For years Māori journalism leaders warned a lack of training, investment and opportunities meant Māori people and perspectives were mostly missing in our media. But more effort and money than ever before is now being put in. On Waitangi Day, Mediawatch talks to some of those involved in a publicly-funded push to address this  - and some of the problems.

Mediawatch’s weekly catch-up with Lately on RNZ National. 

This week Colin Peacock talked to Bryan Crump about the fallout from broadcaster Charlotte Bellis’s media campaign against MIQ. Also: over-the-top overseas coverage of our Covid response; the first big political poll of the year zeroing in on party leaders’ popularity . . . and do presenters ever sneeze live on TV?

That epic undersea eruption in Tonga was heard around the region - and recorded and analysed in minute detail, even from space. But a comprehensive communications wipeout cut reporters off from sources for days. So how do they cover a story with almost no access to basic facts?

It’s business as usual for the media again: all Covid, all the time with the whole country back in the red (traffic light). But even before Omicron inevitably broke through, anti-vaxxers and their fans provided rich pickings for our news-starved media - in spite of the fact they're now more of a minority than ever.

Covering Tonga's crisis - without communications; summer silly season gets serious as Omicron arrives; reputations trashed in summer scandals.

While Brian Tamaki behind bars made headlines here, the world’s biggest anti-vaxxer created bulletin-leading drama round the world when he was detained across the Tasman. Meanwhile in the UK 'Partygate' revelations forced Britain’s mockery merchants to up their game. But a former Aussie hell-raiser is showing them there is a way back for trashed reputations.

Covering Tonga's crisis - without communications; summer silly season gets serious as Omicron arrives; reputations trashed in summer scandals.

In this week's Midweek Mediawatch Hayden Donnell talks to Karyn Hay about the employment dispute keeping Tova O'Brien off the air and creating bad blood between broadcasters. Also - non-commercial RNZ falls foul of the advertising watchdog, good and bad in the latest North & South - and Hilary Barry cops a big bill for chocolate fish.

2021’s almost gone - but not forgotten - though it would be nice to be able to forget large parts of it. 

Before we flip into 2022, Mediawatch looks at what's coming up next year - and some more acknowledgement of stuff in the year gone by which was outstanding . . . one way or another.

2021 - media in the year of the vaccine; NZ news media in Oz-style ideological drift?