Mediawatch

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.Mediawatch - Protecting people who offer the media important information is a fundamental obligation.Producer Chris Cooke quit TVNZ after it failed to keep a promise to a sexual assault victim, whose off the record disclosures ended up being aired in court in defence of her abusers. Cooke and the victim, Erin Leighton, are now pushing for a 'shield law' to ensure our media can guarantee confidentiality. Last month, convicted fraudster Paul Bennett and a woman, whose name is suppressed, were sentenced to a term of imprisonment for offending against Erin Leighton in 2008, a crime the judge described as "completely premeditated."Suppression orders prevented the media from reporting details of that case until the pair's recent conviction and sentencing. But Leighton, a teenager at the time she was abused by the pair, waived her own right to name suppression to pursue justice. Bennett was previously the subject of plenty of news stories, when he was tried for fraud after skipping to Australia in a stolen yacht. Leighton spoke to TVNZ's Sunday about her frustration that the couple were known to be in Australia, but had not faced justice here for the offences against her. She gave TVNZ an interview on the understanding her account of the offending would remain confidential - but footage ended up being played in the Auckland District Court as part of Bennett's defence. Lawyers for both defendants highlighted differences between Leighton's accounts in a 2008 police interview video and the TVNZ footage from 2015.Last week the New Zealand Herald said TVNZ had gone to court to oppose the release but eventually complied with a court order under the Criminal Disclosure Act. "TVNZ (was) compelled by the courts to provide specific material for the purposes of a fair trial. There were no further realistic legal avenues left for us to pursue, regardless of how individuals felt at the time," TVNZ told the Herald.But former TVNZ producer Chris Cooke told the Herald that TVNZ breached a promise to Leighton to keep the interview confidential. Cooke said he had urged TVNZ to challenge the decision and honour a commitment it had made to Erin Leighton that it would appeal to a higher court to prevent the release of the interview footage. …Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Discussion on the need for laws to protect journalists' sources; coverage of the Gaza airstrike and criticism of Rugby World Cup; opinions on the quality of the Rugby final and concerns for its future; the story of Erin Layton and frustrations over extradition; push for a shield law; controversy over rugby refereeing and Elon Musk's views on AI; downfall of Twitter under Musk's management and the future of social media.

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?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 of dollars of media companies' money keep rugby going - so will the media fix it for fans? Most fans hoping international rugby's biggest showpiece would be a spectacle didn't get what they hoped for from last weekend's Rugby World Cup final. But some could see that coming. Two days before the final, on the academic website The Conversation, University of Cape Town academic Clive Thompson crunched the numbers and concluded an early red card could ruin the final. "The spectacle is lost whenever there is a mismatch in numbers," he wrote presciently. TVNZ's rugby presenter Scotty Stevenson told Seven Sharp the day after the All Blacks lost by one point that World Rugby's rules had turned top rugby games into "a crime scene".Plenty of others thought so too -- though few fans here were saying that when New Zealand ended up one point ahead after an even lower scoring one-try slugfest final in Auckland back in 2011.Israel Dagg was one of the winners that day, but on Sky Sports' live coverage last Sunday he condemned the game as a "snore fest" not good enough for a final and he reckoned the refereeing had ruined it. "This is our showpiece event being overshadowed by a couple of people . . . taking the glory and gloss away from the players that have worked their absolute butts off. There's people out there absolutely spitting tacks, he said. And was at half-time with the result still in doubt. Having paid millions for exclusive live rights to rugby, it was hardly what Sky TV bosses wanted subscribers to hear. Later on his own radio station SENZ Dagg said: "You can see why people switch the game. It's boring as hell." TVNZ's Andrew Savile told Newstalk ZB, "it wasn't a great advertisement for rugby." ZB's own Mike Hosking was even more scathing. "Rugby isn't cool. It can still be played well, but too often it isn't. Yes, the All Blacks lost - but not as badly as rugby did," he told ZB listeners last Monday. …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 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.Midweek Mediawatch - Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Nights. This week Hayden Donnell talks to Mark Leishman about media coming under fire reporting the war in Gaza - and the low profile of it in the news here. Also sympathy for founders of Supie after its surprisingly sudden collapse (but not so much for its workers); a 'wake' for Twitter; scepticism of alarming claims about Otago University initiations - and an embarrassing double-up by a major paper. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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.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.​At the front desk of the River City Press in Whanganui, John and Sandra Singleton are lining up to buy ads.She's a psychic numerologist. He's there to drum up interest in his local jazz orchestra. "With us, you can either come listen to music or have your bumps read, so it's either/or," says John."I don't do bumps!" retorts Sandra. "Be careful what you say, my boy."The Singletons have their quirks. For one thing, Singleton may not be their real name. They tell Mediawatch they chose it, perhaps to save people the hassle of memorising a double-barrelled surname. Despite having the same last name, the couple are only just about to get married after 59 years together."We've just been trying one another," says John. If they've taken their time committing to their relationship, they've had no trouble making a financial commitment to the Press.They're both regular advertisers in the free weekly paper - and far from the only ones. When Mediawatch comes to visit, the paper's only front page story is wedged between ads for electricians, plumbers, mechanics, vocational training and half-price mattresses.In an office next to a rusting old bicycle, its sole reporter, the 71-year-old former teacher Doug Davidson, is working on a story about a pair of local musicians. Debbie Jarrett.His job is the result of a late career change. He'd been teaching for about 20 years when he saw a reporter role at the Press advertised and applied on a whim."They considered that an older person might be a better fit for a community newspaper," he says."I think it suits the older clientele, but also after 20 or 30 years in a town you make a lot of contacts, and they can be very important."…Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Discover how some local media outlets in Whanganui are thriving despite the challenges faced by media companies nationwide. Learn about the success and challenges of community newspapers in the digital age, the importance of local news coverage and diverse perspectives, and the role of FM radio stations in preserving cultural heritage and identity.

