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? 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?Winston Peters made plenty of headlines with his claim the former government bribed the media with the $55m Public Interest Journalism Fund. The outgoing government had already backed away from the Fund before the election. Labour confirmed it wouldn't repeat or renew it if the party won. The long, loud backlash from those who reckoned that the fund did skew news coverage - even though it didn't - was one reason. But Labour's media spokesperson Willie Jackson also told a pre-election meeting the media wouldn't need that kind of a cash injection if another of his government's interventions worked out. The Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill prods online operators like Google and Facebook to cut financial deals with local media for the news that they've distributed for years for no cost."A huge amount of good journalists have all gone out the door... because these big companies come in, take everything and don't give anything back. If we get this bill through, we'll get a couple of hundred million bucks coming back into the market," Jackson told the Better Public Media pre-election debate. Two hundred million dollars a year is a very optimistic - even heroic - estimate of the revenue such bargaining might achieve. It's roughly the sum the deals struck with Google and Meta (owner of Facebook) in Australia are estimated to have netted in the first year after Australia's government forced the issue. But while it did bring big money into the media there, it's been a different story so far in Canada.Canada's Online News Act, also called Bill C-18, prompted Google to threaten to remove Canadian news from their search services last year and Meta briefly did so for Facebook and Instagram accounts. Last week Google agreed to pay a single Canadian collective which would then distribute the funds to the eligible news media agencies. …Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Parliamentary pomp and ceremony - but no honeymoon; 'From Paper to Platform'- media's online dependence; Todd Niall - local matters really matter Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

'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. 'Look ahead, not back' - the final words of Todd Niall after 46 years in daily journalism, the last of which 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. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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?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? Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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. 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. 'Who wields the power?' asks the front page of this weekend's edition of the Wellington paper The Post above its ranking of the 50 most powerful people in and around the capital. Coming in at number seven was the city's mayor Tory Whanau - though The Post said that her status was "in jeopardy" because she admitted to a drinking problem this week following what The Post described as "weeks of torrid rumours" about her behavior.Just two days earlier, her behaviour one recent night out led the paper's front page. That story said Whanau was "again forced to defend allegations of drunken behavior in public" after what The Post understood was an incident that took place at a central Wellington bar two weekends ago - and was "rumored to have been recorded by a third party." And rumour was a key part of the story. Those who read to the end of it were left wondering what had happened that day at the bar - and who knew about it and who might have recorded or even seen the evidence of it. In her statement, Whanau said it was to "her great embarrassment and shame" that an "incident ... seemed to have been recorded." But The Post said that the co-owner of Havana bar was "perplexed" because he was there, and the mayor and her friends "weren't intoxicated." The Post's story may not have been a surprise to those who heard RNZ National's Checkpoint the day before. "Whanau has admitted to more drunken antics in a central city Bar. She has confirmed to RNZ she has a drinking problem after multiple council sources, including supporters of the mayor, told RNZ about footage showing her in an intoxicated state," host Lisa Owen told listeners. Whanau's full statement doesn't acknowledge any drunken 'antics.' Checkpoint said several sources confirmed the mayor was at the Havana bar on that day with friends "having a rowdy time ... and this has apparently been captured on video." …Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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. 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. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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.Mediawatch looks at how Winston Peters' grievances against the media made headlines this week - as soon as the new government took power. Also: reports that have put Wellington's mayor under pressure - and why are all the weekly TV politics shows going off the air now, just as the new government gets going. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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.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.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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. 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. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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? 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? This week the Broadcasting Standards Authority (BSA) issued its latest batch of rulings for this year on formal complaints it received earlier in 2023. It's an interesting bunch. The Authority declined to determine one about Country Calendar depicting deer being hunted and shot and processed at an abattoir - just the reality of life in Aotearoa New Zealand, the Authority decided. It also declined to determine a complaint about undecided people being excluded from TVNZ's pre- election opinion polls - and one alleging a character described as "effing annoying" in a book review on RNZ's Nine to Noon breached standards for offensive and disturbing content. (To be clear, "effing annoying" is exactly what was said on air - not the f-word variant itself) But the Authority did uphold a complaint against Newstalk ZB host Mike Hosking, who told listeners during a teachers strike "people who go on strike have always been on full pay. They're supported by the unions'". Mike HoskingThat was "materially inaccurate" and misleading the Authority said - even though some listeners did get in touch afterwards who knew that wasn't right. A majority of the Authority also upheld, though only in part, a complaint about a discussion on TVNZ's Marae show about freedom of expression in the wake of provocateur Posie Parker's visit to New Zealand. Rainbow community activist Shaneel Lal had "strayed into the realm of personal attack," the BSA said - though not all its members considered it a breach of standards. The BSA also considered a complaint about Mediawatch which was a response to our analysis of another decision made by another media complaints body. The Media Council had found a Stuff news report about the safety of puberty blockers lacked balance. The BSA found the live Midweek Mediawatch discussion about that was sufficiently balanced and focused on the implications of the decision for journalists and it did not result in unfairness…Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details