This week Hayden Donnell talks to Karyn Hay about another host leaving the troubled network Magic Talk after John Banks' recent dumping - while another spread doubts and misinformation about Covid vaccines on air this in the week Facebook finally banned anti-vax misinformation.
2/10/202119 minutes, 10 seconds
Episode Artwork

Climate blueprint release annoys reporters, confounds broadcasters

A blueprint to bring down our carbon emissions by 2050  - and change the way we all live - came out this week. There was excellent media coverage of the detail but some journalists complained they were denied the time to report it properly. Meanwhile, some broadcasters leading debate in the media didn’t seem to have read much of it.
2/6/202117 minutes, 17 seconds
Episode Artwork

Talkback toxicity problem bigger than Banks, say critics

After the sacking of John Banks for racist blurts on air last week, critics are questioning the health of today’s talkback radio. It pulls a crowd and airs important issues, but can the bosses and the staff, the listeners and the advertisers still stomach the trolling that’s now part of the mix?
2/6/20218 minutes, 24 seconds
Episode Artwork

Media milk sensitivity over suspicions of special treatment

Against the backdrop of anger over denying MIQ to a terminally-ill Kiwi in Japan - while the Wiggles got a fast-track through the border from Australia - a story about special arrangements for a top sportsman’s family was sure to get a reaction. But once the full story was out, they stood accused of ‘ragebait’.
2/6/20215 minutes, 17 seconds
Episode Artwork

Piling on pressure for a costly ‘miracle’ drug

Last year Newshub put its weight behind a campaign to fund a treatment for cystic fibrosis from the public purse even though the cost was sky-high and the US-based maker never applied to register it here. Newshub fired up the campaign again this week. What’s changed? 
2/6/20215 minutes, 17 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 7 February 2021

Big climate blueprint challenges reporters - and confounds broadcasters; talkback toxicity bigger than just Banks, say critics; piling on pressure for a costly drug; Media milk sensitivity over suspicions of special treatment.
2/6/202134 minutes, 29 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch: News that’s fit to print - and not

Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Lately.This week Colin Peacock talks to Karyn Hay about two stories pulled by publishers this week, Covid vaccine scepticism confronted on talk radio, how close Stuff came to closing - and a profile of a high-profile prisoner that rubbed some readers up the wrong way.
2/3/202118 minutes, 10 seconds
Episode Artwork

Rātana keeps politicians and press at bay

The celebrations at Rātana in January are often described by media as the event that kicks off the political year. This year far fewer guests were invited - including mainstream media journalists - and coverage was scant. But one former reporter tells Mediawatch it may be no bad thing.
1/31/202110 minutes, 59 seconds
Episode Artwork

Media still covering house price rises as good news

Even in a spiralling housing crisis, record property price rises keep getting covered like they're good news. Can the media break its habit of speaking from the perspective of existing homeowners?
1/30/20217 minutes, 20 seconds
Episode Artwork

The story of summer (so far)

Mediawatch has been off the air since Christmas. What did we miss in the news while we were away? 
1/30/202111 minutes, 58 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 31 January 2021

The story of a strange summer (so far); John Banks booted often racist blurts - and the talk radio dilemma; housing coverage highlights homeowners - not the 'have-nots; Rātana gives politicians and media a swerve.
1/30/202139 minutes, 4 seconds
Episode Artwork

Banks’ blurts bring boot from broadcaster

MediaWorks has replaced former politician John Banks as a talkback host and apologised for his comments condemning "stone age" Maori culture and warning "these people will be coming through your bathroom window." But there was plenty more in his programme to offend listeners and alarm advertisers.
1/27/202112 minutes
Episode Artwork

2020 hindsight - media in the year of Covid-19

It was the worst of times for the media industry but in spite of that, many people produced the work of their lives to give us crucial news-you-could-use in a crisis - as well as sorely needed entertainment. But some also put out mixed messages that countered the collective effort to crush Covid - and the internal dramas of others made the headlines too. Mediawatch sifts through 2020 - a year like no other in the media.
12/19/202026 minutes, 34 seconds
Episode Artwork

Substack - the platform that boomed under Covid-19

US news media took a beating from Covid-19 in 2020. Kiwi journalist and entrepreneur Hamish McKenzie runs a publishing platform-Substack - that boomed in 2020, giving journalists important audiences and income. But that success has also given him editorial conundrums to confront.
12/19/202016 minutes, 24 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch 16 December 2020

Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Lately.This week Colin Peacock talks to Karyn Hay about a disputed and deleted (for now) documentary, a foreign-owned beer brand co-opting a patriotic protest for peace; an underwhelming memo for the minister of media - and overwrought reviews of an overwhelming year.    
12/17/202017 minutes, 25 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 13 December 2020

Mediawatch looks at how our media companies weathered the storm of Covid-19 in 2020 - and how we've ended up with more independent and locally-owned outlets than we’ve had for years. The chief executive of Stuff Sinead Boucher bought the company for one dollar earlier this year. What will she do with the company in 2021?
12/12/202041 minutes, 4 seconds
Episode Artwork

Please, no more stories about young people buying houses

As the housing crisis continues to spiral out of control, Hayden Donnell calls for a moratorium on stories about young first home buyers.
12/11/202013 minutes
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch: The case for a media moratorium

In this week's Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Karyn Hay about the need for a ban on a certain type of housing story, a terrible prank played on TV1's Breakfast, and a Steinlager ad getting smuggled into news stories.
12/9/202012 minutes, 58 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 6 December 2020

Our biggest national news publisher said sorry to Maori this week for racism in its reporting spanning three centuries. Mediawatch asks some who have confronted media racism in the past - and been confronted by it - if Stuff's stance is significant.
12/5/202046 minutes, 31 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch: Real regional reality TV

Mediawatch’s weekly catch-up with Lately. This week Colin Peacock talks to Karyn Hay about a reality TV showing us real regional life. Also: another big name in newspapers confronting its racist past; a sudden switch at the top for Sky TV; a ‘ridealong’ report that raised questions. 
12/1/202013 minutes, 21 seconds
Episode Artwork

Opposition potshots at the media messenger

The National Party’s AGM delivered mixed messages last weekend as the president claimed the media lined up against the party at election time - while former PM John Key said the poor performance  at the polls was the party’s own fault.
11/28/20208 minutes, 49 seconds
Episode Artwork

News as a social enterprise?

People are used to getting news from public broadcasters paid for by taxpayers - or as a customer of commercial media organisations. But is news as a social enterprise an idea whose time has come? South Island online outfit Crux now wants its local audience to take ownership. 
11/28/202021 minutes, 39 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 29 November 2020

Opposition potshots at the media messenger; Crux's bold bid to sell itself to its readers; the moose is out there? Mysterious animals beguile media.
11/28/202038 minutes, 29 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mystery animals beguile media

A Canterbury black panther, mysterious moose sightings in Fiordland - and big cats reportedly roaming rurally in the South Island. All of these have been reported by serious news outlets this past month. It makes for novel news, but do these sightings stack up as stories?
11/28/20209 minutes, 48 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - housing hell and capital city pile-on

Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Lately: Hayden Donnell chats to Susana Lei'ataua about the new Metro adding momentum to the comeback of local magazines; stories of housing hell hogging headlines; criticism of the not-so-cool capital piles up; the 'boomer ' slur debate - and the watchdog's verdict on 'Karen.'
11/25/202013 minutes, 28 seconds
Episode Artwork

Dodgy digital election ads: Does the watchdog need teeth?

The election was done and dusted weeks ago, but this week the advertising watchdog ruled another online election campaign ad was misleading. Mediawatch asks the Advertising Standards Authority: is the system working if dodgy ads are only called out long after they might have had an impact - and the parties who place them aren't penalised?
11/22/202011 minutes, 58 seconds
Episode Artwork

Bringing the chilling ‘teen terrorist’ tale to light

Last weekend the same startling scoop appeared in the papers of both major publishers: a teenager arrested for plotting a school massacre which was completely suppressed for nearly two years. Both companies fought a long legal battle to publish details of a story that could have had an impact on the gun law debate.
11/21/202010 minutes, 24 seconds
Episode Artwork

Epic interview with Trump’s Kiwi

New Zealander Chris Liddell  kept a low profile during his time on Trump’s team in the White House over the past four years. But last weekend TVNZ aired an hour-long chat with the man who’s now seeking support to lead the OECD. It was the longest interview with a political figure on New Zealand TV for years. How did it go?  
11/21/20209 minutes, 35 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 22 November 2020

Bringing the chilling 'teen terrorist' tale to light; an epic interview with Trump's Kiwi can dodgy digital election ads be stopped?; critics cane defeated men in black - and pink boots
11/21/202040 minutes, 21 seconds
Episode Artwork

Going in (pink) boots’n’all

While the All Blacks' defeat to the underdone underdogs from Argentina last weekend was unexpected the emotional media response was pretty predictable. The critics went in boots’n’all on the men in black (and their pink boots) and  veteran commentator Keith Quinn copped it for an unforced error on social media.
11/21/20205 minutes, 54 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch 18 November 2020

Mediawatch’s weekly catch-up with Lately. This week: an old-school broadcaster cops a new media backlash as critics went in boots ‘n’ all against the men in Black (with pink boots). Also: North and South magazine back on the shelves; new stories about Kiwis coming home and a Kiwi’s search for Russian roots -  and Mad Man in kiwi music plagiarism shock.
11/17/202015 minutes, 7 seconds
Episode Artwork

Reporting the fact-free claims of Team Trump

Since losing the US election, president Donald Trump and his allies have mounted an evidence-free campaign to portray the vote as rigged. That's thrown the dysfunctions of the country's media ecosystem into sharp relief.
11/15/202021 minutes, 16 seconds
Episode Artwork

Slim pickings - reporting the shortage of labour for fruit and veges

With borders closed, a severe shortage of people to pick fruit and vegetables could create serious shortages and high prices this summer. Politicians, growers and media personalities have all sounded off about it in the media - but the people who actually do the work are almost entirely absent in coverage of a problem brewing long before Covid-19.
11/14/202013 minutes, 20 seconds
Episode Artwork

National’s sober new deputy

National Party leader Judith Collins revealed her front bench picks from its shrunken caucus this week. She elevated Dr Shane Reti to be her deputy - and his drinking habits were leading the bulletins of one broadcaster.
11/14/20203 minutes, 32 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 15 November 2020

Slim pickings - reports of the looming fruit and veg crisis; how to report the fact-free claims of Team Trump; unexpected scrutiny of National's new deputy.
11/14/202036 minutes, 7 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - covering an attempted coup

Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Lately. This week, Hayden Donnell talks to Karyn Hay about how the US media cover the 'stolen election' claims from Team Trump that not only mislead and misinform people - but could actually undermine democracy itself. Also - flabby ex-All Blacks make real and good reality TV - and can current affairs be covered in songs?  
11/11/202014 minutes, 2 seconds
Episode Artwork

Trump v Biden turns into Trump v democracy

Media networks were at last able to name the winner of the 'Race to the White House' this morning after treading water for days. Meanwhile the sitting President gave them all a huge headache: how to handle the cascade of false claims made in the vacuum of uncertainty?
11/7/202012 minutes, 57 seconds
Episode Artwork

Coverage of new Cabinet sparks debates over diversity

This week the PM picked the minsters to form the top tier of the new government - and said we should be proud to have the most diverse Cabinet we’ve ever had. That prompted some in the media to claim political expediency and ethnicity had trumped merit
11/7/202015 minutes, 53 seconds
Episode Artwork

Rural women's stories for rural readers

The magazine scene is being rejuvenated by small publishers after the Covid crisis turned it upside down. Among the new titles launched in a difficult market is Shepherdess - made for rural women by rural women.
11/7/202016 minutes, 31 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 8 November 2020

Trump v Biden turns into Trump v democracy; coverage of new Cabinet sparks debates over diversity; rural women's stories for rural readers.
11/7/202033 minutes, 52 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch: truth sandwiches and the theatre of autocracy

Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Lately. this week Hayden Donnell talks to Karyn Hay about the media coverage of a confusing, stressful and ultimately inconclusive US election. 
11/4/202014 minutes, 41 seconds
Episode Artwork

Political points, talking points, moot points

President Trump wants his Kiwi right-hand man in the White House to be the next head of the OECD, sparking political debate this week about whether New Zealand should endorse him. While parties sought to score political points, talk radio milked the talking points - even though it was essentially a moot point anyway. 
10/31/202010 minutes
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 1 November 2020

Job bid for Trump's Kiwi colleague; magazines bouncing back from Covid chaos; councilors restrict their own media opportunities.
10/31/202034 minutes, 55 seconds
Episode Artwork

New magazines for new times

Among thousands of women who lost jobs when Covid-19 hit were those who make our women's magazines. One was Sido Kitchin, former editor of Woman's Day and the NZ Woman's Weekly which closed down without warning during the level 4 lockdown. Now she's back with a new magazine and a company launching three more designed to reflect the new times.
10/31/202022 minutes, 42 seconds
Episode Artwork

Local councillors gagging themselves?

It's not unusual for local council bosses and mayors to try to control what councillors say when the media come calling. But one council’s elected representatives have created a code of conduct obliging them to clear comments to reporters in advance  - and the mayor and the media say transparency is the loser.
10/31/20207 minutes, 20 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - celebs living their best life

Mediawatch's midweek catch-up with Lately on RNZ National. This week in the wake of Kim Kardashian's kaning for that tone-deaf 'private island' tweet, he looks at chats with celebrities and their relatability. Also - invisible Labour Day, long reads over Labour weekend.
10/28/202011 minutes, 51 seconds
Episode Artwork

A new twist on fake news

A recent Newshub story about a Kiwi golliwog seller seemed to be standard outrage bait. But the journalist David Farrier says the story's actual origins are mixed up in a campaign of harassment against him.
10/25/202013 minutes, 47 seconds
Episode Artwork

Should we fear fake news in our politics?

Fears that foreign political consultants and fringe parties would turn Facebook followers and fake news into votes in the election proved unfounded. The major parties mostly ran a clean game online too. So is misinformation in political messages really something to worry about?
10/24/202018 minutes, 16 seconds
Episode Artwork

Dairy me: vegan promise comes back to bite broadcaster

In July, Duncan Garner promised to go vegan for a year if Labour was able to govern alone at the election. Following a flood of messages from people looking to hold him to account, he's keeping his word.
10/24/20205 minutes, 1 second
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 25 October 2020

Do we need to fear misleading online ads at election time?; hoax plays the media - and targets a journalist; prediction comes back to bite big name broadcaster; a green light for 'dickhead'?
10/24/202034 minutes, 58 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch 21 October 2020

Mediawatch’s weekly catch-up with Lately. This week Colin Peacock talks to Karyn Hay about a post-election political exit interview that went global; the benefits of non-aligned political coverage. Also: is it OK to label a politician a 'dickhead’?
10/21/202016 minutes, 42 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 18 October 2020 Election Special

This week Mediawatch - and some special guests - took a live look back at how the media covered election night on Saturday  - and some of the issues that arose during a long election campaign that left some people complaining of election fatigue. 
10/18/202032 minutes, 35 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch: Facebook's belated ban

On this week's Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Karyn Hay about Facebook's belated decision to ban QAnon and holocaust denial, and a documentary on New Zealand's most prominent conspiracy theorist. He also shares a few media gripes.
10/14/202018 minutes, 18 seconds
Episode Artwork

Election 2020: Media policy slips down the queue

Vote-chasing political parties push policies on big ticket issues like tax, health and education in the run-up to an election, and plans for broadcasting and media are often left to the last minute - or overlooked entirely. But the media are important to many Kiwis and the government spends nearly a quarter of a billion dollars of their money on them each year. Mediawatch looks at what's in parties' manifestos for media in 2020.   
10/10/20208 minutes, 6 seconds
Episode Artwork

Auckland levels out

Auckland’s return to Level One after cleaning out community transmission was a cause for celebrations - but not in certain circles of the media who criticised the timing.
10/10/202010 minutes, 53 seconds
Episode Artwork

Media tools to help us pick out policy

You want to use your vote to back the sort of policies that matter - or find out which parties pledges align with you. But parties making promises all at once, how do you weigh up what they’re all offering? Mediawatch looks at the tools the media made to help us compare and contrast the party’s proposals - and asks an expert which ones help.
10/10/202016 minutes, 13 seconds
Episode Artwork

Right wing and a prayer

Pictures of Judith Collins kneeling in prayer in church raised eyebrows last weekend - and accusations of using faith for electoral advantage. Media were criticised too for intruding on a private moment uninvited - but journalists there at the told Mediawatch that's not so.
10/10/20206 minutes, 37 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 11 October

Auckland levels out; Judith Collins at prayer prompt claims of politicising faith - and media intrusion; the media tools that pick through policy on our behalf; what's in political parties' manifestos for the media?
10/10/202037 minutes, 26 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch: debate over debates - and political parties 'faking it'

Mediawatch’s weekly catch-up with Lately. This week Colin Peacock talks to Karyn Hay about the latest debate in an election campaign testing people’s patience; two parties busted for faking their electioneering; unhelpful election videos - and thoughts, prayers and barbs for Trump.  
10/6/202020 minutes, 28 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 4 October 2020

Stuff adopts new code of ethics and practice; Anna Fifield swaps Washington Post for Dominion Post; the BBC’s Nick Bryant on lessons learned reporting Trump
10/3/202033 minutes, 28 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch: A day of debates

In this week's Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Karyn Hay about three debates: one horrible, one good, and one excellent. 
9/30/202017 minutes, 22 seconds
Episode Artwork

The dark news poetry of Stuff's push notifications

An anonymous artist is hiding somewhere in Stuff's social media team. Their works are usually no more than 50 words long. Their medium is the push notification.
9/27/20206 minutes, 39 seconds
Episode Artwork

A not-so-great debate

TVNZ's leaders debate on Tuesday night was a mostly bloodless affair - one that ended up being notable for what didn't take place than what did.
9/26/20208 minutes, 40 seconds
Episode Artwork

Lifting the lid on abuse in state care

Media revelations of alleged abuse at Auckland's Dilworth School came as a shock to many people, but not those who know the long history of abuse of children in state care around New Zealand, finally being aired in public this week before a Royal Commission. Mediawatch asks a journalist who’s lifted the lid on historic abuse why it’s taken so long for the story to be told in the media. 
9/26/202026 minutes, 46 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - house prices up; columnists punching down

Mediawatch’s weekly catch-up with Lately. This week: The 'big debate' debate, a revealing political poll, more Patrick Gower and more weed; some unpleasant fallout from a broadcasting complaint; cranky columnist facing a big bill - and house prices soar as economy tanks but is it an election issue?
9/23/202018 minutes, 22 seconds
Episode Artwork

Political football

The government got blamed for dropping the ball on Rugby Championship hosting last week by insisting on strict quarantine. This week it moved to make sure Bledisloe Cup games happen here, prompting claims of political opportunism. Sport and politics don't mix, the old slogan says  - but they do with political points at stake at election time.
9/19/20207 minutes, 11 seconds
Episode Artwork

School sports streaming stoush still simmering

The Herald recently lifted the lid on  divisions over a deal that’s allowed Sky TV to screen school-age sports since late last year. Critics claim it commodifies kids’ sports - and one high-profile sportscaster’s even threatened to disrupt broadcasts. But First XV rugby has been on Sky Sports for years so what’s the problem?
9/19/202024 minutes, 46 seconds
Episode Artwork

Watchdog runs the numbers on Covid death claims

This week the broadcasting watchdog upheld a complaint that comments about Covid-19 death rates by Newstalk ZB’s Mike Hosking were misleading - and highlighted “the importance of data literacy” in the media. It wasn't the only time the broadcaster had misread Covid-19 stats - and misled his listeners.
9/19/20206 minutes, 51 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 20 September 2020

Political football; school sport screening stoush still simmering; watchdog runs the numbers on Covid death claim; gentle Judith eclipses Crusher.
9/19/202035 minutes, 33 seconds
Episode Artwork

Crusher Collins eclipsed by gentler Judith

When she became the National Party leader in July, many in the media reckoned combative Crusher Collins guaranteed a confrontational contest for Election 2020. Now some seem disappointed she's showing a softer side instead.
9/19/20205 minutes, 3 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch: A maelstrom of misinformation

On this week's Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Karyn Hay about who's responsible for Facebook comments, and how the media should cover peddlers of misinformation.
9/16/202020 minutes, 39 seconds
Episode Artwork

A closer look at a 'good news' survey

When a prestigious publisher said New Zealand was the second-safest country in the whole Covid-stricken globe, it was no surprise that made headlines here - and it was touted as evidence that we’re on the right track. But did this story really belong in our bulletins?       
9/12/20209 minutes, 19 seconds
Episode Artwork

Could China become a western news desert?

