Stories by Hayden Donnell

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…

A song has been written about him. People have penned paeans to his extreme competence. But the media is starting to resist the deification of Dr Ashley Bloomfield. Audio

Sir Ray Avery and epidemiologist Simon Thornley have claimed their contrarian ideas on Covid-19 are being censored. That's true, provided you ignore the huge amount of media coverage they've received.

Media executives used yesterday's Epidemic Response Select Committee to criticise government for advertising with Facebook and Google instead of them. Lurking behind the anger and appeals for help was… Audio

As huge audiences tune into the government's daily press briefings on Covid-19, more people than ever before are seeing how the journalism sausage is made. Some of them aren't happy with the…

Newstalk ZB's most popular host Mike Hosking spent March contradicting himself on Covid-19. It seems his affliction has been catching.

Products including high-end dressing gowns and decorative cushions have been deemed 'essential;. Community newspaper publishers are wondering why they still can't get the same treatment.

Patrick Gower, the National Party, and several political commentators have spent the week calling for government to quarantine the border. The only issue: the government had already signalled the…

The announcement that Bauer Media is shutting down has been met with a flurry of conflicting recriminations. If you're unsure where to place your blame, Mediawatch is here to help.

The nation’s most prominent talkback pundit has oscillated from opinion to directly-contradictory opinion with blistering speed during the Covid-19 crisis. 

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…

MediaWorks staff have been asked to take a 15% pay cut for six months as the company struggles to deal with the economic fallout from the Covid-19 crisis.

Timely, accurate media reporting could be life-saving during the COVID-19 crisis. So why is so much coverage still being given to people with no scientific or medical expertise? Audio

Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Lately. Hayden Donnell talks to Karyn Hay about a local music TV channel coming back from the dead, US media not feeling the Bern - and RNZ Concert / RNZ Music: the… Audio

RNZ Concert’s proposed relegation to the 'sub-optimal-for-symphonies' AM band was short-lived, but the government freeing up another FM frequency for RNZ raises more questions about what will be… Video