Mediawatch

RNZ is investigating how online stories about the war in Ukraine, supplied by an international news agency, were edited to align with the Russian view of events. A staff member has been stood down while other stories are audited. It's also prompted an external review of RNZ's online news publishing. RNZ is investigating how online stories about the war in Ukraine, supplied by an international news agency, were edited to align with the Russian view of events. A staff member has been stood down while other stories are audited. It's also prompted an external review of RNZ's online news publishing. The alarm was raised after a story was published by RNZ on Friday about the escalation of the Russia-Ukraine conflict which contained significant amendments to the original copy by the international wire service Reuters.The original story by its Moscow bureau chief Guy Faulconbridge said: "The conflict in eastern Ukraine began in 2014 after a pro-Russian president was toppled in Ukraine's Maidan Revolution and Russia annexed Crimea, with Russian-backed separatist forces fighting Ukraine's armed forces."But when republished on RNZ.co.nz, that passage adopted a more Kremlin-friendly framing. "The conflict in Ukraine began in 2014 after a pro-Russian elected government was toppled during Ukraine's violent Maidan colour revolution. Russia annexed Crimea after a referendum, as the new pro-Western government suppressed ethnic Russians in eastern and southern Ukraine, sending in its armed forces to the Donbas."RNZ's 4pm news bulletin on Friday said the version published by RNZ "included a false account of events" and RNZ is investigating how the story was "changed to reflect a pro-Russian view."RNZ corrected the story online, adding a footnote which says it is "taking the issue extremely seriously." Late on Friday RNZ said an investigation is under way into "the alleged conduct of one employee" who has been "placed on leave while we look into these matters." "We are auditing other articles to check whether there are further problems," the statement said. RNZ chief executive Paul Thompson said the inappropriate editing of the stories to reflect a pro-Moscow perspective was deeply concerning and would be addressed accordingly.Other stories in the spotlight Another RNZ.co.nz story on the destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam described the 2014 Maidan Revolution as a "coup" - pro-Russian language which doesn't appear in the original Reuters text…Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Midweek Mediawatch - Colin Peacock talks to Tod Zaner about Auckland mayor Wayne Brown antagonising the media . . . again; a shake-up of Stuff's top brass; TVNZ boosting free-to-air sport; a dead radio station winning three national awards; Nicky Hager honoured for lifting the lid on secrets. Midweek Mediawatch - Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Nights. This week Colin Peacock talks to Tod Zaner about Auckland mayor Wayne Brown antagonising the media . . . again; a shake-up of Stuff's top brass; TVNZ boosting free-to-air sport; a dead radio station winning three national awards; Nicky Hager honoured for lifting the lid. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Mediawatch talks to the radio industry's top spokesperson who called on commercial companies to curb their rivalry - and the brains behind a small music radio network spreading around the country - but without ads. Also: a controversial proposal to change the way our media content is regulated. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

