Soft-focus portraits of the PM; minister moves towards media funding fix; Swiss vote on paying for public broadcasting; will new voice tech take off here?

A fawning portrait of our PM has been condemned as creepy and sexist hours after it aired in Australia. But while that made headlines here, her part in a recent overseas broadcast marking a political milestone for women went completely unreported here.

Voice-activated ‘smart speakers’ now on the market mean you can get news online without lifting a finger. Our big media companies are all on board, but will this change the nature of our news? Or will Kiwis give the hands-free habit the finger?

Do chips make your hair grow back? No. Is cleaning the house as bad for you as smoking? No. But our click-hungry news websites keep running truth-bending beat-up news stories from British online outlet The Mail.

Little local papers culled by big publisher Stuff; NZME signposts a paywall for premium content; Look - no hands! The rise of 'voice'; time to return the Mail's bogus yarns to sender.

The country's biggest publisher of news is preparing to close or sell many of its rural and community newspapers around the country. Mediawatch looks at the reasons why and what it might mean for the media.

A small story buried on page five of a paper last Sunday revealed MP Chris Bishop messaged youngsters online before the last election. The media questioned the MP’s conduct  - but not the media's handling of the story.

Claims of hate speech and the right to free speech made the news this week in response to racially-charged commentary in the media. One case played out in the court of public opinion, the other in a court of law. What does the outcome tell us about what’s fit to print - and what’s not?

Social media rebounds on politicians; claims of dirty politics in MPs Snapchat story; free speech vs. hate speech in the media.

The closure of Australian-owned New Zealand Newswire means there will no longer be an independent news agency gathering national news in this country. Mediawatch asks editor-in-chief Tony Gillies why it’s closing and what will be lost.