Mediawatch

A Kiwi lifting the lid on Facebook's been gagged before she could talk to RNZ. Why? And what did she say before Meta called its lawyers? Also: news publishers' ownership in play & lifestyle journalism's being squeezed by our cash-strapped media, but RNZ’s boosting it and the country’s oldest magazine is shifting its focus. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Rivals appeal to NZME shareholders as Stuff carves its chief's one share into a million. Also: MAGA-powered podcasters control the zone - and have we lost the appetite for school lunch scrutiny? Rivals appeal to NZME shareholders as Stuff's chief turns one share into a million. Also: MAGA-powered podcasters control the zone, have we lost the appetite for school lunch scrutiny?Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

The PM’s got plenty on his plate right now - including media hinting his time is up in the top job. Is that true - or fair? Also: a new move to use the media to improve integrity in public life and push back at vested interests. Sounds good, but are things really that bad? Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

A new poll piles pressure on the PM and his party, the billionaire bidding to unseat NZME's board hits back at claims about his intentions, a Paddington clarificationGo to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Concern over a sudden change of editorial direction at NZME as a billionaire bids for control. Also: reporting Wellington’s water woes and a sudden rush of top-level resignations. The publisher of the Herald and owner of Newstalk ZB has told its investors it’s going to set “a new tone” for New Zealand and “share stories of economic success and positive momentum.” NZME also plans to roll out AI to shape the Herald homepage.All this will change what we see and read in the future. But NZME’s top brass now have another problem - a billionaire who’s backed alternative online outlets has bought a big chunk of the company and now James Grenon wants to control it. Also this week: how the media handled a rash of resignations from top public jobs and Wellington’s water woes - no resignations yet but plenty of headlines.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Midweek: The ever-present US President makes the most of set-piece media events. Also -billionaires seeking stakes in our media & rights to air rugby - and TV shows about life in NZ fifty years apart. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Chinese warships in the Tasman Sea promp big calls to bump up the budget for defence ASAP. Also - the super-heated headlines about factory-to-school lunches and we talk to the international outfit defending public broadcasters from de-funding. Chinese warships appearing in what we like to think of as our ‘benign strategic environment’ sparked something of a media frenzy lately - culminating in commentators claiming our defence spending’s going to have to go up ASAP.Right now the two main public media networks in the US face bids to de-fund them - even though their federal funding is tiny. They also face MAGA-driven inquiries into bias and how they stay in business.Public broadcasters elsewhere in the world also face more political pressure on their funding and even their legitimacy these days. This week ask the boss of the outfit that represents them around the world: how do you defend against de-funding?Also: school lunches have been in the headlines ever since the new cheaper factory-to-classroom ones appeared this year - or not, in some cases. And isolated cases of things going badly wrong have certainly been seized on by the media. Just teething troubles blown out of proportion because of politics? Or are our media rightly demanding more transparency? (more than on the cellophane lids of those boxes of burnt bolognese we’ve all seen in the news . . .)Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Media go forensic on Andrew Bayly's ministerial resignation, the PM's ZB stumble, NZME's revealing annual results - & the real story of Golriz at PaknSave Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Surviving 2025 in the intertwined industries of media and advertising. Should our government follow Australia’s media policy - and beware of billionaires? Also: decoding Destiny and the tricky task of luring Aussie tourists. Can the intertwined industries of media and advertising survive 2025 - and even thrive? That was the theme of a gathering in Auckland this week. One day later, the hosts of it confirmed 30 of its journalists jobs have gone.Our government says - again - its waiting to see what Australia’s government does when it comes to media policy. Mediawatch asks an Australian media expert if that makes sense - and if should media in both places beware of the billionaires. Also - this week our government unveiled a new slogan to tempt Aussie tourists across the Tasman. Everyone Must Go seems to have gone down well over there, if not here at a time when many Kiwis are going there for good. We look back at previous efforts to lure tourists across the Tasman. But tricky timing here when record-number of Kiwis have decided they must go over there for good.But some of the past efforts to attract Aussie visitors haven’t dated that well either:AUDIO: 23 feb 2025 TRAIL 02 champagneThat;s later on in the programmeBut first - what happened after Destiny Church supporters disrupted Pride events in Auckland last weekend:Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Big names at the Herald lose their jobs in a major news rejig, a Wellington ginger group getting a helping hand - and attracting Aussies in 1962. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details