In the middle of an intense election campaign, Australia’s public broadcaster has been looking for new leaders itself after a scandal that saw off its top executives last year. A veteran media watcher tells Mediawatch there’s lots to learn from the mess at the ABC and its efforts to address the "death of broadcasting".

The strongest cyclone to hit coastal India for years yielded spectacular shots of devastation for TV news and social media this week. But the real story was why so few people died in such a poor and populous place.

The strongest cyclone to hit coastal India for years yielded spectacular shots of devastation for TV news and social media this week. But the real story was why so few people died in such a poor and populous place.

One engagement ring rules them all; Australia looks for leadership in government and on air; cyclone survival not the sexy story

One engagement ring rules them all; Australia looks for leadership in government and on air; cyclone survival not the sexy story

Mediawatch’s weekly catch-up with Karyn Hay on Lately: This week Colin Peacock talks to Karyn about more fibre and new faces in broadcasters’ breakfasts; RNZ’s new show for early risers; a random typo tweets that rebounded - and the sliding doors of Kiwi rock nostalgia.

Mediawatch’s weekly catch-up with Karyn Hay on Lately: This week Colin Peacock talks to Karyn about more fibre and new faces in broadcasters’ breakfasts; RNZ’s new show for early risers; a random typo tweets that rebounded - and the sliding doors of Kiwi rock nostalgia.

For years, the country's top-selling paper talked about making online readers pay - just like subscribers to the printed paper. This week the New Zealand Herald finally did it. The ads they once monopolised are dwindling so it makes sense to seek more revenue from the readers. But will they now cough up to cover the cost of quality reporting?

Any complacency about extremism here was extinguished by the attack in Christchurch on 15 March. The media claimed it marked “the end of our innocence”. We're still in the top ten for global press freedom but our media need to be vigilant against incursions on their freedoms too.

National served up the ‘slushies in jail’ story to the media, who then forced it down our throats for two days - then bit the hand that spoonfed them.