Mediawatch

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

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. 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. "I've seen this fan base travel all over the world. This is the farthest they've come yet, but the numbers are amazing," Philadelphia Inquirer football reporter Jonathan Tannenwald told RNZ's Morning Report last Wednesday, after one fan of the US National Women's Team told the show she'd have gone to Antarctica to back their team's bid to retain the FIFA Women's World Cup. RNZ's Corin Dann warned Tannenwald the weather here could have a pretty Antarctic tinge to it in winter time. "Not everybody on this team is from Los Angeles where it's sunny all the time," he replied. But 24 hours later, the weather was the least of their worries on the day of the big kickoff as the sort of story more familiar to Americans unfolded in central Auckland.Among reporters swiftly on the scene in lower Queen Street were those deployed for breakfast show broadcasts marking the World Cup opening at the nearby fan zone on the waterfront. That was due to open officially at midday, but all that changed after a witness called police at 7:23am to report there was a man with a gun in the building. Emma Olsen was live on the AM show on Three just minutes later with the hotel of the team from Norway in shot over her shoulder, and pointing out the fanzone was just a stone's throw away Shortly after, AM show viewers saw a bloodied police officer emerging and being led to an ambulance. Meanwhile on TVNZ's Breakfast show eyewitness Nancy in a neighbouring locked-down building said they were following events on NZHerald.co.nz and stuff.co.nz. Both the online sites were already running live blogs at that point with eyewitness accounts and images as well as the more limited official information as well. Both were excellent sources during a confusing but clearly dangerous situation. TVNZ's Breakfast stayed on air until after midday to keep viewers up to date. Essential information about transport changes and coordinates and closures also had to be communicated. …Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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.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 big political issues this past week. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

A triumph on a tragic day; political parties roll out crime control policies; creative interpretations of a pretty prosaic political poll.Mediawatch looks at how the media reacted to the shocking shootings in Auckland on a day the Women's World Cup kicked off. Also - coverage of political parties rolling out policies to combat crime - and the latest political opinion poll. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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.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.1News presenter Simon Dallow described the results of the newly named 1News Verian poll on Monday as a harsh verdict on the government."It is just under three months until the election and Labour seems to have been dented by a series of ministerial distractions," he said as he introduced the story at the top of the bulletin.Despite that effort to dress up the poll as a tough verdict on the government, it was mostly notable for how un-notable it was.Few parties moved more than the margin of error from the last 1News poll in May, which also showed National and Act with the numbers to form the next government - just. National and Labour both dropped the same amount: 2 percent.You might have thought the damp squib of a result would put the clamps on our political commentators' narrative-crafting abilities.Instead for some it proved to be a blank canvas on which they could express their creativity. At Stuff, chief politics editor Luke Malpass called the poll a "fillip for the right" under a headline hailing a 'centre-right surge'.One issue with that: the poll showed a 1 percent overall drop for the right bloc of National and Act.Fillips generally involve polls going up not down. Similarly, a drop in support doesn't traditionally meet the definition of a surge in support. The lack of big statistical swings wasn't enough to deter some commentators from making big calls.On Newstalk ZB, political editor Jason Walls said Labour was plunging due to its disunity."All has been really able to talk about is what's happening within the Labour Party - be it Stuart Nash, be it other ministers who are behaving badly. Jan Tinetti. Voters punish that. And we've seen that from the Nats in opposition. They punish disunity."It's uncertain what National's equivalent 2 per cent drop was down to. Perhaps voters punish unity as well.Mutch-McKay's own commentary was a bit more nuanced, placing the poll in the context of wider trends.On TVNZ's Breakfast the day after the poll's release, she said some people inside Labour couldn't believe the results hadn't been worse for the party.Perhaps that air of disbelief also extended to the parliamentary press gallery…Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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.Midweek Mediawatch - Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Nights. This week 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. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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? 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? "Could you find an extra $1600 a month in the household budget if you had to?" Lisa Owen asked Checkpoint listeners on RNZ National last Monday. "That is the sharp end of the cost of living crisis for some Aucklanders - and that's on mortgage payments alone," she said, citing new numbers from Westpac.Many mortgages were fixed for two years in 2020 and 2021 at interest rates roughly half those on offer now - and when house prices were surging. What Lisa Owen dubbed 'The Great Refixing' could mean eye-watering leaps in monthly repayments - and not only for Aucklanders. This week, Newsroom reported a new survey saying 3 percent of mortgage-holders "could be facing the very real possibility of being forced to sell a property over the next year", according to the latest banking survey of just under 1100 people by research firm Horizon.That would mean about 42,000 home loans were in trouble, according to Newstalk ZB. BusinessDesk reported 70 percent of the same survey's respondents said they were "concerned they may not be able to afford payments" when they renew mortgages at current or higher rates. In June, National Party deputy leader and finance spokesperson Nicola Willis kicked off the party's annual conference warning of a looming "mortgage bomb"."The whole economy will shudder if it goes off," she said. In her column in Wellington's daily The Post last weekend, former National Party press secretary Janet Wilson called it "mortgage Armageddon" with "steadily increasing numbers of people in arrears". But how many? "When you apply for a mortgage at those very low rates on offer through the pandemic, chances are you would have been tested at rates that are closer to where we're at now," Westpac's Satish Ranchhod told Checkpoint this week. "The economy's in good shape ... and people have still got some buffers that are helping insulate them from that pain that's coming through from mortgages, as well as other living costs," he said. "There's definitely more signs of stress but it is definitely not unmanageable," ANZ Bank chief executive Antonia Watson told Newstalk ZB earlier this month. …Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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?These days the platforms that pump news around 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? Earlier this month, Australia's government announced new laws to beef up Australia's media regulator - the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) - to penalise the likes of Google, Facebook and Twitter for spreading harmful misinformation and disinformation online.Search engines, social media platforms, dating websites and online marketplaces could all be hit with fines of between nearly A$3 million (NZ$3.2m) and A$7m - or up to 5 percent of their global turnover if they fail to properly tackle disinformation. And for the first time, the communications watchdog ACMA could demand access to digital providers' documents related to fake news. "It will essentially mean that the regulator is able to look under the hood of what the platforms are doing," Australian Communications Minister Michelle Rowland told the media. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SX2BkNF5bx0The New Zealand government also wants to extend media content regulation to the online realm - but they're nowhere near as far down the track. After three years pondering the problem, the Department of Internal Affairs only recently released a discussion paper. Public input on that is open until the end of this month. By contrast, successive Australian governments have been willing to confront big tech companies in ways governments all over the world have been watching - including New Zealand. Google is now pushing back against a proposed law in Canada - the Online News Act - which would force tech companies to pay news organisations for each story accessed through its services. Google is threatening to cut Canadian news from online searches - and Facebook's owner Meta has followed suit. "Currently, we are proceeding towards ending the availability of news permanently in Canada," a spokeswoman told CBC News last week. Facebook tried the same tactic before in Australia, when it banned sharing of Australian news on the platform - but reversed the move within a week after a severe backlash. …Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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.Mediawatch looks at reports of a 'mortgage bomb' that could blow up the economy. Also - new moves to make Google and Facebook pay the media for the news they distribute - and who is the country's longest-lasting columnist Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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. 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. "I want to thank all those who have sent in letters over the years - and especially the majority whose questions didn't make it into the paper. Without them, there would be no column." Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details