Mediawatch

In this week's edition of Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Mark Leishman about an outcry over the soiling of the sacred Ranfurly Shield, a rancorous interview with Winston Peters, and media complaining about Christopher Luxon not turning up.

The TVNZ Young Voters' debate run by Re:News was a rowdy interjection into what had been a relatively subdued election campaign. Its moderator has some ideas on how media organisations can better cater to young people.

The undecided could decide the election; giving youth a voice in the election; ZB's 'straight talking' subscribers' service.

A new subscriber service offering "straight talking" reporting and opinion was launched this week by talk radio network Newstalk ZB. Owner NZME has several other services putting content behind a paywall, but this one has a provocative blogger in charge of a line-up of pro-business and right-leaning commentators - some of whom are harsh critics of the news media.

Midweek Mediawatch - Colin Peacock talked to Mark Leishman about the ever-growing volume of election campaign coverage - and the latest TV (and off-TV) debates putting party leaders under the spotlight.

The election campaign went up a gear in the media this week as party leaders lined up on live TV for the first time. But while the public tuned in in numbers, the pundits reckoned the debates failed to fire up the campaign. The same could be said of the other exposure opportunities the media made for the leaders.

Three years ago Sinead Boucher took over the country’s biggest publisher of news from Aussie owners who gave it away “like a set of steak knives.” In the absence of big backers and the government backing away from funding journalism, does its future now depend on getting money from Google and Facebook? And does she still have the Stuff staff on board for the future?

Debate statemates add to election frustration; the current and future state of Stuff; some good - but overdue - news for Dunedin.

In this week's edition of Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Mark Leishman about the first live TV leaders' debate of the election campaign and the sports analogy-filled post-match analysis.

The Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Update lifted the lid on the nation’s finances this week - and Treasury's projections for the foreseeable future. This dropped some ‘un-spun’ numbers into the election debate - but our media still seized on support-seeking politicians airing irreconcilable opinions about the state of our economy.

New Zealand's biggest publisher of news this week joined big global names in blocking Open AI from using its content to power generative artificial intelligence tool Chat GPT. Stuff says it is being harvested without permission for AI products already turning out low-quality results. Mediawatch asks Stuff's if keeping Ai at arm's length is a good move.

Un-spun numbers don't derail duelling versions of the economy; Stuff keeps AI at arm's length; medical school row - and a made-up university.

Midweek Mediawatch - Colin Peacock talks to Mark Leishman about the coverage of two huge disasters in North Africa; a little local political difficulty in Dunedin - and political party leaders under heavy scrutiny on TV. Also: a much-hyped weekend of sport which didn’t go well for our national teams - and whether pets on planes, trains and buses is really a good idea.

The Herald copped criticism for publishing a front-page attack ad targeting the National Party leader this week - but it was far from the first time ads like it have appeared in print. Meanwhile questions were asked about other coverage that looked like it might be taking sides as the official campaign period begins.

Business is booming in artificial intelligence technology and new applications appear in the news almost daily. At an AUT symposium this week, experts said it’s already being deployed in creative industries to create instant ad campaigns, virtual influencers, robo-journalism and machine-made music. But is AI a creative collaborator - or just a 'handy butler'?

Angst over advocacy adverts and content as official election period begins; AI - coming ready or not for news and music.

In this week's edition of Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Mark Leishman about National's attempt to weather a storm of journalistic scrutiny of its tax plan, Patrick Gower's unusual aquatic analogy for Winston Peters, and a controversial front page ad in the New Zealand Herald.

As National announced its long-awaited tax plan, some journalists took a hard look at its numbers, while others focused more on political strategy and impact.

Mongrel and maths collide as campaigns launch - and media ponder National's tax plan; scrutiny of candidates' online footprints prompts pushback and claims of 'agendas'.

Scrutiny of political parties' policies intensified this week - and so did the scrutiny of some candidates for seats in Parliament. When TVNZ reported some election candidates’ controversial past statements this week, critics hit back with claims its own news was compromised.