The Australian media’s last news journalists in China quit the country in a hurry this week. For the first time in nearly 50 years there’s no-one from across the ditch covering this critical country - and other western reporters who left have not been replaced. How might this change the picture of China we get from our media?  
9/12/202015 minutes, 20 seconds
Episode Artwork

A call for less news

Many reporters say they're experiencing burnout as they grapple with the endless demands of a 24/7 news cycle in sparsely resourced newsrooms. Journalist Tess Nichol says saving journalism might mean doing less of it.
9/12/202013 minutes, 39 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for September 3 2020

A closer look at a 'good news' survey; doing less with more in post-Covid journalism; foreign reporters leaving China.
9/12/202030 minutes, 28 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch: Lame Tame name games - and still munted

Mediawatch’s weekly catch-up with Lately. This week Colin talks to Karyn Hay about two unusual interviews from young ‘James Tame’- and a personal perspective on a city still munted after all these years. 
9/8/202016 minutes, 3 seconds
Episode Artwork

Unproven Covid 'cure' gets big dose of coverage

News of an effective and ready Covid-19 remedy made headlines this week with researchers here playing a big role.  Meanwhile media outlets in Australia - and one here - have backed a drug for headlice in humans and parasites in animals as a Covid cure, even though there’s no reliable proof yet it will help many patients.
9/5/202014 minutes, 38 seconds
Episode Artwork

Cracks in the team of 5 million?

This week the New Zealand Herald admitted a story about public resentment of Auckland's Covid-19 lockdowns didn’t quite fit the facts. But it wasn’t the only heavy headline lately about divisions revealed by surveys of public opinion and sentiment. What do they really tell us? 
9/5/202021 minutes, 32 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 6 September 2020

Reports of cracks in the team of 5 million; big dose of coverage for unproven Covid 'cure,' TVNZ News is not your 'mumma'; nationalisation phobia.
9/5/202039 minutes, 52 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch: A nation united

On this week's Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Karyn Hay about a couple of slip-ups at the Herald, a run-in between Magic Talk and the WHO and another 1pm press conference question that caused controversy.
9/2/202016 minutes, 58 seconds
Episode Artwork

Dark money, democracy and the media

Warnings of possible overseas interference in our election haven’t made many headlines but UK-based journalist Peter Geoghegan says our media should be wary of 'dark money' and think tanks pushing issues onto the political agenda via the media.
8/30/202024 minutes, 17 seconds
Episode Artwork

Media spotlight survivors and victims as gunman faces justice

Many feared this week's sentencing of the 15 March gunman would become a pulpit for him to spread white supremacist dogma. But instead, the spotlight was on the righteous anger, resilience, compassion, and ultimately love, of his living victims.
8/29/20207 minutes, 23 seconds
Episode Artwork

Is the Covid crisis over for commercial media?

Six months ago, commercial media companies pleaded for government help and pundits warned their days could be numbered. Most cut costs, jobs and pay to stay afloat. But this week, two of New Zealand's biggest media companies posted positive annual results and claimed confidence about the year ahead. Is the commercial media Covid crisis over already?
8/29/202011 minutes, 8 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 30 August 2020

Justice being seen to be done in Christchurch; media companies bounce back from Covid crisis; 'dark money' and think tanks putting political issues on the media agenda; overwrought warnings of a state takeover of industry.
8/29/202036 minutes, 2 seconds
Episode Artwork

Ports proposal prompts ‘communist’ conclusions

One Auckland councilor’s proposal to offload half of a key public asset prompted a talk radio star to say the state takeover of major industries was imminent - drawing a puzzled response from the PM.
8/29/20205 minutes, 54 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - Justice seen to be done

Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Karyn Hay on Lately. This week Colin Peacock chats to Karyn about the tricky task of keeping the focus on the victims  - and not the killer or the crimes - during this week's sentencing in Christchurch.  Also: fresh election content coming thick and fast - and sports pundits telling it like it really is.   
8/26/202013 minutes, 52 seconds
Episode Artwork

A backlash over tough questions for Dr Ashley Bloomfield

Journalists are facing a backlash for asking tough questions of Dr Ashley Bloomfield. Are they being too harsh, or is the director general of health’s popularity prompting efforts to shield him from accountability?
8/22/202020 minutes, 28 seconds
Episode Artwork

Kea Kids News: 'kidsplaining' current affairs

Kids are almost absent in our news and current affairs. This week a service that breaks the mould is back - offering news on topics chosen by local kids and - crucially - reported and produced by them as well. And it doesn’t shy away from the tough stuff in the headlines. 
8/22/202016 minutes, 11 seconds
Episode Artwork

Conspiracy talk on talk radio

Amid concern about conspiratorial thinking destabilising our politics, Magic Talk’s Peter Williams this week raised the possibility the PM knew more than she was letting on when adjourning Parliament.  But the truth was out there all along . . .
8/22/20206 minutes, 20 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 23 August 2020

Reporters cop backlash for tough questions on Covid-19 response; Kidsplaining the news; conspiracy talk on talk radio.
8/22/202035 minutes, 47 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch: Calls for accountability meet angry backlash

On this week's episode of Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Karyn Hay about an angry backlash over Ashley Bloomfield being asked a pointed question, and some sympathetic coverage for a Nazi who went on to help found a South Island ski field.
8/19/202013 minutes, 34 seconds
Episode Artwork

Covid-19: Confronting the deluge of conspiracies over the latest lockdown

The announcement that Auckland was going into lockdown for a second time was met with a deluge of conspiracy theories and misinformation, including from several prominent political figures. That "infodemic" is forcing journalists to confront the question of how they should report on the rapid rise of social media-fueled conspiracy movements.
8/15/202031 minutes, 53 seconds
Episode Artwork

Covid’s comeback sparks calls for more transparency

The breaking news no-one wanted to hear this week upped the pressure on the government and officials to make more information public - and more quickly. Meanwhile critics have cast doubt on whether we can trust what we're told - and the media find themselves in the middle of political claims and counter claims during an election campaign.
8/15/202012 minutes, 5 seconds
Episode Artwork

Merv’s moment & Paula’s callers - politicos on talk radio

One political player made headlines this week calling in to talk radio posing as someone else - while MP Paula Bennett was handed the mic on a talk radio network for the week.
8/15/20209 minutes, 30 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 16 August 2020

Covid's comeback sparks demand for more transparency; confronting the deluge of Covid-19 conspiracies; Merv's moment & Paula's callers - politicos on talk radio
8/15/202041 minutes, 6 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch: Breaking bad news

Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Lately. This week Colin talks to Karyn Hay about how the media broke the bad news from Auckland - and Paula Bennett's talkback debut and confronting cranky Covid callers. Also - a glut of fresh political podcasts. 
8/12/202010 minutes, 16 seconds
Episode Artwork

'Hit and Run' runs its course

It’s three years since ‘Hit and Run’ first put Operation Burnham in the headlines, throwing light on a situation that unfolded far from the public gaze.  The official report is out after a long and costly inquiry. What did the media make of the outcome?
8/9/20206 minutes, 36 seconds
Episode Artwork

MPs on the way out strike back at media

Politicians’ conduct has sparked stacks of media condemnation lately amid a surge of scandals and sudden resignations. But two MPs quitting politics this past week took a swipe at the media on the way out for being part of the problem. 
8/8/202032 minutes
Episode Artwork

Controversial campaign for costly new drug

Newshub has put its weight behind a campaign to fund a “miracle drug” for cystic fibrosis patients from the public purse. But are its viewers getting the full picture?
8/8/202010 minutes, 18 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 9 August 2020

MPs on the way out take a swing at the media; Operation Burnham report delivers verdict on 'Hut and Run'; new media campaign for a costly drug
8/8/202039 minutes, 11 seconds
Episode Artwork

Contradictory polls create confusion

Two more TV opinion polls energised political reporters this week and put the opposition on the defensive. This created lots of drama but was it news voters can use?  
8/1/202010 minutes, 46 seconds
Episode Artwork

North & South takes new direction under new management

A giant German company pulled the plug on our best and biggest magazines in April, casting out many of the nation’s best journalists. Now two journalists from Germany living here are determined to make North & South a home for in-depth coverage of this country once again.
8/1/202019 minutes, 11 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 2 August 2020

Bold poll claims create confusion; survey of post-Christchurch attack coverage reveals 'unprecedented' response; North & South magazine under new management.
8/1/202044 minutes, 43 seconds
Episode Artwork

Research looks at media's 'unprecedented' response to the March 15 attacks

The New Zealand media's "unprecedented" refusal to name or focus attention on the killer behind the March 15 terror attacks may have paved the way for gun control legislation, according to new research from Otago University.
8/1/202012 minutes, 49 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch MPs exit with swipes at the media

Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Lately. This week Colin Peacock talks to Karyn Hay about two MPs' parting shots at the media, John 'last of the lions' Lewis' advice for journalists, a particularly pastoral complaint - and a local chat show breaking new ground.   
7/29/202016 minutes, 18 seconds
Episode Artwork

Sudden surge of scandal pushes bigger issues into the background

A sudden surge of MPs quitting - some in disgrace - dominated political reporting this week, pushing pre-election policy into the background and painting a poor picture of Parliament. 
7/25/202014 minutes
Episode Artwork

Ad industry confronts diversity deficit

Some well-known ads from years gone by employed crude racial stereotypes which would cause a outcry if they were aired today. But is advertising and marketing any more diverse than in days gone by? As the Black Lives Matter movement prompts industries to re-examine their record or race and diversity, Mediawatch asks if our advertising and marketing industry is committed to diversity.
7/25/202012 minutes, 35 seconds
Episode Artwork

Big bill for Covid communications

The Unite to Fight COVID-19 campaign has been lauded as highly effective and the PM said it was crucial to crushing the curve so quickly. But it wasn’t cheap. 
7/25/20204 minutes, 40 seconds
Episode Artwork

Bauer finds buyers for return of the mags

Bauer Media says some of the nation’s most important magazines will be back within weeks now that new buyers have been found. But four months after it shut down the likes of New Zealand Woman's Weekly and The Listener, many staff have moved on and some subscribers have asked for their money back. So what's the plan for bringing them back? 
7/25/20208 minutes, 11 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 26 July 2020

Sudden surge of political scandals pushes bigger issues into the background; ad industry confronts its diversity deficit; Bauer finds buyers - but what next?
7/25/202035 minutes, 29 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch: Anger over MP's mental health smokescreen

In this week's Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talked to Robert Kelly about the outcry over mental health used as a smokescreen for an MP's bad behaviour, complaints about the editorial decisions of Stuff's climate change section - and a potential missed opportunity at TVNZ
7/22/202019 minutes, 15 seconds
Episode Artwork

Bolts from the Blues

Turbulent times at the top of the National Party as Todd Muller quit - clearing the way for a new leader who has excited political reporters and pundits a lot more.
7/18/202010 minutes, 8 seconds
Episode Artwork

RNZ’s ‘toddler steps’ towards diversity

The Black Lives Matter movement has prompted many institutions - including media - to re-examine their own records on race and diversity.  Four years ago RNZ made a long-term commitment to high-quality Māori content, te reo Māori and Māori journalism after criticism that it wasn't offering enough. Mediawatch asks chief executive Paul Thompson what RNZ’s achieved and what’s still to do.
7/18/202025 minutes, 19 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 19 July 2020

Bolts from the Blues; RNZ's 'toddler steps' towards diversity; Mike's mistake boosts Maori party campaign .
7/18/202035 minutes, 25 seconds
Episode Artwork

Broadcaster and NZME apologise to John Tamihere

NZME broadcaster Mike Hosking apologised on air this week for "reckless" claims about John Tamihere and Whānau Ora funding. It was part of a confidential settlement which the Māori Party's co-leader says he will use to fund his party's upcoming election campaign.
7/18/20207 minutes, 15 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch: the story of the Blues

Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Lately. This week Colin Peacock talks to Karyn Hay about some uncool capital cringe, confusing 'most read' lists - and the pursuit of politicians going into overdrive in the quest for a new National leader.
7/15/202015 minutes, 45 seconds
Episode Artwork

Walkergate revives Dirty Politics vibes

A universally-condemned leak of Covid-19 patients' personal data for political purposes - by an MP and a big-name pundit - prompted the media to ask if 'Dirty Politics' was back - or had ever gone away.
7/11/202011 minutes, 53 seconds
Episode Artwork

Kiwi kids screening out local media

Kiwi kids use a lot less Kiwi media than they used to. New research shows its Netflix, YouTube and TikTok engaging their eyeballs big time these days. If our kids screen out our local media, what does the future hold for them?
7/11/202018 minutes, 41 seconds
Episode Artwork

Where has all the clickbait gone?

Under new ownership, Stuff has stopped farming its stuff out on Facebook and it's hiring several senior journalists. Another part of the mission to win the trust and respect of readers is a rejigged website free of tabloid-style stuff that used to clog up the homepage. Mediawatch asks editor Mark Stevens where has all the clickbait gone - and why?
7/11/202016 minutes, 51 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 12 July 2020

'Walkergate' revives Dirty Politics vibe; Kiwi kids screening out local media; where has all the clickbait gone?
7/11/202037 minutes, 56 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - ethical conundrums

Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Lately. This week Hayden Donnell talks to Karyn Hay about the ethical minefield facing reporters charged with telling the story of the Covid-19 patient data leak, and Stuff's decision to back away from Facebook.
7/9/202017 minutes, 9 seconds
Episode Artwork

Breaking for the borders

There are more than 10 million Covid cases around the world and climbing - and more than half a million dead so far.  New South Wales won’t take flights from neighbouring Victoria right now. But there have been long, loud calls in the media to open the border and fire up international tourism.
7/4/202016 minutes, 10 seconds
Episode Artwork

Forcing the issue of race at the Herald

The Herald published a column this week questioning its own record on race. Teuila Fuatai explains why she felt she had to call out the paper that commissioned her.
7/4/202014 minutes, 53 seconds
Episode Artwork

Safety on a slippery slope

The capital's daily paper highlighted the tragic consequences of a dangerous job on Tuesday. On Wednesday, it minimised the risks of another one when highlighting motorists' frustration.   
7/4/20203 minutes, 23 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 5 July 2020

Breaking for the border; forcing the issue of race at the Herald; slippery slope of safety.
7/4/202033 minutes, 59 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch 1 July 2020

Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Lately. This week Colin talks to Karyn about Newshub serving up a scoop with fish battering Winston Peters - and two politicians who sought out the media spotlight this week, while one dodged it. 
7/1/202021 minutes, 15 seconds
Episode Artwork

Cut-through for the climate in the times of Covid-19

Stuff published the first edition of its climate change initiative The Forever Project in late March - the very day we went into lockdown. Understandably, it didn't make much impact but this week it’s back with a supplement in the papers pushing the message that post-Covid recovery must have climate and sustainability at its heart. Mediawatch asks the editor if it's an uphill battle they can't win against the drive to fire up the economy as quickly as possible.
6/28/202027 minutes, 47 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 28 June 2020

Quarantine coverage prompts 'calm down' call from critics; cut-through for the climate in the times of Covid-19; 'Influence'- the inside story of a global PR firm destroying its own reputation   
6/28/202039 minutes, 2 seconds
Episode Artwork

Quarantine coverage prompts 'calm down' call from critics

More details emerge over isolation and quarantine failures at the border, raising urgent questions about the risk of further transmission COViD-19. But the media also raised the level of alarm prompting some experts and commentators to tell the media to calm down.
6/27/202010 minutes, 29 seconds
Episode Artwork