In this week's Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Mark Leishman about racist abuse of journalists and the potential for more of it in a toxic election campaign. Also: an eyebrow-raising Media Council decision; two enduring magazines changing hands; exclusive coverage of awards that excludes other award winners - and some surprising talkback debate about cycling. .In this week's Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Mark Leishman about racist abuse of journalists and the potential for more of it in a toxic election campaign. Also: an eyebrow-raising Media Council decision; two enduring magazines changing hands; exclusive coverage of awards that excludes other award winners - and some surprising talkback debate about cycling. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Years before the Grenfell Tower fire killed 72 residents, it was foreshadowed by another fatal fire in London which wasn't adequately investigated. A journalist who has worked on that story for six years so far tells Mediawatch our media must pursue what went wrong at Loafers Lodge to prevent something worse happening elsewhere in future. Years before the Grenfell Tower fire killed 72 residents, it was foreshadowed by another fatal fire in London which was not adequately investigated. A journalist who has worked on that story for six years so far tells Mediawatch New Zealand media must pursue what went wrong at Loafers Lodge and it could prevent something worse happening in future. In the confusion and chaos of the Loafers Lodge fire, a local fire chief called it a "once-in-a-decade fire".That gave some idea of the seriousness of it but still did not quite convey the horror. It was only last Tuesday - more than a week later - that police formally released names of the first three victims.Among them was Michael Wahrich - who was known to many Wellingtonians as Mike the Juggler. Stuff and the capital's daily The Post reported his death before it was confirmed by police because his sister confirmed it. That confused followers of local Facebook page Wellington Live which had posted earlier that Mike had survived the fire, which then drew angry condemnation from some users who accused the site's editors of 'role-playing' as journalists. They weren't satisfied by administrators explaining it was an open group which members could contribute to - and the misleading post about Mike Wahrich was removed the same day it appeared. For the news media, there is an added complication. A man has been charged with arson in relation to the fire. He behaved erratically in court where the judge ordered interim name suppression and remanded him in custody.Any further reporting on that is effectively off limits until he appears in court again.On Monday, The Post's Tom Hunt reported Loafers Lodge had just one working ground-floor exit after the main entrance was locked shut due to damage in the days before the fire.We have also learned Loafers Lodge is just one of a growing network of hostels, motels and boarding houses housing some of New Zealand's most vulnerable and poorest people - but we do not even know how many there are. …Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Lessons for Loafers Lodge investigation in the long game of the UK's Grenfell saga; new fund backing business and economics coverage; an hour of Gower (and friends . . . and his issues). Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Three's new current affairs show Paddy Gower Has Issues walks a tonal tightrope - balancing comedic heckling and faux-serious investigations with in-depth reporting on important issues of the day.Three's new current affairs show Paddy Gower Has Issues walks a tonal tightrope - balancing comedic heckling and light-hearted investigations with in-depth reporting on the big issues.About 40 minutes into the first episode of Paddy Gower Has Issues, Newshub's Laura Tupou spoke about how moved she was by some students she spoke to during her investigation into New Zealand's why reading rates have fallen."Seeing children's faces light up when they were able to read books and understand what they were reading, I'm just like: 'Why can't every kid learn how to read in this country? Why doesn't every school teach how to learn to read in this way?"The show's host, Patrick Gower, said he would be grilling Minister of Education Jan Tinetti on the issue shortly.Before he could get to that though, he had another topic on address: Karen O'Leary's investigation on behalf of her friend Zoe into why our supermarkets play such sad music.The quick transition from literacy to levity is typical for the show, which walks a tonal tightrope between comedy and serious, in-depth investigations.The show's first episode was centred on these two threads - Tupou's heavy and technical look at literacy and comedian O'Leary's light but still surprisingly rigorous deep dive into supermarket tunes.Tupou interviewed school teachers, principals, students, and academics to build the case for classrooms to adopt a structured - rather than balanced - method of reading education. That might sound a little academic, but interviews with students and educators gave it a personal touch.Meanwhile, O'Leary spoke to a Danish academic who has spent 30 years studying the effects of music on shopping habits."What say I wanted to make someone buy mince? If I had them just hearing the word 'mince' on repeat over and over again, do you think that would work?" she asked."Um, that's a good question," he replied.O'Leary tested that by sending three shoppers around a Countdown with headphones playing different soundtracks: one happy, one sad, and one with 'mince' on repeat.Unfortunately, there was a flaw in the operation: the mystery mince shopper was vegan."I didn't know that," deadpanned O'Leary in a conversation with Gower.The contrast between these two topics would be stark at the best of times…Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Midweek Mediawatch - Colin Peacock talks to Mark Leishman about the outrage over Paora that sparked escalating apologies from Zoo Miami - and how the media reacted to a Budget which wasn't quite what the pundits predicted. Also: a media watchdog's warning about taking care with facts - and the 'the worst movie of the year'? Midweek Mediawatch - Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Nights.Colin Peacock talks to Mark Leishman about the outrage over Paora that sparked escalating apologies from Zoo Miami - and how the media reacted to a Budget which wasn't quite what the pundits predicted. Also: a media watchdog's warning about taking care with facts - and the 'the worst movie of the year'? Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

The nation's news outlets aren't usually interested in local government ructions in the south, but deep rifts in one dysfunctional council have made many headlines lately. When a 'showdown' meeting in Gore was livestreamed on major websites this week, peace broke out instead. Was that because of the media attention?The nation's news outlets aren't usually interested in local government ructions in the south, but deep rifts in one dysfunctional council have made many headlines lately. When a 'showdown' meeting in Gore was livestreamed on major websites this week, peace broke out instead. Was that because of the media attention?It was an extraordinary council meeting for an extraordinary situation. Gore's councillors were considering a vote of no confidence in their 24-year old mayor Ben Bell just eight months into his first term and also seeking to remove him from council committees. Demonstrators in support of him had gathered outside while others watched the livestream in Gore's library. For those outside Gore, the livestream was carried on the homepages of Stuff.co.nz and nzherald.co.nz - even on the day updates were still coming in on the fatal fire in Wellington. But in the end, what the Herald billed as the "Gore Showdown" turned into "a kumbaya drum circle," according to co-editor of Newsroom.co.nz Tim Murphy. The deputy mayor and seven councillors who called for a vote didn't move the motion of no confidence. Instead, the deputy mayor said the council should now seek help from the Internal Affairs Department to pull together, while the embattled mayor pledged to mend fences in "the Gore way."https://youtu.be/CHRpDe3Hu1sIt wouldn't have made any difference even if the vote went against Bell. "If he is democratically elected, he has to resign or he has to die or be convicted of a crime resulting in two years' imprisonment or greater. None of those appear particularly likely at the moment," RNZ's Otago and Southland reporter Timothy Brown told Morning Report on the morning of the meeting. Mayors have ended up at loggerheads with their councillors elsewhere in recent times. Invercargill's city council revolted against Sir Tim Shadbolt but even though he was a national figure, that got nothing like the national news coverage. Councillors and mayor Tenby Powell were at daggers drawn in Tauranga in 2020 and commissioners were eventually appointed to keep things running there. But that didn't get much national media attention either. …Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Brian Tamaki couldn't get on TV last weekend to announce the launch of a new umbrella movement to contest the next election. But other political leaders had better luck recently week getting a media platform to air new plans and policies. Brian Tamaki couldn't get on TV last weekend to announce the launch of a new umbrella movement to contest the next election. But other political leaders had better luck recently getting a media platform to air new plans and policies. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details