

Mediawatch
RNZ
There's never a shortage of opinions on the media but Mediawatch looks at it all in detail for those keen to know more about the news - as well as those who work in media.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Nov 8, 2025 • 42min
Saving the marriage between journalism and the people, Duke of Yuck
Surveys say our trust in the news is slipping seriously, but the latest one asks Kiwis why and what might get it back, and an RNZ editor’s new book zeroes in on how to repair the relationship. Also: the downfall of the ‘Duke of Yuck’ yields unexpected local angle. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Nov 5, 2025 • 22min
Midweek - Police v Stuff, Dame Noeline's media blitz, NBR bails up its own customers
Police back away from taking Stuff to court - but issue a warning. Also: Dame Noeline Taurua blows the Silver Ferns saga open again with a media blitz on Monday, and NBR goes legal on its own subscribers.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Nov 1, 2025 • 38min
OTT on CGT, punching below our weight on media freedom, big rejig in Māori news
Labour bit the bullet on capital gains tax this week, but the political point-scoring was a zero-sum game. Also: a big rejig of Māori news & current affairs funding - and while our leaders have been on the world stage, we’ve been accused of punching below our weight on global media freedom. Read more about this episode of Mediawatch on the RNZ websiteIn this episode:00:45 The media have been telling us for years any political party offering a CGT is DOA at the polls. How did they react this week to Labour saying they’ll do that next year?8:00: New Zealand’s leaders have been talking up our country in Asia and in northern Europe this week, but this week we were cellar dwellers in a new ranking of develeped nations supporting media freedom around the world. New Zealander Melanie Bunce, director of the Centre for Journalism and Democracy in London, explains why.21:03 A big rejig of funding for Māori news and current affairs means less spent on the established TV news programmes and more on news from the regions and digital-first content, available via a new national news hub. Te Māngai Pāho’s The long-serving kaihautu Larry Parr explains the plan.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Oct 29, 2025 • 21min
Midweek - severe storms test media, netball keeps media at bay, AI gives voice to the dead
Severe storms bring the best out of media - but climate change mentions raise hackles. Also: netball's top-brass keep exasperated media out of their internal business - while the Silver Ferns do the business on the court, and RNZ's new podcast 'Nark' uses AI to give voice to the dead. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Oct 25, 2025 • 39min
Hearts and minds battle on ‘mega-strike,’ Talley's v TVNZ in court
Lawyers went toe-to-toe in court for weeks over a series of TVNZ news scoops about health and safety - and the broadcaster’s own newsgathering. What can we learn from this high-stakes defamation case? Also - the government fired up a confrontational PR campaign to tell the public this week’s ‘mega-strike’ was about politics, not pay. Did the media get the memo? Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Oct 22, 2025 • 19min
Midweek - loud calls to call off the broadcasting watchdog, sorry - but not sorry
One complaint to the BSA has the PM claiming 'overreach' and his minister pledging reform - while politicians and lobby groups call for the watchdog to be put down. Paula Penfold ponders personal impact of reputation-ruining scoops.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Oct 18, 2025 • 42min
Pāti-political rift plays out in media, what counts as broadcasting and who decides?
The broadcasting watchdog has told alternative online outlet The Platform it can consider complaints about it - just like TV and radio. Part of the problem is out-of-date media laws. Mediawatch asks the media minister and his opposition counterpart: what counts as broadcasting these days? And how should it be accountable? Also: how Te Pāti Māori’s tensions played out very differently in different media. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Oct 15, 2025 • 21min
Midweek - Gaza ceasefire, Platform v watchdog, Metro moves, self-selected polls
Media coverage of the Gaza ceasefire, Platform's Plunket pushes back on broadcast watchdog, Metro magazine 'restructures' its full-time staff - and should self-selected polls be allowed in news? Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Oct 11, 2025 • 40min
Netball’s PR nightmare, online harm examined again
Netball’s a national sport - and it's natural the media want to know if something’s going wrong at the top. But have media made the game’s current coaching drama worse- at the worst possible time? Also - what to do about online harm was aired in a Parliamentary inquiry this week. But was the purpose of this to prevent regulation that could make it safer?
Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Oct 8, 2025 • 21min
Midweek - Winston's window stoush, Māori news funding, RNZ ins-and-outs, Graham Bell
Row over Gaza protest targeting foreign minister's house gets political - and an actress is cut from an ad. Also: RNZ picks new audio chief as two stalwarts depart, Police Ten-7 star Graham Bell, quake clarification for Emile. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details


