Jailed journalist Peter Greste tells Mediawatch about the worst times in his life up on the big screen in 'The Correspondent.' Also - the country’s main Christian broadcaster Rhema is bucking the trend of media contraction - even though its target market's shrinking and appealing to a broad church is tough in these polarised times.

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Does TV doco Polk live up to the hype - or live down to the claims of tabloid clickbait? Also - further feedback on 'trust in news', new unofficial register lifts the lid on lobbying a little.

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Another year - another drop in trust in the news here, according to the biggest annual survey of it. But the slump seems to have stalled and some outlets have even gained trust this time round - though we’re still world leaders in ‘news avoidance.’ Mediawatch looks at all this - and talks to a Canadian confronting the same trends there.

New Zealanders’ trust in the news has been falling for years - five years in a row according to the most comprehensive annual survey of it carried out that's carried out here.

And we’ve also been leading the world in the proportion of people who say they actively avoid the news.

So no wonder our news outlets fear the worst when the AUT's Trust in news in Aotearoa New Zealand report comes out.

But the latest survey shows the slump trust in our news media has stalled - and local outlets are actually more trusted this year. How come?

Also Mediawatch talks to a longtime journalist striving to restore trust in local media in Canada with the help of fellow 'Ink-Stained Wretches. And they’re also coming to terms with the turmoil of Trump turning on former friends north of the border in a big way.

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An outdoor ad company buys the country's largest radio network, NZME launches a positive news campaign - and Hayden launches an unauthorised theme tune. Also -Green MP Benjamin Doyle speaks out about a toxic online campaign against them that garnered widespread media coverage - and dire fake news about wolves.

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Just two companies have carved up most of our grocery bills for years. The government says change is coming - but many in the media don't seem to believe it;s possible. Also - our media’s slumping share of ad income, and local papers' paper dispute.

Just two companies have carved up most of what we’ve spent on grocery shopping for years. Now the government says change is coming to the duopoly - but that was met with undue apathy by many in our media.
We look at the latest figures for advertising income, the lifeblood of the media industry. Overall revenue’s up by a almost a quarter of a billion dollars - good news in tight economic times.

But the bad news? The proportion going to our media is down while many more millions are going offshore to the tech titans that dominate the digital world. Where will this end up?

Also two local papers in a row over. . . paper.

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Green MP's social media spark controversy - and claims the media ran shy of the story. Also: NZME's bitter battle for control rumbles on, and the broadcasting watchdog sanctions Stuff for a ThreeNews scoop that fell short on fairness, balance and accuracy.

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Are media confusing us with claims of green shoots in the economy at the same time as headlining more dire data? Also: the epic security fail at the top of the Trump regime that gave a journalist the easiest scoop he'll ever get - and the battle for control of NZME ramps up with a flurry of letters.

But first -- it’s not news that our economy;s been going backwards - and the numbers on that don’t lie.

But now some new numbers are on the way up - and that is news.

But other economic numbers in the news are still bad news.

We look at the the dire data and the claims of green shoots - and ask if the media might be mixing its messages - and confusing us all:

Mistakes happen. Everyone makes them. That’s why security protocols exist—
Security systems are only as effective as the people who use them.
But looping a senior journalist into top level chat about imminent military strikes?
easiest scoop ever

That didn't stop the MAGA-men playing a lame blame game with the media.
The bitter battle to control NZME - the company that publishes the Herald and owns NZTB - rolls on, mostly in exchanges of letters.

Also - how producers behind the scenes can keep their presenters on the mic on the straight and narrow.

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Billionaire Jim Grenon's letter-writing spree as he tries to take control of NZME's board & a click-driven incentive scheme at the company. Also - more journalists are killed in Gaza & an Oscar-winning filmmaker assaulted; Stuff quietly drops a disclosure commitment from its AI policy.

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A Kiwi lifting the lid on Facebook's been gagged before she could talk to RNZ. Why? And what did she say before Meta called its lawyers? Also: news publishers' ownership in play & lifestyle journalism's being squeezed by our cash-strapped media, but RNZ’s boosting it and the country’s oldest magazine is shifting its focus.

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Rivals appeal to NZME shareholders as Stuff carves its chief's one share into a million. Also: MAGA-powered podcasters control the zone - and have we lost the appetite for school lunch scrutiny?

Rivals appeal to NZME shareholders as Stuff's chief turns one share into a million. Also: MAGA-powered podcasters control the zone, have we lost the appetite for school lunch scrutiny?

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