Behind the scenes of an epic PR fail

The documentary film Influence lifts the lid on how one of the world’s biggest PR companies - Bell Pottinger - destroyed itself when its unethical conduct in South Africa was exposed. Mediawatch asks the film’s makers what we should learn about modern political communications.
6/27/202016 minutes, 49 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch: Reporters criticised for being too critical

Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Lately. This week Hayden Donnell talks to Karyn Hay about a new semi-secret start-up for journalism in Canada, more movement from former makers of Bauer magazines after the sale of the company - and criticism of the media accentuating the negative on 'botch-ups at the border'.         
6/24/202015 minutes, 10 seconds
Episode Artwork

The journalists who helped save New Zealand's health response

The government has taken urgent steps to overhaul the systems in place at the country's managed isolation facilities. Journalists' persistent, tough reporting on failures at those facilities helped bring about the reforms.
6/20/20209 minutes, 24 seconds
Episode Artwork

Māori media rejig creates confusion, meets resistance

A 'one-stop-shop' for Māori news based at Māori Television is proposed in a controversial report on the future of Māori media.
6/20/202024 minutes, 58 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 21 June 2020

This week Mediawatch looks at how the media lifted the lid on startling failures in Covid-19 quarantine.Also: new developments in a major review of Maori media - and claims its critics have misunderstood it.
6/20/202034 minutes, 21 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - Covid's compassionate comeback

Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Lately. This week Colin talks to Karyn Hay about a Fawlty woke joke that turned out not to be a Major, some deep and troubling stuff from Stuff - and how the comeback of COViD-19 didn;t bother broadcasters who urged more compassion from the government.    
6/17/202013 minutes, 37 seconds
Episode Artwork

'Arms Down' demands win the day

This week, the police canned its controversial Armed Response Teams after plenty of critical coverage in the media - much of it drawing parallels with George Floyd’s killing in the US and the conduct of heavily-armed cops there. But did we get a full picture of how and why our police bear arms in the first place? 
6/13/202017 minutes, 57 seconds
Episode Artwork

Freedom or fear? Mixed messages on Level One

This week's move down to Level One was heralded by the media here and overseas as a major achievement - and the welcome return of more freedom in our daily lives, including sport with fans in  the stands. But some talk radio hosts painted a picture of crippling fear which often at odds with their own opinions in the past. ​
6/13/20208 minutes, 46 seconds
Episode Artwork

Shit Towns vs Poo Towns in name change showdown

A dispute is brewing between the popular Facebook page 'Shit Towns of New Zealand' and The Rock over the station's weekly segment 'Poo Towns of NZ'.
6/13/20207 minutes, 36 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 14 June 2020

'Arms Down' call wins the day; controversial proposal for Maori news 'one stop shop' returns; freedom or fear - mixed messages on Level One; Shit Towns v Poo Towns showdown.
6/13/202038 minutes, 6 seconds
Episode Artwork

Proposed single Māori news service alarms journalists

A long-awaited and overdue official report on the future of Māori media has raised fears among journalists that a ‘one-stop-shop’ for Māori news may reduce the range of reporting in order to save money. But the idea is not new, says Mediawatch - and neither is the concern about it. 
6/11/20204 minutes, 43 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch: A revolt at The New York Times

In this week's edition of Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Karyn Hay about a revolt inside the New York Times newsroom, and questions whether New Zealand media should be stricter about the opinions they broadcast.  
6/10/202019 minutes, 1 second
Episode Artwork

Reporters cop it in the land of the free-for-all

Journalists covering the US protests have been targeted by militarised police officers and actual military police alike - and in some places, the protesters themselves. Many blame Trump’s ‘enemy of the people’ rhetoric for the hostility, but are there other factors at play? 
6/6/202017 minutes, 36 seconds
Episode Artwork

The end of history

When Bauer Media shut down on 1 April, it wiped out just about every documentary photography job in the country. Now concerns are being raised over how New Zealand’s visual history will be documented for future generations.
6/6/20209 minutes, 49 seconds
Episode Artwork

New York Times staff revolt over column not fit to print

A controversial column in the New York Times headlined “Send in The Troops” prompted a staff backlash at the prestigious paper before bosses decided  - a little to late - it was not fit to print
6/6/20205 minutes, 46 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 7 June 2020

Reporters cop it in land of the free-for-all; prestigious paper's staff in revolt over article not fit to print; the end of history: documentary photography in peril without publishers.
6/6/202032 minutes, 15 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - caught in the Black Lives Matter crossfire

Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Lately. This week Colin talks to Karyn Hay about reporters caught in the crossfire and others copping blowback from the upheaval in the US - and musical echoes of flashpoints in the past. 
6/3/202014 minutes, 16 seconds
Episode Artwork

$1 deal paves the way for staff stake in Stuff

This week the CEO of this country’s biggest news producer - Stuff - pulled off a $1 deal to take the company off the hands of Aussie owners who didn’t want it. She says she wants Stuff's staff to take a stake in it under her new management. Sounds like a nice idea - but how might that work?
5/30/202027 minutes, 53 seconds
Episode Artwork

The other disease we’re trying to eradicate

Two years ago the government said we had "one shot" at wiping out Mycoplasma Bovis, echoing its later stance on Covid-19. It also learned from communications failures in its handling of the cattle disease. But eradication effort has been hampered by failures in the national tracing system - and that controversy has slipped under media radar.
5/30/202016 minutes, 10 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 31 May 2020

This week Mediawatch looks at how the boss of our biggest national news company is about to become its owner - and she wants staff to take a stake in it too. Also: how efforts to eradicate a major disease have gone under the media radar.
5/30/202036 minutes, 14 seconds
Episode Artwork

Return of the mags riles regular readers

Popular weeklies Woman’s Day and New Idea were among a whole host of top titles closed down last month by Bauer Media. Lately they’ve reappeared in the shops as Aussie editions with a little bit of left-over local content. Readers who have noticed appear not to like it
5/30/20204 minutes, 39 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch - tough time for Todd's team

On this week's Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Bryan Crump about some tough interviews for National's incoming leadership team, a new owner's big plans for Stuff, and journalist joy at a pair of missing trampers being found alive. 
5/27/202013 minutes, 54 seconds
Episode Artwork

Bridges rolled after polls pile on the pressure

The return of TV channels’ political opinion polls piled the pressure on the National Party’s leader and kickstarted Friday’s move to replace him. Covid-19 has changed many things in politics and public life, but the media's intense focus on the party leaders is not one of them.
5/23/202011 minutes, 3 seconds
Episode Artwork

Prominent pundit pulls back over Muller link

Prominent political pundit Matthew Hooton has withdrawn from commentary for the time being because of a conflict caused by his link to the successful leadership bid of National MPs Todd Muller and Nikki Kaye. 
5/23/20208 minutes, 46 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 24 May 2020

Bridges rolled after polls pile on the pressure; Prominent pundit pulls back over Muller link; Media on the block vulnerable to vultures.
5/23/202033 minutes, 41 seconds
Episode Artwork

Media on the block vulnerable to vultures?

NZME’s bold bid to buy its biggest rival for $1 foundered in the High Court this week. But Stuff - our biggest publisher of news - is still on the block along with the nation’s most popular magazines. What's to stop offshore buyers snapping them up on the cheap in a bid to turn a quick buck? 
5/19/202012 minutes, 42 seconds
Episode Artwork

A lonely Māori voice at the Covid-19 briefings

You might not know his face, but you probably remember his voice. Māori Television’s Heta Gardiner has been one of the most memorable contributors to the daily Covid-19 briefings
5/16/202023 minutes, 49 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 17 May 2020

Media merger saga turns into bitter court battle; no Budget relief yet for under-pressure news media; a lonely Māori voice at the Covid-19 briefings.
5/16/202030 minutes, 31 seconds
Episode Artwork

NZME's play for Stuff goes to court - again

The long-running saga of the mega-merger of our two biggest news publishers is heading for the High Court - not for the first time. Last time round, NZME and Stuff were fighting for the right to get together. This time the pair are seriously estranged. 
5/14/20208 minutes, 6 seconds
Episode Artwork

No relief for under-pressure commercial media in Budget

Spending on broadcasting and public media has been boosted by $25m over four years in Budget 2020, but there was nothing in it to ease the plight of commercial news media companies.
5/14/20203 minutes, 15 seconds
Episode Artwork

Media health claims fuel push to ease the lockdown

With Monday's decision on Level 2 looming, some in the media are pushing hard to loosen the lockdown, claiming it is killing jobs now and will kill more New Zealanders in future.
5/9/202016 minutes, 11 seconds
Episode Artwork

The forgotten media crisis

As politicians rush to provide help to TV, radio, and online news, magazine sector representatives say they're being left out of the discussion.
5/9/202016 minutes, 16 seconds
Episode Artwork

Radio ‘roadblock’ interview sparks racism complaints

A confrontational radio interview about iwi-run roadside checkpoints this week prompted complaints of racism. Broadcaster Sean Plunket condemned one iwi’s actions as “separatism,” asked an iwi leader if he was would take similarly strong action over child abuse in the area - and later joked about the absence of Aboriginal Australians from Tasmania.  ​ ​
5/9/20206 minutes, 57 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 10 May 2020

Health fears fuel media push for lockdown move; our last current affairs magazine left in print; radio 'roadblock' interview sparks complaints.
5/9/202035 minutes, 34 seconds
Episode Artwork

Eyes on NZ on Air under new management

Struggling news media companies hope the funding agency New Zealand on Air will bankroll more of their journalism, in addition to the local dramas and documentaries for TV it has funded from the public purse for years. Mediawatch asks its new CEO Cameron Harland if it wants that job - and how it’s adapting to Covid chaos disrupting all the broadcasters it supports.
5/2/202013 minutes, 47 seconds
Episode Artwork

Great taste of Threedom

Some people couldn’t wait to get a fast-food feed ASAP after the level 3 switch - and the media copped criticism for wall-to-wall on-the-spot coverage of the frenzy. But reporters went beyond the pent-up demand of mobile fast-food fans, uncovering breaches of level 3 rules that could have serious consequences.​
4/29/202012 minutes, 2 seconds
Episode Artwork

Struggling media get takeaways from government

On Thursday media companies learned some will take away more than others from the government's first targeted Covid-19 crisis package. Meanwhile, the minister of broadcasting has signaled he'll follow Australia's moves to make online plaforms like Facebook pay for news content they carry. 
4/25/202017 minutes, 6 seconds
Episode Artwork

Return of party politics puts leaders under pressure 

For weeks our political news has centred on the fight against Coronavirus. But this week pre-Covid concerns emerged in the media to create political headaches for Winston Peters and Simon Bridges
4/25/202010 minutes, 18 seconds
Episode Artwork

Media ramp up news of going down a level

Last Monday's announcement on moving off alert level 4 was a major event for the media. In normal times people aren't so interested in a PM's press conference co-starring top cops and public servants.
4/25/20206 minutes, 40 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 26 April 2020

Media ramp up news of going down a level; media companies get COVID-19 takeaways from government; return of political problems for two party leaders.
4/25/202034 minutes, 56 seconds
Episode Artwork

Increasing media resistance to the deification of Dr Ashley Bloomfield

A song has been written about him. People have penned paeans to his extreme competence. But the media is starting to resist the deification of Dr Ashley Bloomfield.
4/22/20207 minutes, 34 seconds
Episode Artwork

Entrepreneurial expat journalist urges media to look beyond ads

​The Kiwi co-founder of a successful digital publishing business in the US says the chaos of our media’s current crisis obscures an opportunity to break their dependence on dwindling volumes of ads. That’s easy to say - but wouldn’t that mean throwing out the journalism baby with the dirty economic bathwater? 
4/19/202015 minutes, 4 seconds
Episode Artwork

Anti-lockdown push gets media traction - and pushback

While some saw this week's announcement of guidelines for COVID-19 Alert Level 3 as a good sign, many with a mouthpiece in the media saw it as proof the government had over-reacted here with Level 4  and we should have followed Australia’s looser rules instead. 
4/18/20205 minutes, 14 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 19 April 2020

Media make the case for emergency help; expat entrepreneurial journalist proposes an ad-free future; trouble with COVID 19 numbers
4/18/202034 minutes, 41 seconds
Episode Artwork

News bosses grapple with the collapse of their funding model

Media executives used yesterday's Epidemic Response Select Committee to criticise government for advertising with Facebook and Google instead of them. Lurking behind the anger and appeals for help was a stark admission: their revenue model can't last.
4/15/202011 minutes, 6 seconds
Episode Artwork

Media make the case for emergency help

News media representatives set out the crisis their industry faces to Parliament’s Epidemic Response Committee on Wednesday before the government finalises a package of measures to help them survive. Mediawatch looks at the talking points from an epic four-hour session.   
4/15/202012 minutes, 38 seconds
Episode Artwork

Media beat the drum to roll back lockdown - and sound the alarm

Even before the first hints we had “turned a corner” with Covid-19, pundits were pumping up the volume on calls to loosen the lockdown and get more shops and businesses open again. But others in the media pointed out we don't know what's actually around that corner yet.
4/11/202010 minutes, 19 seconds
Episode Artwork

'Your money or your life'

The lockdown designed to save lives has also damaged livelihoods by slowing the economy to a crawl. Some pundits and politicians are now warning in the media that health can’t always be the top priority - and it could undermine the official ‘Unite to Fight COVID-19’ message.
4/11/202010 minutes, 46 seconds
Episode Artwork

Surge of support for crisis-hit media

Good journalism costs money to produce but adverting has fallen off a cliff during the COVID-19 crisis and some companies that sponsor media outfits may cut back too. But the founder of a service that turns readers of our media into donors and subscribers says a sudden surge in payments is a sign of hope - and the government should take note too.
4/11/20209 minutes, 12 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 12 April 2020

Media beat the drum to roll back lockdown - and sound the alarm; media debate lives vs. livelihoods in COVID-19 response; surge of support for crisis-hit media; COVIDiots and corona clowns.
4/11/202035 minutes, 23 seconds
Episode Artwork

Covidiots and corona clowns

David Clark had a bad week, only just clinging on as health minister after breaking the rules he announced to the country. But he wasn't the only 'Covidiot' squirming under the media spotlight lately.     
4/11/20203 minutes, 48 seconds
Episode Artwork

Speaking truth to Bauer: a wretched week for media 

As local media companies scrambled to stay in business this week, the giant German publisher of our most important magazines pulled the plug on them - and about 250 jobs - with no warning.  It claimed the COVID-19 crisis - and the government's handling of it - had made its business "untenable." Does that stack up? And is it really all over for our much-loved top selling titles? 
4/4/202026 minutes, 8 seconds
Episode Artwork

‘Essential service’ exclusion riles local papers

This week the government tweaked a controversial call that meant some local newspapers couldn’t be delivered during the lock-down. But some are still unable to print important local news at a time when it matters. They say it’s hurting them - and not not helping their readers either.
4/4/20206 minutes, 7 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 5 April 2020

Mediawatch looks back at a week in which the Covid-19 crisis hit the media hard. Radio Sport went off air, a government ban on magazines angered publishers - and one of them pulled the plug on our most important local magazines. 
4/4/202037 minutes, 34 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch with Hayden Donnell

In this week's edition of Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Bryan Crump about commercial media companies' rapidly escalating struggles, coverage of the actual pay and conditions of our essential workers, and Mike Hosking's flip-flopping journey through the Covid-10 crisis.
4/1/202015 minutes, 8 seconds
Episode Artwork

Covering a country under lockdown

Our media have plenty of ‘emergency journalism’ experience after several major disasters and crises in recent years. But covering the whole country going into lockdown was a new one - and in spite of the sudden surge of public interest in their work, the impact will be severe for them too.    
3/28/202023 minutes, 25 seconds
Episode Artwork

Sports news in sport-free world

While Covid-19 has created vast volumes of politics, business and health news in recent days, the sports news has been all about the absence of sports events - and filling the bulletins and channels has been a desperate struggle. 
3/28/20204 minutes, 43 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 29 March 2020

How the media covered the country into lockdown; delivery ban piles pressure on publishers; sports news in a sport-free world.
3/28/202037 minutes, 4 seconds
Episode Artwork

Lockdown delivery ban piles pressure on publications

Community newspaper and magazine publishers say a sudden move to stop them delivering print editions during the Covid-19 lockdown will leave many of New Zealand’s poorer and more vulnerable people without local news at a time when it's badly needed.
3/28/20208 minutes, 32 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch with Hayden Donnell

Stuff and NZME making cost-cutting moves as Covid-19 crisis bites.
3/25/20208 minutes, 28 seconds
Episode Artwork

Media strive to adapt to ‘the new normal’

The media are playing an important role conveying essential information during the COVID -19 crisis, even as their people work at a distance from each other and the economic upheaval clouds their future. But a surge of contradictory comment risks confusing people at a critical time
3/21/202019 minutes, 28 seconds
Episode Artwork

Amateur epidemiologists crash Covid-19 coverage

Timely, accurate media reporting could be life-saving during the COVID-19 crisis. So why is so much coverage still being given to people with no scientific or medical expertise?
3/21/20208 minutes, 6 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 22 March 2020

How our media are adapting to 'the new normal' of COVID-19; amateur epidemiologists crash coronavirus coverage; travel industry trauma hits media cmapaigns.
3/21/202034 minutes, 25 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch: gearing up for the new normal

Mediawatch's weekly catch up With Karyn Hay on Lately. This week he talks to Karyn about the ethical dilemmas reporting the spread of COVID-19; coping with the sports void and Jurgen Klopp - the COVID cop. Also: some surprising on-air views about rugby players’ ‘intimate conduct’ - on and off the field. 
3/18/202022 minutes, 16 seconds
Episode Artwork

COVID-19 clampdown squeezes the media

Tough new measures announced yesterday to counter COVID-19 pleased pundits who had pleaded for action in recent days. But the effects could also change the game for media in the long run. Meanwhile, news-we-can-use in our media gets ever-more important - as opposed to off- the-cuff opinion. 
3/14/20208 minutes, 10 seconds
Episode Artwork

Marking an awkward anniversary

Major media organisations rolled out lots of commemorative coverage to mark one year since the atrocity in Christchurch. It honoured those who died - and those who survived but have suffered - and gave New Zealanders a chance to hear more from Kiwi Muslims. But some of them didn't welcome the commemoration. Mediawatch asks filmmakers and reporters from Christchurch how to get the balance right.
3/14/202034 minutes, 38 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 15 March 2020

