Stories by Colin Peacock

This week RNZ and TVNZ both put out statements about public trust, transparency and how they make their news. On Mediawatch we ask the top editor from each one if they are feeling the heat over the…

For years, the most comprehensive survey of Kiwis’ media habits has shown local media losing ground to offshore invaders. This year it says we’re ‘settling down’ and local media may be ‘stabilising’…

The New Zealand Herald copped criticism for using AI to create editorials recently, while the chair of the ABC in Australia has urged it to use AI for news more.

Mediawatch hears how AI has been… Video

The week began with a former PM warning we need to take the heat out of race relations in politics - but it ended with a lot more of that. The media were right in the middle of it - and Māori…

A New Zealand Herald editorial written with the help of artificial intelligence has raised questions about how our media should use the technology for journalism - and how much their consumers should…

Abuse and neglect that went on for decades under the radar was front-and-centre in the headlines this week after the royal commission's report on abuse in state care came out. Mediawatch asks one…

Midweek Mediawatch - Mediawatch’s weekly catch-up with Nights. Colin Peacock talked to Emile Donovan about how the media handled the news that Joe Biden had thrown in the towel - and the final report… Audio

Mediawatch looks at how our media reacted to the shocking news of the attempt on Donald Trump's life in Pennsylvania. And shortly before that news broke, Colin Peacock a look at the week's news and… Audio

Midweek Mediawatch - Colin Peacock talked to Emile Donovan Stuff making a solid start with ThreeNews on TV; the British media making a meal of their landslide election and local democracy reporting's… Audio

Ever since TV3 launched back in 1989, the channel’s staff have brought viewers a 6pm bulletin every single day - up until today. Did Newshub at 6 go out with a bang - or a whimper? Was there…

The government has confirmed it will back legislation it had opposed in opposition which will compel tech giants to pay for local news content on their platforms. There will be amendments to the Bill…

Pundits have predicted the death of old-fashioned newspapers for years - but they’re still here. This week Mediawatch looks at a new history of New Zealand newspapers from one hundred years ago up…

Everyone seemed to agree the allegations of census information misused for political purposes were serious - serious enough for the PM to launch an independent inquiry on top of official… Video

Midweek Mediawatch - Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Nights. Colin Peacock talks to Emile Donovan about more moves between broadcasters, more new podcasts - but fewer Prime Ministerial press… Audio

Recent surveys have said our trust in media’s falling fast, and made plenty of headlines. But lately new surveys say our trust in the media isn’t plummeting. The latest one is part of a pitch to…

The media minister says a proposed law to get Google and Facebook pay for local news is not dead, but this week a Parliamentary committee and its government MPs did not support it. The government’s…

These are tough times for media - even those dedicated to covering big businesses and industries. After more than 20 years publishing health news and employing expert journalists, Barbara Fountain has…

A plan to update the system for regulating our media content has been running under the radar for years. Some agencies that do the job now have backed the move to one single body, but this week the… Video

Local newspapers are under pressure and some places have already lost their local news outlets. The Wairoa Star closed last week, but journalists want to keep going. A bid to re-start the Star online…

These days governments roll out pre-Budget announcements almost daily for weeks in the run-up. It gives their selected plans more exposure at a time of their choosing - but it also attracts greater…

TVNZ has been told it failed to fulfil obligations to its journalists when it decided to cut dozens of jobs and close news and current affairs shows. The future of journalists and top-rating…

Midweek Mediawatch: Colin Peacock talks to Emile Donovan about an MP taken to task about his knowledge of the arts  - and a TV producer taking on a funding agency in court. Also: a new political poll… Audio

New Zealand news media face "extinction within a few years" without urgent changes to media companies, and the laws and agencies that govern them. That’s the stark warning of a new report… Video

While TV news and current affairs shows are becoming an endangered species here, they seem to be still going strong in Australia where broadcasters back the shows with big budgets. But intense…

Melissa Lee has been replaced as Minister of Media and Communications after just seven months in the role in which she promised new policy to address the media’s acute problems. Paul Goldsmith now…