Mediawatch

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'? 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'? "Artificial intelligence has moved forward at such dizzying speed over the last year it's rarely out of the news. And it's mostly bad news," says Nikki Mandow in a new Newsroom podcast series (with the help of a commercial sponsor): AI - Harnessing The Speed Of ChangeOne industry working out how to harness AI is the media - and the news media is wrestling with how it is already being harnessed by AI. Generative AI products - such as Chat GPT, Google Bard and Microsoft's BingChat can generate text, images and audio automatically in response to simple requests - and the most powerful of the applications are already crawling all over the news media for its input. Google has done this for years to inform its online searches. But while Google's algorithm gives searchers dozens of choices from the online information it has indexed, AI-powered search generative experience (SGE) responds to requests with a single summary that's meant to be reliable and factual. Earlier this year Gordon Crovitz, the founder of the US-based fake-news detection service Newsguard, told Mediawatch the chatbots are not that good at it yet."AI models will create highly persuasive well written radio scripts or newspaper articles that are written beautifully with perfect grammar - and completely false. And the machines don't know the difference unless they've been trained. They end up repeating misinformation, The AI can get even worse as the developers think they're making it better," he warned. Last week The UK-based Guardian confirmed that it has prevented the Chat GPT-maker OpenAI from harvesting its content.CNN, Reuters, the Washington Post, Bloomberg, the New York Times are also reportedly blocking AI aps onlineBut the same AI tools extracting useful stuff from news media can also be handy for them in gathering and publishing the news and producing it digitally. …Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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. 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. "You've got to survive in the media. You got to take the ads," Newstalk ZB morning host Kerre Woodham told listeners last Monday, explaining the the controversial Council of Trade Union ad labelling the National Party leader "out of touch and too risky".It was clearly an election advocacy ad - and it was identified as such in the Herald. But as soon as the ad came through the NZME ad department, the senior editors there must have known devoting the front page to it would become a news story. The afternoon host at the Herald's NZME stablemate NewstalkZB, Andrew Dickens, certainly thought so. "I think this is news. This is why I'm talking about it on the radio. I'm not involved with this decision. . . but I think they need to write about it and say how they actually determine who gets the 'wraparound'," he told his listeners. The Herald top brass wasn't keen on that, but election ads on the front page aren't entirely unprecedented. A former Herald editor, Tim Murphy, pointed out the Weekend Herald has allowed the National Party to add detachable blue stickers late in previous campaigns.And once papers opened the door to wraparound front-and-back page ads for retailers (who paid a pretty penny for them during the Covid-19 crisis), it was only a matter of time before someone selling political messages rather than fridges took up the space as well. The CTU ad was within the rules for political promotion by third parties. As long as they registered, they can spend the thick end of $400,000 on ads doing down political opponents if they want to. Gordon Campbell on scoop.co.nz said that apart from the front-page spot, there was nothing really novel about an ad criticising a party leader who was actively campaigning as the embodiment of his party's policies. And while the CTU's campaign also appeared on billboards and social media platforms the same day, it was its appearance on the front page of a paper obliged to cover the campaign fairly which raised eyebrows…Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Angst over advocacy adverts and content as official election period begins; AI - coming ready or not for news and music.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 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.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.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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.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 perception.National leader Christopher Luxon started the day of his party's long-awaited tax policy announcement assuring Newstalk ZB's Mike Hosking his numbers were "rock solid".After several elections batting off accusations of fiscal holes and other budgetary misadventures, National had commissioned the consultancy Castalia Advisors to check its plan and it found them to be, in the words of the party's deputy leader Nicola Willis, "possible and plausible".Luxon wasn't giving Hosking all the details of his possible and plausible schemes, but he was saying who they would benefit, setting a record for use of the phrase "squeezed middle" in a five-minute timeframe. The party's effort to relieve the squeeze was unveiled a few hours later and that prompted a tide of headlines trumpeting the tax plan offering the average household $250 a fortnight. That was something of a coup for National's PR team. Not only did they get news organisations to highlight the biggest figure from their press release; they got them to use their preferred unit of measurement for people (households rather than individuals) and time (fortnightly rather than weekly).As Thomas Coughlan noted in the New Zealand Herald, that made the figures look larger - and presumably made the party's political sales job a little easier.