Marking an awkward anniversary; COVID-19 clampdown squeezes the media.
3/14/202039 minutes, 11 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch: How not to cover Covid-19

In this week's Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Karyn Hay about the perils of both-sides journalism during the Covid-19 crisis, a weird on-air monologue from Kerre McIvor, and some slightly cringeworthy market research from RNZ.
3/11/202020 minutes, 22 seconds
Episode Artwork

Pillar of Australian journalism falls

Hundreds of media jobs will go across the Tasman when Australia’s national news agency AAP closes in June - and some working for its offshoots here will be affected too. Mediawatch asks its long-serving chief editor why “Australia's news media engine” is closing and the impact it will have on news.
3/7/202012 minutes, 35 seconds
Episode Artwork

Stuff's #MeToo campaign two years in

Stuff added momentum to the #MeToo movement in 2018 with a campaign urging people who’d suffered sexual harassment and abuse to come forward and tell their stories to journalists. Some critics condemned it as "a witch-hunt" and even "McCarthyism" while others worried about the effects on people putting their painful personal stories forward in the media. Two years on, were those fears grounded? 
3/7/202026 minutes, 56 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 8 March 2020

A pillar of Australian journalism falls; Stuff's me to campaign two years in; contradictory coverage of climate and coronavirus
3/7/202033 minutes, 52 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch 4 March 2020

Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Lately. This week Colin talks to Karyn Hay about a chilling picture of the White Island rescue risks, RNZ's ads riling the rest of the media, more on Critic's campaign on party politics - Clive James' online life after death.       
3/4/202015 minutes, 31 seconds
Episode Artwork

BusinessDesk follows the money - and wants yours

BusinessDesk was an independent agency supplying the media with news and commentary for more than a decade. Now it’s offering “world-class coverage of NZ business and how the world works” for $250 a year. Will it work?
2/29/202020 minutes, 55 seconds
Episode Artwork

Whistleblowing law keeps media out of the loop

Some big issues of public interest have been revealed down the years by employees tipping off reporters. Major wrongs have been righted by the media applying the fabled ‘disinfectant of sunlight’. But a review of our law to shield whistleblowers won't protect anyone who lifts the lid with the media. 
2/29/202016 minutes, 57 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 1 March 2020

Panic-buying hits headlines after first coronavirus case; whistleblowing law keeps media out of the loop; BusinessDesk pledges to 'follow the money' - and wants some of yours.
2/29/202034 minutes, 43 seconds
Episode Artwork

Horror headlines amplify the anger

The deaths of Hannah Clarke and her children at the hands of husband with a history of violence were so shocking that many reports warned people in advance the details were distressing. But breathless headlines and inappropriate angles of some of them only added to the anguish. 
2/22/20204 minutes, 57 seconds
Episode Artwork

Jones vs Maihi case prompts calls for defamation law reform

Is defamation law an essential protection for reputations -- or handy tool for men and women of means to curb their critics? Hayden Donnell talks to a lawyer pushing for reform to allow us to express opinions without fear of prosecution. 
2/22/202012 minutes, 25 seconds
Episode Artwork

Under-pressure Peters turns on media

Just before Christmas, Winston Peters was telling reporters our news media were essential for a healthy democracy. Now he’s attacking them on social media for ‘fake news’ and bias against his party.
2/22/202010 minutes, 48 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 23 February 2020

Winston Peters strikes back at media; does defamation law protect reputations or is it a tool to curb critics?; horror headlines amplify the hurt; cricket commentary catastrophe.
2/22/202035 minutes, 34 seconds
Episode Artwork

What’s on the radio? It's not cricket

A bummer next summer for those who like the soundtrack of ball-by-ball cricket coverage: Radio Sport couldn’t cut a deal with NZ Cricket for the live rights to matches from next season. Whyzat?
2/22/20205 minutes, 59 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch 19 February 2020

Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Lately. This week Colin talks to Karyn Hay about tensions over 'those' photos of two journalists investigating NZ First, Breakfast burn-out, how a poke at the woke caused a cancellation - and the cunning data journalism behind a scoop on Sunday.   
2/19/202019 minutes, 18 seconds
Episode Artwork

A model for RNZ’s new youth service?

RNZ’s planned new music-based outlet to hook younger people has been met with scepticism  - even scorn - during the current controversy over RNZ Concert. RNZ bosses and pundits have singled out Australia’s Triple J as a possible model. Mediawatch asks the Kiwi in charge of its content what it does and whether it would work here. 
2/15/202023 minutes, 39 seconds
Episode Artwork

TVNZ chief faces future dilemma

Kevin Kenrick leads the broadcaster that pulls in the biggest audiences in the country and the most money from advertising. But TVNZ - like state-owned RNZ - will be folded into a new public media outfit which will still depend on TV ad income under the plan favoured by the government. How’s he planning for that?
2/15/202016 minutes, 9 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch 12 Februrary 2020

Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Lately. Hayden Donnell talks to Karyn Hay about a local music TV channel coming back from the dead, US media not feeling the Bern - and RNZ Concert / RNZ Music: the story so far:
2/12/202018 minutes, 55 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mixed messages in media over coronavirus danger

Don’t panic, keep calm and carry on - or be very,very afraid? You could get plenty of all three kinds of advice in our media this week - and sometimes from the same outlets. 
2/8/202010 minutes, 3 seconds
Episode Artwork

RNZ changing its tune for music

RNZ’s planning a new music brand based in Auckland to hook younger people. But RNZ Concert will make way for it on FM and be reduced to an automated service with no human hosts. That has sparked a backlash from Concert's fans - and a confusing response from the government. Mediawatch asks the broadcasting minister and RNZ's top brass about the new music plan.
2/8/202027 minutes, 26 seconds
Episode Artwork

Minister lifts the lid on public media plan - a little

The government's been criticised for making ts long-awaited plan for public broadcasting behind closed doors. This week the broadcasting minister Kris Faafoi lifted the lid a little, but the new public media outfit due in 2023 is far from clear.
2/8/202010 minutes, 59 seconds
Episode Artwork

RNZ set to cut back Concert and launch new youth service

In the biggest overhaul of its music services in years, RNZ is planning to gut its classical music station RNZ Concert and replace it on FM radio with music for a younger audience as part of a new multimedia music brand. Mediawatch asks RNZ chief executive Paul Thompson and music content director Willy Macalister to explain the move.
2/5/202020 minutes, 14 seconds
Episode Artwork

New public media plan still a work in progress behind closed doors

Cabinet has approved the idea of a new public service outfit to replace state-owned RNZ and TVNZ by 2023 - but they want more details from the broadcasting minister. So does the public and the rest of the media.    
2/1/20204 minutes, 55 seconds
Episode Artwork

100 not out: broadcast radio - the mass-media 'cockroach'

Organised broadcast radio is 100 years old this year - and it's not just alive, but still kicking pretty hard. Some say surviving and even outliving other media and technological changes make it the 'cockroach' of the world' mass media. What's the secret to survival - and its future?
2/1/202021 minutes, 41 seconds
Episode Artwork

Gordon McLauchlan: 1931-2020

Gordon McLauchlan - who died this week - cast a critical eye on New Zealand’s life (“boring”) and people (“smiling zombies”). He also zeroed in on our media and PR industry with wisdom gained during a long career in both.
2/1/20209 minutes, 21 seconds
Episode Artwork

End of Super Rugby’s golden weather?

Super Rugby kicked off earlier than ever before last Friday under the slogan 'Rugby Recoded'. Last year Sky TV broke the bank to retain the live rights but critics claim the competition's profile has slumped here while Fox Sports is cutting back in Australia and and pulling out altogether next year.
2/1/20204 minutes, 42 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch 29 January 2020

Hayden Donnell talks to Karyn about a mini-drama involving Sean Plunket, a revolt in the Washington Post newsroom, a Buzzfeed pioneer joining the MSM, and coronavirus coverage going bats.
1/29/202018 minutes, 57 seconds
Episode Artwork

Royals’ retreat prompts right royal pile-on

It was no surprise the Sussexes’ sudden decision to retreat from royalty and quit the kingdom fired up the hyperactive UK media - especially as they cited press pestering as a major reason. But half a world away, ours were in a frenzy over it too.   ​
1/25/202011 minutes, 16 seconds
Episode Artwork

Digging deep to fill the void

The Christmas / New Year news drought leaves media desperate for stories and talking points, often scraping social media for content and conflict. Mediawatch looks at some of the stuff that rose from the bottom of the barrel to plug gaps since New Year’s Day. 
1/25/202011 minutes, 32 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 26 January 2020

Digging deep and scraping social media to fill the summer news void; royals' retreat sparks right royal media pile-on; pre-empting the Facebook trolls.
1/25/202033 minutes, 21 seconds
Episode Artwork

Taking the high ground on the lowest comments

Prompted by crass comments in response to an online story about plus-size popstar Lizzo, the Herald warned its Facebook followers to stop and followed up with similar warnings on other stories. Is it possible to pre-empt the bad reader responses which can spoil the media's social feeds?
1/25/202015 minutes
Episode Artwork

Dan Eaton: journalist, thriller writer, intelligence bigwig

Dan Eaton is the author of No White Lies - a thriller involving a kidnapping, spies and dodgy journalism. He's also a former national affairs editor of The Press and the recently appointed director of National Security Policy at the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. Mediawatch asks him whether there's any overlap.
12/21/201925 minutes, 21 seconds
Episode Artwork

Cycle of outrage called out on talkback

To pump up interest in its transport policy the National Party spoon-fed the media part of it: police fining cyclists who spurn cycleways. But the prospect of Bike Force Raptor backfired when callers to the nation's top-rating talkback poured scorn on the plan. 
12/21/20198 minutes, 59 seconds
Episode Artwork

The awkward squad - confronting the media in 2019

Mediawatch looks at political personalities who proved reporters wrong in 2019 - and as the summer silly season looms, we look back at the unexpected stars of the last one. 
12/21/20196 minutes, 55 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 22 December 2019

Talkback callers call out plan for 'Bike Force Raptor'; Dan Eaton - former reporter, now author and intelligence bigwig; Bridges and Peters vs media - and the unruly stars of last summer.
12/21/201932 minutes, 45 seconds
Episode Artwork

Media probe risks and rewards of tourism

The media were in emergency mode once again this week when Whakaari / White Island erupted. They raised important questions about risks and rewards of tourism - and some got involved in the emotional push to recover the missing. 
12/14/201916 minutes, 57 seconds
Episode Artwork

On the brink? The state of our media in 2019

Our Fourth Estate is "collapsing" according to Winston Peters. This week he set out what he wants as the coalition government ponders a new policy for the media - due to be unveiled any day now. But what does the most comprehensive annual survey of the state of it all reveal?
12/14/201922 minutes, 38 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 15 December 2019

Media probe risks and rewards of tourism - and the emotional push for recovery; the state of our media in 2019; televising the Xmas party
12/14/201936 minutes, 24 seconds
Episode Artwork

Algorithmically turbo-charged journalism

Virtual newsreaders, stock reports and election results written up by algorithms, and news organisations dishing up articles based on what you've already clicked on are all examples artificial intelligence in action. Mediawatch speaks to the author of a new report on AI and journalism who says journalists need to become "algorithmically turbo-charged"
12/7/201922 minutes, 5 seconds
Episode Artwork

Cartoon controversy rocks the ODT

A deeply inappropriate cartoon in the Otago Daily Times sparked demonstrations at the paper's door this week as well as discontent among the paper's own people. It reminded editors potentially contentious content needs careful consideration before publication. 
12/7/20198 minutes, 59 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 8 December 2019

Cartoon controversy rocks the ODT; algorithmically turbo-charged journalism; political polls undermined by the undecided and the unresponsive.
12/7/201931 minutes, 4 seconds
Episode Artwork

Undecided and uninterested undermine poll conclusions

Political polling will intensify as the next election draws nearer, but when media draw conclusions look out for the crucial cohort who say they don’t know, don't care or won't tell the pollsters what they reckon.
12/7/20196 minutes, 27 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch: compassionate coverage vs crass cartoon

Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Lately. Colin Peacock talks to Karyn Hay about BoJo's no-shows in the UK; Air NZ's 'expert trolling,' casual racism forgiven - and how compassionate coverage of Samoa's crisis contrasted with one crass cartoon.
12/2/201919 minutes, 28 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 1 December 2019

This month the government will decide how to fund public broadcasting in the future – and ponder replacing RNZ and TVNZ with a brand new organisation. This week Mediawatch looks at how Australia, Ireland and Canada fund their public media  - and what they get for their money.
11/30/201944 minutes, 42 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch 27 Nov 2019

Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Lately. Jeremy Rose is leaving RNZ at the end of the year and this will be his last appearance on Lately. He talks to Karyn Hay about the future of the media and some of the things he'd like to see happen.
11/27/201911 minutes, 39 seconds
Episode Artwork

Do cunning and clever ads cut through?

The Otago Daily Times got a boost this week when British band Coldplay took out 15 cryptic ads to promote its new album. Meanwhile, our biggest publisher of papers is giving away ad space to reward clever campaigns like that. But are creative ads really the ones that cut through with readers?
11/23/20199 minutes, 9 seconds
Episode Artwork

Travel bucks the trend bringing big bucks for print media

Newspapers have been shrinking for years along with the advertising that pays the bills - but travel is bucking the trend in a big way. Ads for tours and trips often make up the majority of the ads in the paper and the income is crucial. But does this compromise commitments to sustainability?
11/23/201918 minutes, 19 seconds
Episode Artwork

Dreamliner engine trouble eased with airline media handouts

Air New Zealand hands out lollies before landing. This week its handouts to the media softened bad news for passengers about more engine trouble for its Dreamliners.
11/23/20197 minutes, 24 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 24 November 2019

On Mediawatch: Air New Zealand's engine trouble; travel bucks the trend bringing in big bucks for papers; Coldplay cracked it, but do clever newspaper ads really cut through?
11/23/201936 minutes, 22 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch 20 November 2019

Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Lately. Colin Peacock talks to Karyn Hay about Stuff Circuit's latest headline-making investigation, big calls on our 'dying' small towns; a long-serving young MP making us feel old, and mean - and whatever happened to the old NZBC?
11/20/201918 minutes, 23 seconds
Episode Artwork

Immigration row sparked by Shane Jones captivates the media

Shane Jones’ low blow at the Indian community over partnership visas was followed up by others looking to score political points or to condemn him. But while the politics of it all preoccupied the media, the bigger immigration issue was obscured.
11/16/201911 minutes, 27 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 17 November 2019

Retail politics on immigration via the media; government tp ponder proposal for single public broadcaster; Ian Cross: editor, broadcast boss, critic and conscience.
11/16/201937 minutes, 30 seconds
Episode Artwork

Ian Cross: editor, broadcast boss, critic and conscience

Former public broadcasting boss and Listener editor Ian Cross died earlier this month aged 93 leaving behind a lasting legacy in New Zealand journalism. He also presided over the creation of TVNZ and New Zealand’s first TV shows analysing our media.
11/16/20198 minutes, 38 seconds
Episode Artwork

Government ponders proposal for public media

RNZ has revealed the government will soon consider a proposal to disestablish state-owned broadcasters TVNZ and RNZ and create a brand new public media organisation. Mediawatch looks at a plan formed behind closed doors which could be the biggest shake-up in broadcasting for 30 years.  
11/14/201917 minutes, 19 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch 13 November 2019

Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Lately. Jeremy Rose talks to Karyn Hay about The Guardian's new New Zealand and Pacific offerings, media coverage of the political turmoil in Bolivia, and the blossoming of prison journalism in the USA.
11/13/201915 minutes, 13 seconds
Episode Artwork

Murder trials reported in distressing detail

It's been almost impossible to avoid distressing details in the news this week from two big murder trials in which young women were the victims - but one detail withheld is the identity of one of the accused. The media's had plenty to say about name suppression restricting their reporting in the past, but a recent law change with heavy penalties has gone under the radar.
11/9/201921 minutes, 41 seconds
Episode Artwork

TVNZ's local content play

As the government ponders its policy for the media, state-owned TVNZ has got a green light to put millions of dollars into ”betting big on local content”. This week it unveiled its programmes for 2020. What do we get for our money?
11/9/201911 minutes, 21 seconds
Episode Artwork

Cautionary tales about your digital data

As Facebook faces legal pushback in the US for exploiting users’ data, three reporters here produced eye-opening cautionary tales of online intrusion into people’s most private stuff for commercial gain.
11/9/20195 minutes, 48 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 10 November 2019

Murder trials reported in excruciating detail - except one; TVNZ's local content play; 'Facebook thinks I'm pregnant' - cautionary tales about sharing digital data
11/9/201940 minutes, 22 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch 6 Nov 2019

Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Lately. Colin Peacock talks to Karyn Hay about New Zealand on Air feeding the big public media policy debate - and discovering people still hate ads; a pair of (mostly) pointless interviews and a single startling speech.
11/5/201914 minutes, 40 seconds
Episode Artwork

Should our leaders be more 'out there' in the media?

