Mediawatch

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

How plans for wealthy foreign investors hit the headlines this week - and how did paid-for propaganda end up on a major news website? Also: two business journalists want to make the most out of much-needed money for important investigative journalism

Comedian Guy Williams' Waitangi run-in with David Seymour - and the Act leader's pushback at the Herald; a new video channel proposal by NZME - and new government plans to help local media.

Trump’s alarmed the world with trade tariffs, turning off aid and proposing to take over Gaza. But New Zealand’s had its own diplomatic dramas in the news - with the media in the middle of them. Also: new news outlets popping up to push back fear of 'news deserts.'

The 'fake news' from Israel that strained our relationship with the US - and a long-suppressed offender’s name finally comes out. Also: Tributes to Jonah Lomu and Marianne Faithfull which missed the mark - and two reports on transport which didn’t.

Summertime - and the living is easy, the old Gerschwin song says. But he didn’t have to keep Kiwis tuned in during the summer news drought. Meanwhile the outside world has changed a lot since Christmas - and the media industry’s problems here haven’t taken a holiday either.

NZME's plan to cut nearly 40 staff including some big names, a s spiky editorial response to a reader questioning coverage - and a belated Mediawatch award for misinformation in 2024.