Another Covid inquiry prompted plenty of pandemic pointscoring - but not so much on the plan for the next one. Also: who speaks for Iranians - and who is Peter Bassett?

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It’s war in the Middle East again, stretching media already stressed by conflict - and nonsense from leaders is not helping. Also: questions about newsrooms’ vulnerability to influence from outside and their inside media companies; poll prompts a flurry over the PM, Country Calendar at 60.

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Coverage of war breaking out on Iran, influencers' soft power picture shattered, the local angles including a PM punished for fluffing his lines. Also - TVNZ's crime reporting fallout prompt claims of editorial interference.

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The government’s moved on rough sleepers and beggars downtown - by giving the police power to move them out of town. How did the media handle that this week? Also: reporting Wellington's bad news; political ad rebuke - and who’s ‘Peter Bassett’?

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'That' image of Andrew becomes one of world’s most-reproduced images ever - and a local goalie's grief went global too. Also - The Press looks back on 15 years after the quake; the PM's social content copping extreme scorn

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Anti-immigration political parties have been boosted in many countries. Now NZ First forcing the issue onto the news agenda. Also: is streaming eating itself? And why did one friendly umbrella gesture end up heavily analysed in our media?

Read more about this episode of Mediawatch on the RNZ website

Learn more: Mediawatch: Immigration amping up in election year | RNZ News

In this episode:

0:55 Immigration as a political wedge issue around the world

4:55 NZ First puts immigration on the agenda over its objections to an FTA with India - giving the media a headache with the prospect of more to come.

19:45 HBO leaves Sky TV to launch its own HBO Max subscription service here. Are we already over-subscribed?

22:56 Tech writer Peter Griffin on streaming hitting the ceiling worldwide - and what it might mean for Sky TV (without HBO)

Guests: Peter Griffin, BusinessDesk

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Find more RNZ Podcasts at the new section of the RNZ website at rnz.co.nz/podcasts

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Judgments media made reporting the recent court hearing featuring mass-murderer Brenton Tarrant. Also: how two private functions at one private club ended up being very public - and AI accusations on ice at the Winter Olympics.

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Solid and liquid sewage is streaming into the sea in the capital, as the government says we need to import gas to ease energy shortages. Flaky infrastructure is an election year issue again - but are the media seeing the big picture as well as the political one? Also: the battle to stop AI ripping off real New Zealand news and flooding Facebook.

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Turmoil at one of the great names of US media - The Washington Post. Also: the FLOTUS film flop, the sweary hero of our Winter Olympics, an outburst of 'enshitification'

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Surveys say we don't yet trust AI in our news, but a new report shows our newsrooms are all using it - even if they’re not telling us. Another report says we’re more bothered by bad language on air than we have been in the past. But what kind of stuff really offends us?

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