A media monitoring company reckons leaders who are ‘out there’ more in the media reap rewards when the news turns bad for them.  But would it be better for the rest of us if they stuck to their knitting instead of trying to manage the media? 
11/2/201926 minutes, 57 seconds
Episode Artwork

Royal revelations prompt a pile-on

Even before it screened here, the latest fly-on-the-wall royal TV documentary prompted a pile-on from pundits here who are hostile to Meghan and Harry. 
11/2/20196 minutes, 53 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 3 November 2019

The end of the World Cup is nigh; should our leaders be more 'out there' in the media?; royal revelations prompt a pile-on
11/2/201938 minutes, 58 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch Midweek: Facebook news; social media ads, and; warship "spotted" in Wellington

Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Lately. This week Jeremy Rose talks to Karyn Hay about Facebook's latest foray into news; Indonesia's use of Twitter to spread fake news about West Papua; and a Chinese war ship "spotted" in Wellington Harbour.
10/30/201913 minutes, 18 seconds
Episode Artwork

End of the World Cup

England won it fair and square and it's only a game - but our media found much more to say about last weekend's semi final to fill out acres of space in the papers and hours of airtime. 
10/29/201910 minutes, 40 seconds
Episode Artwork

The big blaze on TVNZ's doorstep

The big blaze in Auckland broke out right on TVNZ's doorstep and it pulled out all the stops to get compelling coverage on the air - even after evacuating its own newsroom on Wednesday. But news shows were scaled back or scrapped later in the day. Can the national TV broadcaster broadcast from anywhere other than Auckland in an emergency?
10/26/201910 minutes, 57 seconds
Episode Artwork

TV sell-off prompts political response

MediaWorks' move to cut off its TV arm has swung the spotlight onto the government's plans for broadcasting. Politicians sent out distinctly mixed messages this past week ranging from staged schadenfreude to promises of help  - and 'wait and see'.
10/26/201910 minutes, 10 seconds
Episode Artwork

History behind a paywall - and on screen for free

You paid for a TV programme about how modern New Zealand was built - and you have to pay again to see the earlier episodes behind a paywall.  Meanwhile, Parliament TV is screening stuff from the archives nationwide at next-to-no cost to the public purse.
10/26/201911 minutes, 21 seconds
Episode Artwork

Oiling the wheels of questionable science

One of the most listened to items on the RNZ website this week was titled: "Is omega-6 fat making us sick?" But anyone wanting to know the answer to that question would be best advised to do more than simply listen to the interview. Mediawatch questions whether standalone interviews with authors peddling controversial "science" do anyone any favours.
10/26/20196 minutes, 22 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 27 October 2019

Blaze breaks out on TVNZ's doorstep; MediaWorks TV sell-off turns political; alarming oil claims get an airing; history behind a paywall - and on screen for free.
10/26/201938 minutes, 53 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch: TV faces the fire

Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Lately. Colin Peacock talks to Karyn Hay about a delicately disrespected political biography in the UK - and while pundits and Paul Henry write off free-to-air TV, it has provided compelling coverage of Auckland on fire - as well as firefighters facing burnout.
10/23/201917 minutes, 44 seconds
Episode Artwork

Rugby TV deal creates claims of conflicts

Sky and NZ Rugby sprang a surprise this week making a unique deal for TV rights with no bids from any other broadcaster. It's raised questions about conflicts of interest - and compromises in coverage.
10/19/20199 minutes, 10 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 20 October 2019

MediaWorks TV on the block; comedy cuts point to bigger TV problems; rugby TV deal creates claims of conflicts and compromise
10/19/201930 minutes, 53 seconds
Episode Artwork

MediaWorks TV on the block - what next?

Broadcasting company MediaWorks intends to sell off its television operations, putting TV channels Three, ThreeLife, the joint-venture Bravo and news service Newshub in limbo - and hundreds of jobs. Mediawatch looks at the move and asks a former insider what might happen next - and when.
10/18/201914 minutes, 54 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch Midweek 16 October 2019

Mediawatch's weekly catch up with Lately. This week Jeremy Rose talks to Karyn Hay about a new series of in-depth interviews with indigenous leaders; the latest long-form journalism offering from BWB Texts, the indigenous-led protests in Ecuador, and the under-reporting of one aspect of Turkey's assault on the Kurds in Syria.
10/16/201913 minutes, 34 seconds
Episode Artwork

MediaWorks comedy cuts point to bigger TV problems

Broadcaster MediaWorks is cutting key local TV comedies. Mediawatch says it’s a further sign of the company’s deepening problems and wider troubles in free-to-air television. And it is also a headache for the broadcasting funding agency New Zealand On Air.
10/16/20195 minutes, 47 seconds
Episode Artwork

Comedy cuts point to bigger TV problems

Broadcaster MediaWorks is cutting key local TV comedies. Mediawatch says it's a further sign of the company's deepening problems and wider troubles in free-to-air television. And it is also a headache for the broadcasting funding agency New Zealand On Air.
10/16/20196 minutes, 13 seconds
Episode Artwork

Sports rights storm gathers steam

A typhoon over Tokyo scrapped Rugby World Cup games this weekend – while the scrap over who will screen our favourite sports here in the future intensified.
10/12/20199 minutes, 16 seconds
Episode Artwork

News in and out of North Korea

Korean-American journalist Jean Lee had one of the trickiest jobs in world journalism - running the first international news bureau in North Korea. Since then this former news blackspot has become much more newsworthy thanks to the unorthodox diplomacy of Donald Trump. But do we get a better picture of what really goes on there? And what do North Koreans see in their own state-controlled media?
10/12/201920 minutes, 16 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 13 October 2019

Sports rights storm intensifies; news in and out of North Korea
10/12/201931 minutes, 38 seconds
Episode Artwork

The fire this time: reporting climate now

Recent weeks have seen the most concentrated climate change coverage in New Zealand's history but it was still eclipsed by coverage of the Rugby World Cup.
10/5/201933 minutes, 36 seconds
Episode Artwork

Keith Ng: reporting Hong Kong

New Zealand Herald journalist Keith Ng recently returned from covering the protests in Hong Kong and he tells Mediawatch being a Cantonese speaker was invaluable.
10/5/201913 minutes, 46 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 6 Oct 2019

Covering Climate Now saw all of New Zealand's major media companies upping their environmental coverage but it was still eclipsed by the rugby World Cup and New Zealand Herald journalist Keith Ng on covering the protests in Hong Kong as a Cantonese speaker.
10/5/201937 minutes, 4 seconds
Episode Artwork

Was Spark's streaming drama a storm in a tech teacup?

Was Spark Sports streaming fail just a one-off blip? Or game over for our titanic telco and sport on screen - and a knockback for digital innovation? Would politicians arriving at the breakdown really usher in free-to-air rugby on TV? Depends on which of the many loud voices in the media you’ve heard this past week.
9/28/201921 minutes, 58 seconds
Episode Artwork

Giving Amazon a break

Amazon Prime’s announcement of a Lord of the Rings TV series to be made here was big news in the media - as was the huge tax break it is likely to get. It’s part of a business model that means Amazon paid no tax on $18 billion profits in the US last year - but those in the background of their TV productions don't share the wealth. 
9/28/20198 minutes, 35 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 29 September 2019

Was Spark's streaming drama a storm in a tech teacup?; giving Amazon a big break.
9/28/201931 minutes, 44 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch: big paybacks; small paychecks

Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Lately. Colin Peacock talks to Karyn Hay about big paybacks for Amazon Prime - but small paydays; Three's joint On Weed and a case of sub-optimal optimisation.
9/25/201915 minutes, 6 seconds
Episode Artwork

Petrol price 'horror' trumps horror of war

A drone attack on a Saudi Arabian oil well earlier this week saw journalists resort to words like "horror" and "nightmare" but they weren't referring to the hundreds of thousands who experts say would likely die if war breaks out but a possible increase in the price of fuel.
9/21/20196 minutes, 48 seconds
Episode Artwork

Expert says PR needs an ethical upgrade

People point the finger at politicians, platforms and the news media for the spread of fake news and misinformation, but an expert tells Mediawatch the PR industry’s role usually goes under the radar - and an ethics upgrade is urgent.
9/21/201926 minutes, 24 seconds
Episode Artwork

Councils' Christmas party “cash splash” backlash

With local elections looming, Newshub crunched the numbers on local councils “splashing cash” on Christmas parties for staff.  It turned out to be a drop in the bucket, and the online exclusive backfired.
9/21/20194 minutes, 4 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 22 September 2019

Press panic over Spark RWC streaming; petrol prices trump war worries and climate crisis; expert urges PR ethics upgrade; Christmas party 'cash splash' backlash.
9/21/201936 minutes, 42 seconds
Episode Artwork

Sparks fly over streaming the RWC

We haven't been this twitchy about tech since Y2K. Spark took a gamble by buying the World Cup broadcast rights and offering live streaming coverage to subscribers. It's sparked a flood of sceptical - sometimes hostile - media coverage of streaming snags but the bigger picture is the future of sport on screen.
9/20/201911 minutes, 4 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch Midweek: More reasons to be cheerful

Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Lately. Jeremy Rose talks to Karyn Hay about Bangladesh's decision to grant legal personhood to its 700 rivers and a New York court case that could do the same for an elephant; the under-reporting of NZ's ask no questions approach to US torture; and the great flood of climate stories.
9/18/201913 minutes, 32 seconds
Episode Artwork

Media asking who knew what and when

Labour’s leaders were pressed on 'who knew what and when' after serious allegations against a staffer were aired again in the media this week - and why they didn't act sooner. The media have also been challenged on how well they've done their job.
9/14/201912 minutes, 46 seconds
Episode Artwork

Stumbling blocks: filtering extremism from the net

The billionaire boss of Twitter - who flew in this week to update the Christchurch Call - couldn't keep his own account free of extremist stuff from hackers recently. Six months after social media was weaponised in Christchurch, is it time for rules to block extremist posts on online platforms in New Zealand?
9/14/201920 minutes, 24 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 15 September 2019

Labour's 'who knew what and when' scandal; blocking extremism from the internet six months after Christchurch; Te Wiki o Te Reo Maori embraced by media - but what about the other weeks
9/14/201935 minutes, 41 seconds
Episode Artwork

Time to bring back RNZ's te reo Māori news?

The mainstream media is embracing te reo Maori like never before but for fluent te reo Maori speakers things have gone backwards on RNZ since Te Wiki o Te Reo Maori was first launched in 1975.
9/14/20195 minutes, 53 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch: reporters open up and anonymity angst

Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Lately. Colin Peacock talks to Karyn Hay about On Weed - a Patrick Gower joint in a blaze of publicity and some cases of journalists opening up with mixed results: Also - two cases of angst over anonymity.
9/11/201914 minutes, 9 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mixed messages and health news we can really use

Efforts to confront two different but potentially deadly diseases hit the headlines this past week. Both were complicated stories impressively reported and explained by the media - but sometimes opinions obscured ‘news we could use’. 
9/7/201911 minutes, 19 seconds
Episode Artwork

Broken Estate: an expat expert surveys our media

Melanie Bunce cut her teeth in journalism at the Otago Daily Times. Now she teaches and researches it at one of the UK’s most prestigious journalism schools and tracks the trends that shape the uncertain future of news. What state are our media in now - and what do they need to survive and prosper?
9/7/201921 minutes, 13 seconds
Episode Artwork

Spoof ad backfires on admen

A local ad agency’s “out-of-season April fool” was meant to go viral, grab the media’s attention and boost a brand of toothbrush. It didn't work.
9/7/20192 minutes, 46 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 8 September 2019

Mixed messages on measles and cancer - among the 'news you can use'; an expat expert surveys the state of our media; spoof ad backfires on admen.
9/7/201932 minutes, 17 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch Midweek 4 September 2019

Mediawatch's weekly catch up with Lately. Jeremy Rose talks to Karyn Hay about local body election coverage, David Byrne's new journalism venture, fires from Siberia to Indonesia, and the invisibility of women and children in the media.
9/4/201915 minutes, 48 seconds
Episode Artwork

Substack - an ad free social media network

Venture capitalists last month pumped $US 15.3 million into Substack - a start up the New York Times has described as "the new social network that isn't new at all." Mediawatch's Jeremy Rose talks co-founder Hamish McKenzie a Kiwi journalist now based in San Francisco.
8/31/201917 minutes, 54 seconds
Episode Artwork

Oncoming online onslaught of paid political ads?

Recent elections overseas were won by narrow margins amid claims voters were influenced by misleading messages injected straight into their social media feeds by political parties.  Is that what we should expect in the run-up to 2020? And why is the public picking up the bill for political ads that now have a bad name abroad?
8/31/201925 minutes, 5 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 1 September 2019

Oncoming onslaught of online political ads; Substack - an ad-free way for journalists to make money online; a comic confession.
8/31/201935 minutes, 19 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch: Dark side of the net

Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Lately. Colin Peacock talks to Karyn Hay about an eye-opening multimedia portrait of life in Northland, politicians bypassing the media online and a couple of lectures raising timely questions for us about what we want from our media.
8/28/201915 minutes, 30 seconds
Episode Artwork

‘Blowhard’ with a vengeance

Lots of listeners heard Alan Jones’s violent verbiage directed at Jacinda Ardern last week on the air in Australia, but the worst of it only hit headlines this week. Will the outcry run the belligerent broadcaster’s long and lucrative career off the rails?
8/24/201913 minutes, 16 seconds
Episode Artwork

TV watchdogs differ on Christchurch gunman’s footage

The Broadcasting Standards Authority has sanctioned Sky TV for screening snippets of the gunman’s video of the Christchurch mosque attacks in March. But other broadcasters escaped censure here and in Australia. Mediawatch asks an ethics expert cited by the BSA if it made the right call - and if we need new rules. 
8/24/201916 minutes, 13 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 25 August 2019

'Blowhard' with a vengeance; watchdogs draw different conclusions on Christchurch mosque attack footage; locations for new local reporters unveiled.
8/24/201933 minutes, 9 seconds
Episode Artwork

Media's worldwide push for climate change coverage

More than 70 media organisations around the world - including most of New Zealand's leading media companies -  have signed up to the Covering Climate Change Now week that kicks off on Monday 16 September. Mediawatch's Jeremy Rose talks to Stuff editor in chief Patrick Crewsdon about the the week and climate change reporting in general.
8/17/201921 minutes, 24 seconds
Episode Artwork

A media cry for help

Struggling news media companies have been lobbying the government behind the scenes for some time. On Thursday broadcaster MediaWorks put it all out in the open, telling the minister responsible its future is in doubt and democracy could die in darkness if he fails to act now.  
8/17/20196 minutes, 56 seconds
Episode Artwork

Do reports of gun owners’ anger stack up?

All our MPs but one voted to change the gun laws. Opinion polls showed a majority approved and thousands of banned weapons have been peacefully surrendered. Do reported claims of widespread discontent among the nation’s gun owners stack up?
8/17/20199 minutes, 53 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 18 August 2019

Gun lobby push back on buy-back; media crys for help; covering climate change.
8/17/201935 minutes, 8 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch 14 August 2019

Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Lately. Colin Peacock talks to Karyn Hay about colossal corrections undermining an article, airing the ethics of the 'empty chair,' the Rich List offering rich pickings for more lists - and more ministerial manoeurvres on public media funding.
8/14/201914 minutes, 40 seconds
Episode Artwork

Media see red over Green ‘blackout’

Coverage of political party conferences tends to focus on the leaders who we see all the time in the news - and ignore the party members who gather once a year to be heard. But at the Green Party conference last weekend, they kept the media at arm's length because they feared the focus on their followers. 
8/10/20199 minutes, 35 seconds
Episode Artwork

Convergence: yesterday’s media buzzword is now the new normal

Once upon a timeour major media companies and telcos were none of each others' business. Now they are all up in each others' business because of 'convergence' driven by digital technology and the internet. TVNZ's board told the government it won't be getting dividends in this crowded market and this week media bosses told Mediawatch the big players can’t all survive in it much longer.  
8/10/201920 minutes, 24 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 11 August 2019

Media see red over Green 'blackout'; Convergence - yesterday's buzzword now the new normal; distressing deaths converted into clickbait; Warriors' struggles spark f***-letter word frenzy.
8/10/201936 minutes, 24 seconds
Episode Artwork

Distressing death dressed up as clickbait

A tragedy involving a Kiwi who died in Peru recently was reported sensitively. The tragic deaths of a Peruvian couple there was turned into morbid clickbait.  
8/10/20192 minutes, 44 seconds
Episode Artwork

Warriors' struggles spark f***-letter word flurry

Given recent NRL results and refereeing blunders, anyone emotionally invested in the Warriors could be forgiven for turning the air blue. Recent stories in print have had as many dots, dashes and asterisks as actual letters lately - and some outbursts broadcast probably shouldn't have been.
8/10/20192 minutes, 48 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch Midweek 7 August 2019

This week on Mediawatch Midweek Jeremy Rose talks to Karyn Hay about some new free video streaming services and reviews some book review sites, and takes a look at the Listener at 80.
8/7/201916 minutes, 4 seconds
Episode Artwork

NZ on Air funded programmes taxing your wallet and your eyeballs

Over the coming year NZ on Air plans to spend $37.7 million on factual programmes and $46.4 on dramas and eventually most of the resulting content will find its way to the on-demand services of the country's broadcasters and media media companies. And the public - which has forked out for all that content - will then be forced to sit through interminable adverts if the want to watch it - it could be said to be a form of double taxation.
8/3/20195 minutes, 16 seconds
Episode Artwork

Government turns off the tap for big water news

The government’s handling of an important announcement last Wednesday muddied the waters when it turned off the tap for all media but one.
8/3/20197 minutes, 30 seconds
Episode Artwork

Stripping back nude attitudes

Back in the day, nudity on TV was rare and the isolated sightings were almost national events. There's plenty of it available on-demand and on any device these days, but does it do us harm? The broadcasting watchdog’s been weighing that up.
8/3/201917 minutes, 16 seconds
Episode Artwork

Preferred PM polling's proving pretty unpopular

Broadcasters say their political polls aren’t perfect but they do reveal significant swings of support. In that case, they ought to notice more and more people don't like being asked to pick a 'preferred prime minister'. 
8/3/20197 minutes, 48 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 4 August 2019

Government turning off the tap on big water news; preferred PM polling proves pretty unpopular; interrupting ads in publicly-funded programmes on-demand; tax the shock of the nude on TV.
8/3/201937 minutes, 20 seconds
Episode Artwork

Climate scepticism boosted by broadcasters

Forty years ago this week a milestone meeting of scientists led to the first comprehensive report on climate change science. Four decades later, media outlets around the world - including Stuff - have hooked up to boost coverage of the issue globally. But here, some broadcasters are still fuelling scepticism instead.  
7/27/201921 minutes, 34 seconds
Episode Artwork

Running the numbers on public service PR

It's not news that people doing PR and communications for the state heavily outnumber the journalists who report on the agencies employing them. And journalists know most of those on 'the dark side' get fatter paypackets than they do. But the numbers crunched by RNZ's Phil Pennington shows the gap has become a chasm - and the figures weren't easy to get.
7/27/201915 minutes, 12 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 28 July 2019

Broadcasters boosting climate change scepticism; crunching the number on public service PR and comms.
7/27/201932 minutes, 40 seconds
Episode Artwork

The Great Hack debuts on Netflix - disgraced hack becomes UK PM

This week on Mediawatch Midweek Jeremy Rose talks to Karyn Hay about the new Netflix series The Great Hack; Boris Johnson - the disgraced hack turned UK PM, and;  "Ricky Leaks" - a journalistic scoop that's seen hundreds of thousands taking to the streets of Puerto Rico demanding the resignation of governor Ricardo Rossello.
7/24/201917 minutes, 22 seconds
Episode Artwork

That's a bit.... disappointing

Mediawatch's Jeremy Rose takes a look at TVNZ That's a Bit Racist documentary and finds it a bit disappointing.
7/20/201910 minutes, 44 seconds
Episode Artwork

Full credit to the media?