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.Midweek Mediawatch - Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Nights. 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-elect talking policy on The Rock - and rugby pundits reacting badly to the way the World Cup's panned out. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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? 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? "This is what we've been reduced to," said RNZ's deputy political editor Chris Bramwell in 2017, alongside a photo of Press Gallery colleagues pressed up against a Beehive garage door trying to get a peek at who was coming or going. Back then, political reporters doorstepped politicians to ask who would be dealing with whom to form a government after the election - and tracked their movements for hints about what might be going on behind closed doors."Soon the monarch butterfly will emerge," New Zealand First MP Shane Jones told a media scrum that formed around him on one of those days. RNZ's political reporter (now deputy editor) Craig McCulloch turned the saga into a children's story.At the time, former political editor turned lawyer Linda Clark said the press pack's pursuit of the politicians was driven by FOMO - fear of missing out - rather than the need to know. Others said it felt like 1996 all over again - and the 43 days spent 'waiting for Winston' after the first MMP election. "If there was radio silence, people would be asking what was going on. This is actually MMP and how it works in action," Bramwell told Mediawatch in 2017, defending the media's stakeout tactics. "In 1996, they probably had one deadline a day. This time there was more information and more transparency about when things were going to happen," she said.Now in 2023 - history is repeating. Last Thursday, the political press pack was again badgering the New Zealand First leader at Wellington's airport with questions that he didn't even acknowledge, let alone answer. TVNZ put a video of it up on YouTube marking each of the 27 futile requests. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wS1svPVRUa8New Zealand First went into a select committee room at Parliament but more media questions were shut down by the party's president and TV cameras were banned from an area where they're usually allowed. …Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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.Mediawatch looks at how media organisations are copping criticism for the way they are reporting the Gaza-Israel conflict - and asks a BBC news boss how he's handling it. Also: our political reporters got off to a bad start with our new political leaders this week - and how a Rugby World Cup final on the horizon fired up our sports reporters. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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. 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."Palestinian health officials in Gaza say hundreds of people have been killed in an explosion at a hospital in Gaza. They're blaming an Israeli strike on the hospital. But the Israel Defense Forces said an initial investigation shows the explosion was caused by a failed Hamas rocket launch." That was how RNZ's news at 8am last Tuesday reported the single deadliest incident of this conflict so far - and likely to be the deadliest one in all of the five times Israel and Hamas have fought over Gaza so far.The Israeli Defense Force also singled out Islamic Jihad for the atrocity - but the absence of hard evidence put the media reporting it in a difficult position. Reporting those claims and counterclaims creates confusion among the audience. It's also stoked the anger of those objecting to reporters' choice of words. CNN's Clarissa Ward, for example, was criticised heavily on social media for mentioning the Israeli Defense Force claims - and then expressing doubt about them at the same time. A video showing a pro-Palestinian protester calling Clarissa Ward "a puppet" has gone viral on social media. So did another falsely accusing her of faking a rocket strike. Her CNN colleague Anderson Cooper was also criticised online for referring to a huge civilian loss of life during the live report from Tel Aviv in Israel and repeating himself, but then without the word "civilian."Among those who, alongside expert investigators, tried to sift the available evidence and cut through the information war was Alex Thompson, correspondent for UK broadcaster Channel Four.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyppmRvcwzY"Israel and Hamas can tweet what they like. The truth of what happened here requires independent expert investigation -- not happening," was Alex Thompson's bleak conclusion."Any doubt is due to a fierce information war that in truth matters little to the victims of the Gaza hospital tragedy," another British correspondent - ITV Jonathan Irvine - said on Newshub at 6 last Tuesday. At times, broadcasters have used the wrong words and given audiences the wrong idea. …Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details