$250 a fortnight - or $125 a week as it's sometimes known - would still be a pretty good tension remover for the tightly compressed middle.But as it turns out, National may be unclenching with one hand and squeezing with the other. Its $250-a-fortnight saving for an average family with kids includes $150 from its Family Boost tax credit.But that credit would also replace the 20 hours of free childcare for two-year-olds that Labour offered in this year's Budget. That could be worth around $133 a week for families - or $266 a fortnight.That - according to a robust, consultant cross-checked Mediawatch statistical analysis - is more than $150. Or even $250 (though it is obviously more targeted and comes with less flexibility than a cash handout).Other fishhooks were highlighted in the media as the day wore on.TVNZ Breakfast producer Tom Day flicked through National's tax plan to find a single line noting it would scrap Labour's Community Connect scheme.https://twitter.com/tomdaynz/status/1696687537929281716…Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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'.Mediawatch looks at how the media handled the biggest opposition policy announcement so far in the election campaign - the National Party's proposals on tax. Also: increased scrutiny of some of the candidates for a seat in Parliament - which also sparked a backlash against the media. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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. 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. TVNZ recently revealed one ACT candidate had resigned after social media posts comparing Covid restrictions to Nazi concentration camps came to light.Another another ACT candidate apologised for comments made during the occupation of Parliament calling the former prime minister 'Jabcinda' and suggesting drowning victims had died from the Covid vaccine."I was just asking questions. It wasn't actually my genuine belief," he told 1News.Last Tuesday 1 News reported a senior ACT MP already in Parliament also had some 'out there' views that were out there on social media before he entered Parliament MP Mark Cameron had said "climate change is a hoax or that people who think the planet is warming are nut jobs". The Spinoff's Toby Manhire found plenty more where that came from in MP Mark Cameron's Twitter account. But when Benedict Collins pressed David Seymour about that last Monday, the ACT leader accused him of "B-grade journalism". In reply, Collins pointed out Cameron could be a Cabinet minister after the upcoming election. But Seymour did have one media voice in his corner for his criticism of TVNZ's news judgment."Trying to drag that up... is really just B-grade journalism," Mike Hosking told his Newstalk ZB listeners last Tuesday morning. But it wasn't TVNZ's inquiries into the ACT MP which wound him up as much as a story in the media last week - the publicly funded Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority buying airtime on TVNZ news shows last year."Their defence was that in the corner of the screen allegedly was some sort of recognition that the EECA was involved. Now that - in my 42 years in this industry - does not even come close to covering your badly exposed arse," he said.Hosking reckoned TVNZ's news story about Act MP Cameron was connected. …Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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

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. 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. "What's New Zealand's favorite dinner routine? We've got our go-to food guru Nadia Lim to shed some light on it," Jeremy Wells told viewers in TVNZ's Seven Sharp earlier this month. A round up of dinner-time favourites with a media-friendly food guru was fairly standard lifestyle-type fare for this show. Nadia Lim has been on it plenty of times over the years and the meal kit company she co-founded usually gets a mention. But this time Hilary Barry told viewers: "We've partnered with My Food Bag to reveal some of their insights" and sharp-eyed Seven Sharp viewers would have seen a 'brought to you by My Food Bag' message on the screen. After Lim cooked some chicken, rice and salad on Seven Sharp, she drove home the commercial message in a chit-chat with the co-hosts. "Lovely to see you. What is it about these meals that makes them so popular?" Jeremy Wells asked Lim. "I think it's the fact that now we've literally got something to suit everyone," she added, describing the expanded now range now available. Sponsored content, advertorials, paid promotions and partnershipsThere's nothing new about TV shows brought to you by sponsors.Five years ago, TVNZ ran an entire series called Mind Over Money commissioned by Kiwibank.Shortly after, TVNZ aired an entire prime time series about Qantas which was billed as fly-on-the-wall documentary but was actually made for and paid for by Qantas in Australia. There's also nothing new about news and current affairs shows being a vehicle for commercial sponsors. For years Seven Sharp's forerunner Close Up was 'Brought to you by Toyota' while the rival show on TV3, Campbell Live, was 'Driven by Mazda'. Ten years ago, the Herald on Sunday's editor Bryce Johns was made the Herald's 'head of content partnerships' and a former Sunday Star Times editor Lauren Quaintance founded an agency in Australia creating native advertising. …Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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.Mediawatch looks at consternation caused by content that blurs the lines between ads and news. Also - the prospects for legislation to force big tech companies to pay for local news - and can a new body representing local ad agencies really help boost local media companies?Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details