The Cricket World Cup outcome monopolised the media last Monday - and whether it was fair or not was the big story in the following days. The Black Caps were dignified in defeat, but did some media sledging in the past motivate England’s match-winner last Monday morning? 
7/20/201911 minutes, 11 seconds
Episode Artwork

Coy candidates playing the media

Prospective politicians with hired hands from PR are flying kites in the media before committing to a campaign. Candidates running for office should be covered as news but can the media avoid being used for political publicity and market research?
7/20/201910 minutes, 21 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 21 July 2019

Coverage of chaotic cricket that needed some explaining; a prime-time probe into racism that didn't go deep; prospective politicians playing the media.
7/20/201941 minutes, 25 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch Midweek: Critical cricket and more

Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Lately. Colin Peacock talks to Karyn Hay some up-close coverage of the fallout from 'Taken by the State' - and how the media dealt with what the hell happened at Lords. Also: a drought-breaking surge of local TV comedy and a surprising comedy confession.
7/17/201916 minutes, 47 seconds
Episode Artwork

World Cup coverage highlights off-pitch inequality

The Black Caps are in the Cricket World Cup final this weekend in England a week after the Women’s World Cup of football finished in France. Women were not left on the sidelines in the media coverage of both tournaments which highlighted inequalities and big-picture issues off the field.
7/13/201918 minutes, 43 seconds
Episode Artwork

Broadcasting watchdog targets ‘harm’

‘Freedom in Broadcasting without Harm’ is the newly-stated mission of our most powerful media watchdog. The BSA is also asking if broadcasting standards need to change after the Christchurch mosque attacks. This could be controversial against the backdrop of increased angst about hate speech and freedom of expression.
7/13/201929 minutes, 23 seconds
Episode Artwork

Local music TV all over Rova as Edge TV goes online only

New Zealand no longer has a local music TV channel after MediaWorks took Edge TV off the screen last week.    Five years after promising ‘radio with pictures on steroids’ it seems the effects have worn off.
7/13/20195 minutes, 31 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 14 July 2019

World Cup coverage highlights off-pitch inequalities; broadcasting watchdog targets 'harm'; Mediaworks kills the video star;
7/13/201937 minutes, 48 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch Midweek: 10 July 2019

Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Lately. Colin Peacock talks to Karyn Hay about the end of local music TV, the fallout from a famous Māori Television scoop and Google changing tack on name suppression. CAUTION: may contain traces of cricket.
7/9/201915 minutes
Episode Artwork

Cancer campaign coverage puts heat on Pharmac

The pressure’s on for consistent cancer care around the country. Experts say that will take more than just more money for medicines but that’s become the focus of much of the coverage and comment in the media.     
7/6/201915 minutes, 18 seconds
Episode Artwork

All Black jersey blitz pulls the wool over fans' eyes

The latest All Blacks World Cup jersey was launched with a comprehensive PR blitz this week - and a premium price tag. The media marveled at its cutting edge design, but it wasn’t clear whether paying punters would get the garment ‘as seen on TV’.
7/6/20196 minutes, 42 seconds
Episode Artwork

Giving Austria's far right a platform

This week Newshub and RNZ both ran interviews with far-right Austrian activist Martin Sellner. Mediawatch's Jeremy Rose argues neither provided the background required for their audiences to appreciate just how extreme his views are.
7/6/201911 minutes
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 7 July 2019

Cancer coverage stirs action and emotions; giving Austria's far-right a platform; All Black jersey reveal pulls wool over fans' eyes
7/6/201932 minutes, 53 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch: Attribution anger & anti-social media

Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Lately. Colin Peacock talks to Karyn Hay about attribution anger; greenwashing in the Koru lounge, tenant journos and rental health . . . and tech titans dissing our courts and killing off Richie. 
7/2/201914 minutes, 21 seconds
Episode Artwork

Background checks before cashing cheques for advocacy ads

A sudden spate of advocacy ads this past week shows media should check the claims of people placing political propaganda before cashing their cheques.
6/29/201911 minutes, 47 seconds
Episode Artwork

Broadcasting policy unravels in ‘year of delivery’

Kris Faafoi was promoted in a cabinet reshuffle this week, but he still has the problem portfolio of broadcasting.  The last vestige of predecessor’s policy was killed off this week when the committee appointed to set funding for public broadcasting was dissolved. 
6/29/20194 minutes
Episode Artwork

The Spinoff strives to recruit its readers

Almost five years after starting up, online outlet The Spinoff now wants readers to cough up along with its corporate sponsors and clients. It’s even offering them some editorial influence. Mediawatch asks its founder if that might mess with their mission.
6/29/201939 minutes, 40 seconds
Episode Artwork

Taking transport stats for a ride

How we get around increasingly congested cities and towns has become a hot topic and paying for public transport is a an increasingly fraught political issue, especially as councils around the country are declaring 'climate emergencies'. But do claims the facts are being spun to suit agendas stand up?
6/29/20199 minutes, 8 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 30 June 2019

Advocacy ads needs checks before cheques; broadcasting policy goes backwards; The Spinoff recruits its readers; transport stats taken for a ride.
6/29/201935 minutes, 10 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch Midweek 26 June 2019

Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Lately. Jeremy Rose talks to Karyn Hay about the NZ Herald's Meghan Markle mania; death, dying and the news; the Spinoff joins the membership club; and more.
6/26/201917 minutes, 23 seconds
Episode Artwork

Offsetting our indulgences

Flygskam is rapidly replacing hygge as the media's favourite Scandinavian word. But whereas hygge introduced the world to the warm and fuzzy Danish concept of feeling good due to the simple pleasures in life, the Swedish word flygskam - or flight shame - is all about bringing your holiday ambitions down to earth.
6/22/20196 minutes, 46 seconds
Episode Artwork

Political pitch for free speech excites the media  

The Act party struggles to attract supporters, but has no problem getting the attention of the media. Its new proposals to beef up freedom of speech were debated throughout the week in the news.
6/22/201912 minutes, 16 seconds
Episode Artwork

Confronting an online clickbait copy machine

The Mail Online is one of the world’s most popular websites - partly because it recycles the online journalism of other outlets as clickbait. You’ll never believe what happened when New Zealand-based correspondent Anke Richter confronted them about that recently.
6/22/201922 minutes, 41 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 23 June 2019

Act's free-speech political pitch triggers the media; offsetting our indulgences; Christchurch correspondent confronts online clickbait machine.
6/22/201934 minutes, 50 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch 19 June 2019

Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Lately. Colin Peacock talks to Karyn Hay about behind-the-scenes bluster from property profiteers out in the open, the maths of kiwifruit, a lookback at a story that faded from the headlines, the end of the innings for the oldest-ever editor - and further fallout from the coverage of Oranga Tamariki’s track record. ​
6/19/201921 minutes, 44 seconds
Episode Artwork

Baby uplift story raises awkward questions

A fly-on-the-wall account of an attempt to take a newborn baby from a Māori whānau into care put Oranga Tamariki’s methods under the spotlight and sparked claims of ‘a stolen generation.’ Those who saw it were shocked but it was far from the first time this case and others like it had been aired in the media.
6/15/201910 minutes, 29 seconds
Episode Artwork

‘Bugger the pollsters’ - and the broadcasters?

Two contrary political opinion polls this week raised big questions about the quality and the purpose of them. Politicians disputing the outcomes were dismissed as “in denial.” But are the media the ones who need to confront the contradictions in their reporting?
6/15/201923 minutes, 45 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 16 June 2019

Contradictory political polls put heat on the pollsters - and the broadcasters; confronting scoop raises big questions over care and custody of vulnerable kids.
6/15/201936 minutes, 50 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch Midweek for 12 June 2019

Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Lately. Jeremy Rose talks to Karyn Hay about Melanie Reid's Uplift documentary; Five Eyes and the ABC raid, and; a growing digital divide where rants are free but facts come at a price. 
6/12/201914 minutes, 49 seconds
Episode Artwork

Reporting local democracy in London

Former Dominion Post reporter Talia Shadwell was one of the reporters in a British scheme that’s the model for a new one here designed to put reporters into the regions where there aren’t enough of them. She tells Mediawatch it’s working well in the UK, but all parties will need to commit to it here.
6/8/201915 minutes, 22 seconds
Episode Artwork

Police raids spook Aussie media

Three times this week week the powers-that-be intruded on journalists in Australia to try and dig out sources of controversial stories of clear public interest. Media freedom advocates there say a new law is now needed to reinforce the right to know. Should we take note too? 
6/8/20196 minutes, 34 seconds
Episode Artwork

Cattle crisis complacency goes under the radar?

Fear of spreading Mycoplasma Bovis during the annual mass-movement of stock was headline news a year ago. Amid our biggest-ever biosecurity operation, thousands of farmers still hadn’t registered stock movements before Moving Day this year - but it’s barely been reported.  
6/8/20199 minutes, 35 seconds
Episode Artwork

Public media funding policy back to square one?

Labour came to power promising big boosts to public broadcasting, but last week's Budget offered only stop-gap increases “pending major policy decisions” to come. Mediawatch asks the minister of broadcasting and digital media when the big calls about media policy will be made.
6/8/201911 minutes, 51 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 9 June 2019

Police raids spook Aussie media; public media funding policy back to square one?; reporting local democracy in London; cattle crisis complacency goes under the radar.
6/8/201937 minutes, 19 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch Midweek 6 June: Under the influence

Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Lately. Colin Peacock talks to Karyn Hay about the Daily Mail's shameless rip-offs of other people's journalism - and why no-one can stop it. But first: a string of stories about media under the influence of lobbyists, spin doctors, PR pros, sports stars and  . . . influencers.  
6/5/201917 minutes, 44 seconds
Episode Artwork

Media reports' toxic side effects

A recent academic study has found that media reports were the main cause of an increase in people experiencing adverse side effects following a Pharmac switch from a branded anti-depressant to a generic one - not the switch itself.
6/1/201919 minutes, 2 seconds
Episode Artwork

Budget leak draws media away from our wellbeing

The Budget led the bulletins this week long before its scheduled release because of that leak. Some pundits praised Simon Bridges' strategy while others criticised breaking an important embargo solely for party political gain. But how did the media judge the public interest in this story?  
6/1/20197 minutes, 47 seconds
Episode Artwork

New collaboration puts reporters in the regions but future funding is already in doubt

A pilot programme will place reporters in regions where coverage of local issues is in decline. it's paid for with $1m from the public purse, but only for a year. Mediawatch talks to two key players who set it up, a local news publisher who backs the idea and one who is shut out of it for now. 
6/1/201924 minutes, 54 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 2 June 2019

Budget leak pulls media away from public interest; Budget 2019 not transformative for media; reporters om the ground in the regions; serious side-effects of media reporting medicines.
6/1/201941 minutes, 22 seconds
Episode Artwork

Budget 2019 not transformative for media

The broadcasting funding changes in Budget 2019 weren't exactly headline-making stuff. There were only incremental increases and the abandonment of the only major innovation arising from Budget 2018. It falls well short of Labour's policy before it took power.
5/30/20193 minutes, 28 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch Midweek 29 May 2019

Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Lately. Jeremy Rose talks to Emile Donovan about the media's lack of interest in how New Zealand votes at the UN; a former police inspector, MP and honorary consul's claim that there's a "high probability" the police used a surrogate agency to break into his car; and more.
5/29/201920 minutes, 37 seconds
Episode Artwork

Publishers, public broadcaster and the public purse back new local news scheme

Publicly funded reporters will be employed by news publishers around the country in a first-of-its-kind scheme unveiled today to address declines in local news coverage. It’s the result of a government-approved collaboration between RNZ, publishers and the government’s broadcasting funding agency. .
5/26/201923 minutes, 2 seconds
Episode Artwork

Pike River families take control of media coverage

The re-entry of the Pike River mine this week was an historic event but there were no media there to record it; the families of the 29 men who died in the disaster did not want them there. Mediawatch takes a look at some recent research that might explain why.
5/25/20199 minutes, 36 seconds
Episode Artwork

Bullying report points the finger at reporters

It named no names, but the much-anticipated report into bullying in Parliament did lift the lid on people turning the place toxic.The journalists among them are part of the problem, according to the report, but there wasn't a lot about that in the media.
5/25/20199 minutes, 25 seconds
Episode Artwork

Onward Christian politicians

There was a sudden surge of interest in Christian politics this week and the possibility of new political parties excited political reporters. Meanwhile the PM meeting the world’s top Mormons made headlines - in Utah, but not here.   
5/25/201911 minutes, 36 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 26 May 2019

Bullying report also points finger at reporters; Pike River families keep media at arm's length; a sudden surge of interest in Christian politicians.
5/25/201932 minutes, 13 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch Midweek 22 May 2019

Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Lately. Colin Peacock talks to Emile Donovan about media self-absorption, an awful Aussie election gimmick; two lost-and-found tearjerkers; a spoiled spoiler story - and media people with their eyes on the prizes.
5/22/201927 minutes, 1 second
Episode Artwork

Christchurch Call and response

The Christchurch Call now has international backing, but a prominent media freedom advocate in the US tells Mediawatch there could be unintended consequences for the media and journalists.
5/18/201922 minutes, 53 seconds
Episode Artwork

Is it time for staff representation on media company boards?

A staff-elected board member at the ABC was credited by some with providing a steadying hand during last year's political interference scandal that saw the sacking of the Australian public broadcaster's chief executive and the resignation of its board chair. So, would New Zealand's publicly-owned media companies benefit from having a staff member at the top table?
5/18/201914 minutes, 36 seconds
Episode Artwork

Tip Top's sale sparks meltdown in the media

Tip Top was scooped up by a global behemoth this week, sparking a mini-meltdown over a quintessential Kiwi company slipping offshore. But others insisted the media got the wrong end of the stick on that and rewrote ice cream history.
5/18/20197 minutes, 1 second
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 19 May 2019

The Christchurch Call and response; media staff at their companies' top table; flipping Tip Top gives media an ice cream headache.
5/18/201934 minutes, 50 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch Midweek 15 May 2019

This week on Mediawatch Midweek Jeremy Rose talks to Emile Donovan about the unmasking of an anonymous Russian social media commentator - who's been called the most important journalist in the country; the power of a signature - Milo vs Mirena; and media clashes with the alt-right.
5/15/201923 minutes, 30 seconds
Episode Artwork

One engagement ring rules them all?

“Let’s do this” was Labour’s slogan before the last election. Now some pundits reckon timidity could cost the party at the next one - and a lot could hang on when the PM says: "I do.”   
5/11/201911 minutes
Episode Artwork

Australia looks for leadership in government and on air

In the middle of an intense election campaign, Australia’s public broadcaster has been looking for new leaders itself after a scandal that saw off its top executives last year. A veteran media watcher tells Mediawatch there’s lots to learn from the mess at the ABC and its efforts to address the "death of broadcasting".
5/11/201913 minutes, 54 seconds
Episode Artwork

Cyclone survival not the sexy story

The strongest cyclone to hit coastal India for years yielded spectacular shots of devastation for TV news and social media this week. But the real story was why so few people died in such a poor and populous place.
5/11/20196 minutes, 37 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 12 May 2019

One engagement ring rules them all; Australia looks for leadership in government and on air; cyclone survival not the sexy story
5/11/201936 minutes, 44 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch Midweek 8 May 2019

Mediawatch’s weekly catch-up with Karyn Hay on Lately: This week Colin Peacock talks to Karyn about more fibre and new faces in broadcasters’ breakfasts; RNZ’s new show for early risers; a random typo tweets that rebounded - and the sliding doors of Kiwi rock nostalgia.
5/8/201928 minutes, 55 seconds
Episode Artwork

Tapping the readers for revenue

For years, the country's top-selling paper talked about making online readers pay - just like subscribers to the printed paper. This week the New Zealand Herald finally did it. The ads they once monopolised are dwindling so it makes sense to seek more revenue from the readers. But will they now cough up to cover the cost of quality reporting? 
5/4/201935 minutes, 43 seconds
Episode Artwork

Slush and burn

National served up the ‘slushies in jail’ story to the media, who then forced it down our throats for two days - then bit the hand that spoonfed them.   
5/4/20199 minutes, 15 seconds
Episode Artwork

Uncharted waters for media freedom

Any complacency about extremism here was extinguished by the attack in Christchurch on 15 March. The media claimed it marked “the end of our innocence”. We're still in the top ten for global press freedom but our media need to be vigilant against incursions on their freedoms too.
5/4/20198 minutes, 17 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 5 May 2019 - Tapping the readers for revenue

Tapping readers for revenue - the Herald puts up its paywall; NZ media freedom enters uncharted waters after Christchurch; slush and burn.
5/4/201937 minutes, 38 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch Midweek: Spies' lies; paywalls; and The Detail

This week on Mediawatch Midweek Jeremy Rose talks to Karyn Hay about the NZ Herald's new paywall; the new daily podcast: The Detail: and a couple of stories that have barely made the news.
5/1/201918 minutes, 21 seconds
Episode Artwork

Don't feed the troll

While condemning social media platforms for hosting and spreading extremists’ content, many media here also took the online bait from a noted British troll too toxic even for Fox News and the tabloids in the UK.
4/27/201910 minutes, 21 seconds
Episode Artwork

Does social media reform have the law on its side?

