Navigation for Station navigation
Mediawatch
There's never a shortage of opinions on the media - but Mediawatch looks at it all in detail twice a week, accompanied by to-the-point interviews and analysis. Mediawatch is a must-listen each week for those keen to know more about the news - and each edition must also stand up to the scrutiny of those who work in our media.
Sundays at 9:05am and 10:12pm
Navigation for Mediawatch
Latest audio
-
Economic forecasts, weather forecasts, summer break clickbait
21 Dec 2025How should media handle the mixed messages on the economy as politicians and pressure groups push policy and public opinion? Also: The fall of The House of Du Val, TVNZ's courtroom dramas, unsettling… Read more Audio
This audio is not downloadable due to copyright restrictions.
-
Midweek - the good, bad and weird of 2025
17 Dec 2025Colin Peacock and Emile Donovan hand out Mediawatch's not-very-prestigious and not-at-all coveted annual awards - such as best leading of the media by the nose; worst live media event, and the Billy… Read more Audio
-
'Mother of all debates’ & right v left polarisation of news
14 Dec 2025The finance minister's pushed back hard at a lobby group's PR campaign which made headlines even before it began. The impact of online advocacy on our politics and news was also aired at two… Read more Audio
-
Midweek- PMs hog the screen, Coster at length, WBD
10 Dec 2025Presidents and Prime Ministers happily hogged the screen in TV specials this week - but not our PM. Ex-top cop Andrew Coster broke his silence at length - and big deals are being done in overseas… Read more Audio
-
The political push for a social media ban, flatpack fever
7 Dec 2025Australia's banning social media for teens, and there's a slick media campaign for the same here. The PM's onside, but will the government follow? And why is a social media pioneer resisting this… Read more Audio
-
Midweek - Luxon rolls on, Dallow goes, intimate image exposure
3 Dec 2025PM pushes back the rumours of a rolling, but Dallow leaves TVNZ. Also: the ethics of intimate image exposure, RNZ's numbers boost - and when is it too soon to wrap up 2025? Audio
-
The economy stupid, chatter rolls the PM, covid flip-flops
30 Nov 2025The government pledged to 'build the future' with its first election policy this week - and TVNZ aired a special show about our economic problems and possibilities. Do the media give us big picture… Read more Audio
-
The economy stupid, chatter rolls the PM, covid flip-flops
30 Nov 2025The government pledged to 'build the future' with its first election policy this week - and TVNZ aired a special show about our economic problems and possibilities. Do the media give us big picture… Read more Audio
-
The economy stupid, chatter rolls the PM, covid flip-flops
30 Nov 2025The government pledged to 'build the future' with its first election policy this week - and TVNZ aired a special show about our economic problems and possibilities. Do the media give us big picture… Read more Audio
-
Midweek - Field family funeral, highway chickens
26 Nov 2025The Field family's funeral livestreamed, newspaper readership rebound, Press shines a light on who owns Christchurch, but Stuff slips up on the story of a jobless man. Also: why did the chickens cross… Read more Audio
-
EV angst, NZ Geo confront financial fragility
23 Nov 2025EVs were a booming business here - but now incentives have been stripped back, and lately they've been in the news for burning up. Is media coverage of isolated incidents beating up the danger? Also… Read more Audio
-
EV angst, NZ Geo confront financial fragility
23 Nov 2025EVs were a booming business here - but now incentives have been stripped back, and lately they've been in the news for burning up. Is media coverage of isolated incidents beating up the danger? Also… Read more Audio
Mediawatch
Sundays at 9:05am and 10:12pm
Follow this podcast.
- Email mediawatch@radionz.co.nz
- Follow @MediawatchNZ on Twitter
On air since 2001 and as a podcast since 2007, Mediawatch looks critically at big stories and issues in the news right now - and what’s going on behind the scenes across the media.
Mediawatch examines the output of reporters, producers and editors - as well as the input of PR and the ad industry. It also questions the executives, policy-makers, politicians, regulators and tech companies which influence our media today.
Colin Peacock, Producer and presenter of Mediawatch
Colin studied journalism at the University of Canterbury then headed overseas to freelance back in the 1990s before pitching up at BBC News for eight years. He worked for BBC World TV and news and sport network 5 Live before ending up as a producer at the World Service. After a stint at World Update, a co-production with Public Radio International in the US, he returned to New Zealand and came to RNZ in 2003. He’s been producing and presenting Mediawatch since 2007.
Hayden Donnell, Mediawatch producer
Hayden Donnell has been a writer, reporter and editor for news outlets including the New Zealand Herald, TVNZ, RNZ and Newshub. In recent years he’s also worked for The Spinoff, where his story on the making of Kim Dotcom’s much-maligned album Good Times won a Voyager award for best entertainment feature. He also presented the web series Get It To Te Papa, which follows his quest to get underappreciated artefacts into our national museum. He joined the Mediawatch team at the beginning of 2020.
