Stories by Colin Peacock

Journalists covering the US protests have been targeted by militarised police officers and actual military police alike - and in some places, the protesters themselves. Many blame Trump’s ‘enemy of…

Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Lately. This week Colin talks to Karyn Hay about reporters caught in the crossfire and others copping blowback from the upheaval in the US - and musical echoes of…

Stuff's chief executive Sinead Boucher has bought the company from its Australian owner Nine Entertainment for $1. It ends years of uncertainty over the publisher's ownership and she says giving staff…

MediaWorks is cutting 130 jobs as it deals with the economic fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Prominent political pundit Matthew Hooton has withdrawn from commentary for the time being because of a conflict caused by his link to the successful leadership bid of National MPs Todd Muller and…

The long-running saga of the mega-merger of our two biggest news publishers is heading for the High Court - not for the first time. Last time round, NZME and Stuff were fighting for the right to get…

RNZ has made public more documents about the controversial changes to RNZ Concert which sparked a public and political backlash in February. They show RNZ made a bid for an extra frequency but backed…

NZME’s plea for permission to buy its rival Stuff for $1 by the end of this month kickstarted confusing counterclaims today which show a deal is far from done. It’s also a symptom of upheaval in an…

Some people couldn’t wait to get a fast-food feed ASAP after the level 3 switch - and the media copped criticism for wall-to-wall on-the-spot coverage of the frenzy. But reporters went beyond the…

Boris Johnson’s Tories in the UK are signalling a “mission attack” on the BBC, centred on a switch from households paying compulsory licence fees to voluntary Netflix-style subscriptions. Why? And…

On Thursday media companies learned some will take away more than others from the government's first targeted Covid-19 crisis package. Meanwhile, the minister of broadcasting has signaled he'll follow…

For weeks our political news has centred on the fight against Coronavirus. But this week pre-Covid concerns emerged in the media to create political headaches for Winston Peters and Simon Bridges

Last Monday's announcement on moving off alert level 4 was a major event for the media. In normal times people aren't so interested in a PM's press conference co-starring top cops and public servants.

The Government has unveiled a $50m “adrenaline shot” for commercial media companies struggling with the sudden slump in revenue caused by the Covid-19 crisis - with more to come in weeks ahead. But…

New Zealand’s biggest news publisher Stuff is appealing to readers to fund its reporting just days after its CEO told Parliament "ongoing government support for a commercial media industry" is needed…

News media representatives set out the crisis their industry faces to Parliament’s Epidemic Response Committee on Wednesday before the government finalises a package of measures to help them survive…

Media company NZME has announced 200 jobs will go and it has suspended publication of popular newspaper supplements in its latest cost-saving response to the COVID-19 downturn. 

Even before the first hints we had “turned a corner” with Covid-19, pundits were pumping up the volume on calls to loosen the lockdown and get more shops and businesses open again. But others in the…

The lockdown designed to save lives has also damaged livelihoods by slowing the economy to a crawl. Some pundits and politicians are now warning in the media that health can’t always be the top…

As local media companies scrambled to stay in business this week, the giant German publisher of our most important magazines pulled the plug on them - and about 250 jobs - with no warning.  It…

Bauer Media was the publisher of the NZ Listener, North & South, NZ Woman's Weekly, Next, and Metro. It has cited the Covid-19 shutdown for its decision. The government has confirmed the company never…

Our media have plenty of ‘emergency journalism’ experience after several major disasters and crises in recent years. But covering the whole country going into lockdown was a new one - and in spite of…

Major media organisations rolled out lots of commemorative coverage to mark one year since the atrocity in Christchurch. It honoured those who died - and those who survived but have suffered - and…

Tough new measures announced yesterday to counter COVID-19 pleased pundits who had pleaded for action in recent days. But the effects could also change the game for media in the long run. Meanwhile…

Farmers in drought-stricken regions are having a tough time right now, but do recent reports of environmentally-inspired hostility putting their mental health at risk really stack up?