Some pundits predict the “Christchurch call to action" and the PM's upcoming social media summit in Paris won’t move US-based tech companies. They've always resisted regulation and can fall b ack on powerful US free speech laws. But could reformers find US lawyers and lawmakers end up on their side?
4/27/201914 minutes, 33 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 28 April 2019

Don't feed the troll; which side the law is on for bringing social media to heel; The Herald puts a price on the paywall. Co
4/27/201934 minutes, 4 seconds
Episode Artwork

NZME puts a price on its paywall

The New Zealand Herald's publisher NZME has announced digital subscriptions will be available from next week. Online readers will have to pay $5 a week for everything the Herald has to offer. It's the most significant move in the market for online news in New Zealand so far. 
4/25/20195 minutes, 47 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch Midweek: the megabucks miner v Mister Twisted Sister

Mediawatch’s weekly catch-up with Karyn Hay on Lately: This week Colin Peacock talks to Karyn about the megabucks mining magnate taking on Mister Twisted Sister across the ditch; Breakfast TV going stale; so long and thanks for all the features - and the end of the 'umm' . . . for a sum.
4/23/201931 minutes, 40 seconds
Episode Artwork

Accounting for carbon in the age of climate change

News of New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions going up after two successive years of decreases failed to make the television news bulletins. Mediawatch takes a look at the state of climate change reporting in New Zealand.
4/20/20199 minutes, 24 seconds
Episode Artwork

Sitting on a sensational story for safety’s sake

For five years our news media kept the story of kidnapped nurse Louisa Akavi under wraps and this week they won praise for putting her safety ahead of a scoop. But the last time this happened, the media’s ethics didn’t quite come out so squeaky clean in the wash-up.
4/20/201913 minutes, 4 seconds
Episode Artwork

In thrall to Thrones

TVNZ made a bold move screening a contemporary local drama each weeknight this past week - but it was a foreign fantasy on pay TV that grabbed the media's attention. And turns out New Zealanders have a stake in the much-hyped Game of Thrones series too.
4/20/20197 minutes, 56 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 21 April 2019

Sitting on a sensational story for safety's sake; accounting for carbon in the age of climate change; in thrall to Thrones.
4/20/201931 minutes, 41 seconds
Episode Artwork

Global squeeze on Vice prompts local closure

Over the past four years, a small  team of local journalists at multimedia outlet Vice has published New Zealand and Pacific stories watched and read around the world over the past four years. A new lid-lifting look at billionaires’ bunkers beneath our soil is set to go viral too. So why has the plug just been pulled on Vice’s local journalism?
4/13/201920 minutes, 12 seconds
Episode Artwork

Governments gear up to crack down on social media

After Christchurch, governments around the world are gearing up against the ‘weaponisation’ of the internet by terrorists and extremists. The grim content they create also forces news media to make tough calls. Professor Roxane Cohen Silver has studied the effects of extreme images - and what the media need to know about that.
4/13/201923 minutes, 27 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 14 April 2019

Governments gear up to crack down on social media: how to handle content created by extremists; Vice NZ caught in global squeeze. Programme Code Participants Colin Peacock, Jeremy Rose Topics
4/13/201935 minutes, 59 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch Midweek 10 April 2019

Mediawatch’s weekly catch-up with Karyn Hay on Lately: This week Colin Peacock talks to Karyn about a student paper pulling up trees in Dunedin; arguments over archiving extremists’ content online; new multimedia content for RNZ funded by you; Brexit and bananas - and a curmudgeonly radio host calls it a day.
4/10/201922 minutes, 27 seconds
Episode Artwork

Manifesto ban divides media

Banning the gunman’s so-called manifesto was a controversial call by the Chief Censor last week. It has divided opinion among the media over whether they should delve into it - and just how much of it the public needs to know.
4/6/201917 minutes, 19 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 7 April 2019

ZB broadcaster's "leeches" blurt censured; manifesto ban divides media; reporters return to politics as usual.
4/6/201933 minutes, 1 second
Episode Artwork

Reporters returning to politics as usual

Normal party politics have been mostly in abeyance since last month’s terrorist attack. But some political reporters are already returning to political reporting as usual - analysing political strategy and speculating about the next election.  
4/6/20195 minutes, 26 seconds
Episode Artwork

Newstalk ZB broadcaster’s blurts censured

Newstalk ZB broadcaster Heather du Plessis-Allan has been censured for Pacific Island slurs in a ruling that contains uncharacteristically strong language from the official broadcasting watchdog.
4/4/20198 minutes, 56 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch Midweek: Guns, God and algorithms

On Mediawatch Midweek Jeremy Rose talks to Lately's Karyn Hay about Guns, God and Algorithms; Bougainville, and rapping the news.
4/3/201918 minutes, 58 seconds
Episode Artwork

Reporting Islam before and after 15/3

Mediawatch takes a look at the coverage of Islam and Muslims in the media before and after the Christchurch atrocity of 15 March.
3/30/201933 minutes, 35 seconds
Episode Artwork

Curbing comments to calm the farm online

After the atrocity in Christchurch, Stuff says it's time to civilise the often unpleasant space 'below the line.' It no longer accepts online comments on news stories about topics that get readers the most wound-up. Is this censorship in response to tragedy - or was more moderation long overdue?
3/30/201922 minutes, 38 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 31 March 2019

Why the country's most popular news publisher is cracking down on comments from its readers; reporting Islam before and after 15/3.
3/30/201934 minutes, 3 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch Midweek 27 March 2019

Mediawatch’s weekly catch-up with Karyn Hay on Lately: This week Colin Peacock talks to Karyn about a rare outlet for the voices of our youth on air; a student paper pulling up trees in Dunedin, data journalism that shows we don't know how lucky we are - and more assessments of the media coverage of the attack in Christchurch and what followed:
3/27/201927 minutes, 29 seconds
Episode Artwork

How Christchurch’s assault has made a mark on our media

The attack in Christchurch has forced our news media to rethink the way they work, whose voices they amplify and why. Telcos, bloggers, advertisers and the government have also reacted in ways that could change what we see, hear and read in our media in the future - and we've also had a stark reminder of the power of the big online platforms.
3/23/201917 minutes, 23 seconds
Episode Artwork

To name or not to name: the evidence

On Tuesday when prime minister Jacinda Ardern told Parliament she would not speak the name of the mass murderer who killed 50 people in Christchurch she articulated what many people have been feeling. And it turns out there's evidence it could make a difference.
3/23/201920 minutes, 3 seconds
Episode Artwork

Lessons from Norway on covering the quest for justice

There's concern the court case of the man accused of murder in Christchurch could give him another platform for his propaganda. Espen Egil Hansen  - editor of Norway's Aftenposten - has some advice for media here after reporting two trials for the 2011 mass-killer Anders Behring Breivik.
3/23/201913 minutes, 52 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 24 March 2019

How Christchurch's assault has made a mark on our media; to name -or not to name; lessons from Norway on covering the quest for justice.
3/23/201938 minutes, 47 seconds
Episode Artwork

Contradictory claims and armchair advice cause confusion

The media are playing a crucial role in the COVID-19 crisis - conveying quality information in context. But some are also amplifying opinions from pundits and presenters contradicting each other - and confusing people at a critical time. And are we hearing from the right kind of experts.
3/21/201913 minutes, 10 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch Midweek 20 March 2019

In 2017 the New Zealand media featured 14,349 stories that included the word Islam - nearly 13,000 of those stories mentioned either terrorism or Islamic Jihad. Mediawatch's Jeremy Rose talks to Karyn Hay about those figures and what it says about the media's attitudes to Muslims in the years leading up to the worst mass shooting in New Zealand's recent history.
3/20/201921 minutes, 2 seconds
Episode Artwork

Social media feels the heat on hate after crisis in Christchurch

The news media have made some mistakes - inevitably - covering the crisis on Christchurch since Friday, but applied essential standards and decency. It was a different story on social media platforms, whose owners now face demands to shift their focus from innovation to moderation.  
3/16/201930 minutes, 13 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch Midweek 13 March 2019

Mediawatch's midweek catch-up with Karyn Hay on Lately: This week Colin Peacock and Karyn talk about Aussie rugby league's PR nightmare; a new app and a radio station giving high school kids a voice; how the news 'found' a US woman ten years on - and some wretched responses to Leaving Neverland - and some better ones. 
3/12/201925 minutes, 36 seconds
Episode Artwork

Journalism courtesy of (foreign) taxpayers

Seven senior Kiwi journalists from New Zealand's major news outlets spent a week in Hawaii late last year and produced just one story between them. It didn't cost their organisations a cent - the bill was picked by the US State Department. Mediawatch's Jeremy Rose takes a look at how foreign governments are attempting to influence the news agenda.
3/9/201914 minutes, 55 seconds
Episode Artwork

Jackson doco jolts local radio

While TVNZ was clearing out four hours of prime time to air a heavily-hyped documentary about Michael Jackson's alleged crimes against children, radio networks here were quietly easing his music off the air.
3/9/20199 minutes, 14 seconds
Episode Artwork

Inflated expenses inflame the media

Politicians spending taxpayers’ money freely always make a good story for the media. Exposure of their expenses can damage their reputation, but the same doesn’t apply to the those who over-react to the sums that they spend.  
3/9/201911 minutes, 48 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 10 March 2019

Jackson doco jolts local radio - even before it screens; foreign governments flying journalists to foreign fields; politicians' expenses inflame the media. Programme Code Participants Colin Peacock Topics media
3/9/201936 minutes, 47 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch Midweek 06 March 2019

Mediawatch's midweek catch-up with Lately. This week Jeremy talks to Karyn about: The Pakistan India conflict; Tom Scott quitting daily cartooning; E-Tangata's Conversations; Cardinal Pell's lesbian cousin, and he asks whether some #Me Too coverage verges on voyeurism.
3/6/201919 minutes, 26 seconds
Episode Artwork

Broadcasters go OTT on CGT

There has been an overload of opinions about capital gains tax in the media lately from economists, lobbyists, politicians and business people who are part of the story. But plenty of the broadcasters who interview them on our behalf for the media have laid their reckons on us too.
3/2/20199 minutes, 4 seconds
Episode Artwork

Covering crime and court cases comes at a cost

An Australian court has ruled in favour of a journalist who claimed covering crime and court cases exposed her to life-long trauma. Mediawatch asks veteran crime reporter Gary Tippet, who gave evidence in the trial, and long-serving RNZ court reporter Ann Marie May about the special stresses of covering crime and the courts.
3/2/201923 minutes, 8 seconds
Episode Artwork

Muffin Break blunder breaks the internet

When an Australian boss dissed the next generation for spurning unpaid work and blamed social media, it was the perfect story to prompt an instant online pile-on. The response to this story - and how it emerged in the first place - tells us a lot about how the media work these days.
3/2/20198 minutes, 1 second
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 3 March 2019

Media go OTT on CGT; covering crime and court cases comes at a cost; Muffin Break's boo-boo breaks the internet.
3/2/201935 minutes, 45 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 24 February 2019

Peterson's presence riles opponents and excites media; ‘ISIS bride' triggers talk radio; Huawei in the headlines; paywall plan details unveiled by the Herald.
2/24/201936 minutes, 51 seconds
Episode Artwork

Peterson's presence provokes opponents, excites media

A recent visit by controversial Canadian author Jordan Peterson got lots of attention from the NZ media – even before he arrived and spoke here. But not much that preceded Peterson's visit helped to explain his notoriety, and once he was here the media made us wait to find out what he had actually said in public.
2/23/201911 minutes, 52 seconds
Episode Artwork

Media ignore smoking guns in Huawei case

Chairman Mao once said a single spark can start a prairie fire. And the GCSB's decision to block Spark's plans to install a Huawei 5G network, late last year, has definitely set the media alight over recent months. Mediawatch takes a look at some of that coverage.
2/23/20198 minutes, 29 seconds
Episode Artwork

UK’s ‘Isis bride’ row triggers talk radio

A teenage Briton’s bid to return home after sleeping with the enemy in Syria was a huge talking point in the UK. But it also occupied a lot of airtime here, obscuring the issue closer to home.
2/23/201910 minutes, 4 seconds
Episode Artwork

New deadline for Herald paywall

The Herald’s owner says the free ride will be over soon for those who like the best bits of its journalism. Its heavily-trailed online paywall will finally go up within weeks, but some important details are still under wraps and it’s not the paywall that’s overdue.
2/23/20194 minutes, 31 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch Midweek 20 February 2019

Mediawatch's midweek catch-up with Lately. This week Jeremy talks to Karyn Hay about the proposed NZ Herald paywall and asks why the paper is paying to put clickbait on his Facebook feed; advances in AI journalism and the algorithm beat; Vice's Tonga documentary; and, David Altheide's research showing entertainment and fear are replacing public interest as drivers of news.
2/20/201923 minutes, 50 seconds
Episode Artwork

Fear and humour increasingly driving TV news

A recent stock-take of network television news in the USA found that up to a quarter of the content consisted of amateur video clips –that were typically shocking, dramatic or humorous. Professor David Altheide tells Mediawatch's Jeremy Rose that entertainment is increasingly replacing public interest as the driver of television news. And fear is a form of entertainment.
2/19/201923 minutes, 55 seconds
Episode Artwork

Media big and small step up to keep fires covered

The Nelson Tasman fires were a major challenge for the big media outlets to cover with no idea how bad it would get or how long they would last. Local media also played a crucial role too - including one station whose HQ was in sight of the flames. 
2/16/201916 minutes, 12 seconds
Episode Artwork

TVNZ hints at bold digital moves

Two years ago Treasury warned the government it would have to prop up state-owned TVNZ by 2021 because it was falling behind in an industry in sharp decline. This week the broadcaster's top brass told Parliament about a "renaissance" in free-to-air TV and fielded questions about taking over rivals.
2/16/201920 minutes, 28 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 17 February 2019

Covering the Nelson Tasman fires; TVNZ boss hints at bold moves in messy media marketplace; TV political poll hype hits new heightt.
2/16/201934 minutes, 44 seconds
Episode Artwork

TV political poll hype hits new heights

The latest TV political poll was heavily hyped in-house as a “game changer” that could be "game over" for National’s leader. Did other media follow Newshub's lead?
2/16/201912 minutes, 21 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch 13 February 2019

Mediawatch's midweek catch-up with Lately. This week Colin talks to Karyn Hay about political committee chaos splling over into social media, some risky media marketing, the Huawei hoo-haa, a head-turning headline pun, and his own tiny contribution to the great fire emergency of 2019.
2/13/201923 minutes, 21 seconds
Episode Artwork

Big issues, barbecues and curly questions at Waitangi

A year ago at Waitangi the PM said “hold me to account when I return.“ 12 months later she got put on the spot about the basics of the Treaty. 
2/9/201910 minutes, 52 seconds
Episode Artwork

Brett Phibbs: A life in pictures

After more than three decades as one of the country's leading photo -journalists the New Zealand Herald's chief photographer, Brett Phibbs, opted for voluntary redundancy. He talks to Mediawatch about his decision to call it quits and reflects on the state of photo-journalism. 
2/9/201923 minutes, 14 seconds
Episode Artwork

Cancer and the unbearable asymmetry of BS

A major cancer conference in Wellington attracted experts from around the world but Mediawatch's Jeremy Rose argues some media coverage was anything but world class.
2/9/201911 minutes, 37 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 10 February 2019

Big issues, barbecues and curly questions at Waitangi; cancer care hits the headlines; Brett Phibbs - a life in pictures. Programme Code mwatch-updateaudio-2018681839UP Participants Colin Peacock, Jim Mora Topics media
2/9/201935 minutes, 52 seconds
Episode Artwork

A potential political party hooks the media

The prospect of a new party for conservative conservationists became big news this past week. Some reporters and pundits reckoned it could change the government in 2020 - even though it isn't even up and running yet and doesn’t have policies for voters to ponder.
2/2/201913 minutes, 8 seconds
Episode Artwork

Money for media mockery

In a potentially career-stalling move, satirist Robbie Nicol - aka White Man Behind a Desk - is biting the hand that feeds. He’s crowdfunded for a video to mock major media companies and how public funding’s paid out to media. What's the method in this madness?
2/2/201912 minutes, 54 seconds
Episode Artwork

Geeks' gathering goes under the media radar

A titan of tech was in New Zealand last week along with hundreds of the world’s “alpha geeks” to talk about huge digital-age issues affecting us all. But none of it got mentioned in our media. Did it go under the radar because it went over their heads?  
2/2/201910 minutes, 52 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 3 February 2019

Political party possibility hooks the media; money for media mockery; geeks' gathering goes under the radar; hyping the heatwave.
2/2/201935 minutes, 5 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch Midweek 30 January 2019

Mediawatch's midweek catch-up with Lately. This week Colin talks to Karyn Hay about the warm weather news, Magic Talk up and running, the outing of MP Sarah Dowie, slow TV sparking late-night talkback callers - and Rob Hosking RIP.
1/30/201922 minutes, 40 seconds
Episode Artwork

Beating up the heating up?

If ever the weather deserves to hog the headlines, it’s when record high temperatures roll in and a bona fide heatwave has us in its grip. But did the media over-egg a story which mostly spoke for itself?
1/30/20194 minutes, 34 seconds
Episode Artwork

How the 'tourists from hell' hogged holiday headlines

The so-called “unruly tourists” were called all the names under the sun in a media pile-on that entertained and angered New Zealanders in equal measure. Every move these surprise summer celebrities made was monitored by the media, and it also made them targets for abuse.  
1/26/201913 minutes, 43 seconds
Episode Artwork

Politicians turn silly-season media critics

One of the reasons the New Year news is so thin is that there’s not much politics to report. So it was  fitting the the news drought prompted two politicians to weigh in on the media.
1/26/20193 minutes, 11 seconds
Episode Artwork

Roastbuster’s re-emergence reopens old wounds

Newshub aired an interview with a member of the notorious Roastbusters this week. Joseph Parker turned out to be partly penitent but more concerned about himself than his victims. Was it worth putting on air?
1/26/201921 minutes, 46 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 27 January 2019

'Tourists from hell' who hogged our holiday headlines; Roastbuster's re-emergence adds insult to injury; ex-MPs turned silly season media critics.
1/26/201939 minutes, 57 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch Midweek 23 January 2019

 Mediawatch's midweek catch-up with Lately. This week Jeremy Rose speaks to Bryan Crump about the 30th anniversary of Noam Chomsky and Edward Herman's Manufacturing Consent; John Pilger discussing state propaganda on Russia's RT network; and, how two former National MPs took to media punditry over the summer break.
1/23/201921 minutes, 14 seconds
Episode Artwork

Minister faces media minefield in 2019

2018 was a turbulent year for the government’s media policy. Mediawatch asks the new minister Kris Faafoi about growing demand for public money in 2019 and calls for help from private companies telling him they may not be able to stay in the news business much longer.
12/22/201818 minutes, 20 seconds
Episode Artwork

1XX keeps it local in tough times

The Radio Broadcaster of the Year prize usually goes to a big name in the business with nationwide reach. But this year the honour went to a distinctly local outfit for its response to a local crisis - and a rare commitment to local news on air.
12/22/20187 minutes, 49 seconds
Episode Artwork

End of year exits - and staying alive

In the run-up to Christmas, some long-standing shows and long-serving broadcasters signed off and said goodbye - but some are not fading away just yet. Meanwhile a political leader pronounced dead by pundits long ago is still alive and kicking. 
12/22/201811 minutes, 27 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 23 December 2018

End of year media exits; media minister's funding conundrum in 2019; 1XX keeps it local in tough times.
12/22/201830 minutes, 29 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch Midweek 19 December 2018

Mediawatch's regular catch-up with Lately. This week Colin Peacock chats to Karyn Hay about Grace Millane coverage, murder podcast enthusiasm, A Spinoff series spinning out of control on the author, Leighton Smith's holiday and who pays the price when a paper folds? 
12/19/201821 minutes, 34 seconds
Episode Artwork

Heart-breaking news and suppression frustration

The news of Grace Millane’s murder prompted a flood of media coverage and comment this week. A lot of it was devoted to the news media’s frustration over not being able to name the accused man. 
12/15/201818 minutes, 34 seconds
Episode Artwork

Tough times for training journalists

The annual gathering of journalism educators was held this week at a school that’s just closed its journalism programme. It’s not the only one and the number of journalism trainees is slumping too. Is that just because the news business itself is shrinking or does journalism as a career have a PR problem too?
12/15/20189 minutes, 15 seconds
Episode Artwork

Yusuf Omar: mobiles get stories the media miss

There are around three billion phones in the world that can shoot and send video. HashtagOurStories is a network of citizen journalists to capture stories most media miss with their phones.
12/15/20189 minutes, 45 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 16 December 2018

Heart-breaking news and suppression frustration; tough times for training journalists; Yusuf Omar: mobiles get stories the media miss.
12/15/201830 minutes, 25 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch 12 December

Mediawatch Midweek is our weekly catch-up with Lately. This week Jeremy chats to Karyn about apologies, graphic journalism, and a new New Zealand website for public interest documentaries.
12/12/201818 minutes, 17 seconds
Episode Artwork

Bullying in the bulletins

An MP and a senior public servant have been accused of bullying staff this week, and an inquiry into bullying at Parliament is under way too. All that made heaps of headlines this past week and kept reporters and political commentators busy, but where does the public interest lie?
12/8/201813 minutes, 53 seconds
Episode Artwork

Is media mental health coverage helping?

New Zealand’s biggest-ever inquiry into our mental health system says it’s broken and action is urgent. Many in the media pointed out that’s what previous inquiries have said too so we shouldn’t expect much meaningful change now. Is that realistic reporting or damaging defeatism?  
12/8/201817 minutes, 52 seconds
Episode Artwork

Upping the game in women's sports coverage

Women's football doesn't often make much of a mark in our sports news but the unprecedented achievements of the Young Ferns and a sexist joke from a bloke in Paris did this past week. The minister of sport also bluntly challenged our sports reporters to up their game too. Fair call?
12/8/201818 minutes, 14 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 9 December 2018

Bullying in the bulletins; is mental health media coverage helping?; Upping the game on women's sports.
12/8/201830 minutes, 27 seconds
Episode Artwork

Midweek Mediawatch 5 December 2018

Mediawatch Midweek is our weekly catch-up with Lately. This week Colin chats to Karyn about new multimedia projects from the latest public media funding boost; ads intruding in podcasts; where Paul Henry has been hiding and how one jerk's twerk joke soured a soccer ceremony with sexism.
12/5/201813 minutes, 34 seconds
Episode Artwork

The decline and fall of local body reporting

What happens if a local council has a debate on democracy itself and nobody reports it? No, it's not a Philosophy 101 conundrum - it's what happened earlier this year when Hutt City Council reviewed the way councillors and community boards were elected. Mediawatch's Jeremy Rose on the decline and fall of local body reporting.
12/1/201824 minutes, 37 seconds
Episode Artwork

Reporting the rainbow while raining on its parade

Mediawatch takes a look at the pride and prejudice on display in some of the coverage of the LGBTQ community since the announcement that the police had been banned from wearing their uniforms in next year's Auckland Pride Parade.
12/1/20188 minutes, 21 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 2 December 2018

The reporting - or lack of it - of democratic organisations from the Hutt Valley to the UN in New York, and pride and prejudice in the coverage of the LGBTQ community.
12/1/201838 minutes, 6 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch Midweek 28 November

Mediawatch Midweek is our weekly catch-up with Lately. This week Jeremy chats to Karyn about Nine's plans to hock off STUFF; a major new journalistic investigation involving 250 journalists in 36 countries, and; a Facebook post from a picket line that attracted nearly 11,000 views.
11/28/201814 minutes, 55 seconds
Episode Artwork

If you can’t beat ‘em . . .

"You'll never beat the Irish" is a favourite chant for Ireland fans. It seems to be coming true for the All Blacks. How did the media respond to another defeat to the team in green?
11/24/20184 minutes, 42 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 25 November 2018

China keeps media in line; 'radical changes' for Maori TV news; All Blacks in sudden slump.
11/24/201836 minutes, 22 seconds
Episode Artwork

China keeps the media in line

International journalists were startled when Chinese officials prevented them from reporting some events at the APEC summit in Papua New Guinea this week. It was a taste of the tactics China employs to shape media coverage of the country overseas.
11/24/201830 minutes, 59 seconds
Episode Artwork

‘Radical changes’ for Māori Television news

Māori Television is replacing news and current affairs shows next year with a 'Māori Media Hub' to deliver news online and on TV. Mediawatch asks its chief editor why - and how that will be done. 
11/24/20187 minutes, 33 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch Midweek 21 November 2018

Mediawatch Midweek is our weekly catch-up with Lately. This week Colin chats to Karyn about why the Irish are our rugby frenemies; how Beyonce stumped a radio host, the death of Radio Live, radio for one and . . . . another ZB Pacific Islands slur. 
11/21/201828 minutes, 46 seconds
Episode Artwork

Street fighting: the media’s big bike battle

How we get around our cities has suddenly flared up in our news. Even media colleagues are calling each other haters and zealots, and calling each other out for fake news. But is this just background noise or does it have a real impact?
11/17/201826 minutes, 38 seconds
Episode Artwork

Forthright 'Fourth Estate' critic leaves a rich legacy

Pioneering media watcher Brian Priestley has died, aged 92. It’s 30 years since he last lashed the media on Fourth Estate, the TVNZ show that made him a household name. But he still had lots to say about the media after that.
11/17/201810 minutes, 22 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 18 November 2018

Street fighting - media at war over urban transport; the death of Radio Live; Brian Priestley - the forthright Fourth Estate critic.
11/17/201838 minutes, 49 seconds
Episode Artwork

The death of Radio Live

Fourteen years after launching “the new voice of talk radio” MediaWorks will silence Radio Live and jobs look set to go as a classic hits station takes over. Mediawatch looks at why and what might replace it.
11/15/20185 minutes, 9 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch Midweek 14 November

Mediawatch Midweek is our weekly catch-up with Lately. This week Jeremy chats to Karyn about five years of First World War commemoration coverage and asks why some critical stories barely rated a mention.
11/14/201819 minutes, 57 seconds
Episode Artwork

JLR’s greatest hits keep coming

National’s leaders faced more curly questions after another secret recording featuring MP- gone-rogue Jami-Lee Ross was leaked to media. That raised more questions about the ethics of squeezing stories out of stuff where the public interest is far from clear.
11/10/20189 minutes, 4 seconds
Episode Artwork

Possible push polling polarises Porirua

Last Wednesday the Dominion-Post splashed a story across its front page under the headline: "Mayor's family 432km  away." Mediawatch suggests the real story was far closer to home: a poll asking questions about the living arrangement of Porirua mayor Mike Tana that could well be a case of dirty politics.
11/10/20187 minutes, 54 seconds
Episode Artwork

Rank and file missing from conference coverage

Thirty years ago, deep divisions in the Labour Party were thrown in sharp relief by the media during its annual conference in Dunedin. But the media were much better managed when the party returned last weekend.
11/10/201812 minutes, 16 seconds
Episode Artwork

Stuff tightens squeeze on community papers

Reporters are being laid off in Auckland and further north, leaving long-standing local papers there with just a handful of journalists. It’s the latest cost-cutting move by the country’s biggest publisher of papers. One former editor tells Mediawatch it’s a cut too far.   
11/10/201810 minutes, 49 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 11 November 2018

Curly questions for media in JLR's secret recordings; rank and file missing from party conference coverage; possible push polling polarises Porirua; Stuff tightens squeeze on community papers.
11/10/201837 minutes, 33 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch Midweek 7 November 2018

Mediawatch Midweek is our weekly catch-up with Lately. This week Colin chats to Karyn about a bold project putting youth front-and-centre in their own words; political conference coverage missing out the rank and file; robo-journalism on the rise; some seriously sustained sarcasm - and royal visit feedback 100 years apart.
11/7/201820 minutes, 1 second
Episode Artwork

Royal couple's visit dominates the local media

They came. They waved. And the royal couple conquered our media completely.
11/3/201816 minutes, 20 seconds
Episode Artwork

Māori media under review

A major review of Māori broadcasting has been announced by the government against a backdrop of growing problems. Jobs are set to go at Māori Television in what’s been billed as a “strategic refresh” and some say a planned “one-stop shop” for news would not be good for journalism.
11/3/201818 minutes, 50 seconds
Episode Artwork

Scooter scare stories come fast and furious

New forms of environmentally-friendly two-wheeled transport have arrived in our three biggest cities - on a trial-only basis. How did media react to the shock of the new?
11/3/201812 minutes, 10 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 4 November 2018

Britannia rules the airwaves - and the papers, websites and social media; major Māori media review; scary scooter stories come fast and furious.
11/3/201830 minutes, 26 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch Midweek 31 October 2018

Mediawatch Midweek is our weekly catch-up with Lately. This week Jeremy chats to Karyn about his attempts to come to grips with the terrorist attack on the Synagogue in Pittsburgh that killed 11 people last weekend.
10/31/201817 minutes, 31 seconds
Episode Artwork

Politics, sex and the media

On last weekend's Q+A programme, political scientist Dr Bryce Edwards declared the media and politicians "sort of have to" start reporting "what's going on beneath the bed sheets" of politicians. Mediawatch asks if that's really the case and delves into some of last week's coverage of the Jami-Lee Ross affair.
10/27/20189 minutes, 55 seconds
Episode Artwork

Pivot to poverty?

The news media made a “pivot to video” partly because social media users couldn’t get enough of it. But Facebook eventually admitted its figures were flaky and now it is being sued by advertisers in the US. Have media companies made a mistake going visual?​
10/27/201824 minutes, 26 seconds
Episode Artwork

Late to the party on slow journalism

A top UK news boss is launching a new online news service that promises to slow down digital-age news.  But Delayed Gratification - proudly proclaiming to be “last with the news” - has a head start on so-called 'slow journalism'.
10/27/20185 minutes, 40 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 28 October 2018

Politics, sex and the media; publishers ponder the 'pivot to video'; late to the party for slow journalism.
10/27/201836 minutes, 50 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch Midweek 24 October 2018

Mediawatch Midweek is our weekly catch-up with Lately. This week Colin chats to Karyn about TVNZ signalling the possibility of payments, a scaled-down Sunday paper, a sports feature with a difference and the backstory to that famous Olympic Black power salute 50 years ago.
10/23/201815 minutes, 12 seconds
Episode Artwork

Meltdowns, blow-ups and blowback as MP goes rogue

Explosive revelations by MP gone rogue Jami-Lee Ross hogged headlines and preoccupied political reporting all week. The volume of coverage and comment obscured reporting of some of the significant parts of the saga - including issues for the media.
10/20/201816 minutes, 30 seconds
Episode Artwork

Lasting Impressions: when papers were the only news

The days of printed newspapers may be numbered in the digital era, but until the 1920s there were no other news media at all - and New Zealanders were eager readers. Historian and author Ian F Grant tells Mediawatch about what we can learn from the papers of a century ago.
10/20/201833 minutes, 10 seconds
Episode Artwork

Airborne innovation excites impatient media

The media seized on the prospect of Jetsons-style Uber-in-the-air, but another airborne innovation that hit the headlines over-promised and under-delivered.  
10/20/20184 minutes, 12 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 21 October 2018

Meltdowns, blow-ups and blowback as MP goes rogue: Lasting Impressions - when papers were the news media; Uber-in-the-air excites media.
10/20/201830 minutes, 27 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch Midweek: 17 October 2018

Mediawatch Midweek is our weekly catch-up with Lately. This week Jeremy chats to Karyn about life across the ditch; Kiwis being unlucky in the Lucky Country; and Australia's loss of soft power.
10/17/201813 minutes, 9 seconds
Episode Artwork

Petrol price: politics vs planet

Petrol price rises have hogged the headlines this past week. Much coverage has been about what’s affordable in the short term, not what’s sustainable in the longer term. It often is when the price spikes and things get political.
10/13/201814 minutes, 10 seconds
Episode Artwork

Investigative journalism in an age of danger - and Netflix

“If no-one gives a shit, you’ve failed.” Before heading home to Sweden after six months off in Gisborne, award-winning investigative TV reporter Joachim Dyfvermark told local reporters they’re up against the likes of Netflix, HBO and YouTube.
10/13/201827 minutes, 44 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 14 October 2018

Petrol prices vs. planet; investigative journalism in an age of danger - and Netflix; falls from grace with added PR.
10/13/201834 minutes, 45 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch Midweek: 10 October 2018

Mediawatch Midweek is our weekly catch-up with Lately. This week Colin chats to Bryan about 'digital strip search' blowback; Taranaki flying the local radio flag; the Koru Club horror, Whangamomona's kids with carcasses - and the number one petrol price news cliche.
10/10/201817 minutes, 17 seconds
Episode Artwork

Confident about business confidence stories?

Stories about plunging confidence among business leaders just keep on coming - along with economic data that shows no need for panic. Other surveys of opinion about business and the economy tell a different story, but make far fewer headlines.  
10/6/201811 minutes, 10 seconds
Episode Artwork

Breaking down the 'attention economy'

Broadcasters and advertisers are grappling with “the attention economy” now that so many of us have screens of all sizes engaging our eyeballs everywhere. Dr Karen Nelson-Field tracks how we watch and whether we’re really taking it in.   
10/6/201814 minutes, 13 seconds
Episode Artwork

ABC spells Australian broadcasting crisis

The chair sacked the chief and then quit himself. No-one seems to want the rest of his board of governors. How did Australia’s public broadcaster the ABC end up in such a mess so suddenly? And how can this be fixed?  ​
10/6/201819 minutes, 40 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 7 October 2018

Business confidence coverage; breaking down the 'attention economy'; ABC spells Australian broadcasting crisis
10/6/201834 minutes, 40 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch Midweek: 3 October 2018

Mediawatch Midweek is our weekly catch-up with Lately's Karyn Hay. This week: Colin and Karyn chat about expats' takes on the US Supreme Court scrap, non-stop 'property porn' on TV, another major cold-case podcast - and how a golf magazine freed a man in jail for a murder he didn't commit.
10/3/201815 minutes, 52 seconds
Episode Artwork

Jacindamania goes global: the PM in US at the UN

Jacinda Ardern - and her family - attracted plenty of attention at the UN in New York this week. She was even cast as the antidote to Trumpism by some. But did the media mistake exposure and international interest for genuine impact and influence?
9/29/201816 minutes, 12 seconds
Episode Artwork

Historic sex case headlines spark huge social response

President Trump questioned why his Supreme Court nominee’s accusers didn’t report alleged assaults when they happened back in the 1980s. News media and social media helped him out with that one.
9/29/20186 minutes, 53 seconds
Episode Artwork

University takes a hit on 'bong-gate'

Other universities had much more serious issues in the news to cope with this week, but the over-reaching of Otago University's 'campus cop' spawned lots of heavy headlines too - and plenty of puns.
9/29/20185 minutes, 29 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 30 September 2018

Jacindamania goes global; historic sex case headlines spark social media pushback; news media merger bid nears the end of the road; university takes a hit on 'bong-gate'.
9/29/201834 minutes, 56 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch Midweek: 26 September 2018

Mediawatch Midweek is a weekly catch-up between Mediawatch and Lately's Karyn Hay. This week: 1080 blow-back, avocado aggro taken seriously  - and not; "Harry Potter's lonely uncle" on the future of journalism; testing the local comedy waters  - and the mean mums' return.
9/26/201818 minutes, 34 seconds
Episode Artwork

Media mega-merger reaches the end of the road

The bid to mash up New Zealand's two biggest publishers of news is all but over as their appeal against a block on their merger has been dismissed in court. Mediawatch looks at why and what happens next.
9/24/20186 minutes, 25 seconds
Episode Artwork

A celebration of suffrage - with some strange and sour notes

The media marked this week’s 125th anniversary of votes for women with an extensive array of content. The nation’s biggest-selling paper even put the PM in charge for one special edition. But among the celebrations, there were some strange and sour notes too.  
9/22/201814 minutes, 12 seconds
Episode Artwork

1080 campaign turns toxic

Experts insist 1080 is by far the best option to save native species and that science backs them up. How can the media report responsibly on opponents’ noisy protests, social media growth and increasingly alarming threats?
9/22/201821 minutes, 3 seconds
Episode Artwork

Mediawatch for 23 September 2018

Celebrating suffrage, but with some sour notes; 1080 campaign turns toxic; Bok shock prompts rapid rewrite.
9/22/201835 minutes, 26 seconds