As local media companies scrambled to stay in business this week, the giant German publisher of our most important magazines pulled the plug on them - and about 250 jobs - with no warning.  It claimed the COVID-19 crisis - and the government's handling of it - had made its business "untenable." Does that stack up? And is it really all over for our much-loved top selling titles?

This week the government tweaked a controversial call that meant some local newspapers couldn’t be delivered during the lock-down. But some are still unable to print important local news at a time when it matters. They say it’s hurting them - and not not helping their readers either.

This week the government tweaked a controversial call that meant some local newspapers couldn’t be delivered during the lock-down. But some are still unable to print important local news at a time when it matters. They say it’s hurting them - and not not helping their readers either.

Mediawatch looks back at a week in which the Covid-19 crisis hit the media hard. Radio Sport went off air, a government ban on magazines angered publishers - and one of them pulled the plug on our most important local magazines.

Mediawatch looks back at a week in which the Covid-19 crisis hit the media hard. Radio Sport went off air, a government ban on magazines angered publishers - and one of them pulled the plug on our most important local magazines.

In this week's edition of Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Bryan Crump about commercial media companies' rapidly escalating struggles, coverage of the actual pay and conditions of our essential workers, and Mike Hosking's flip-flopping journey through the Covid-10 crisis.

In this week's edition of Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Bryan Crump about commercial media companies' rapidly escalating struggles, coverage of the actual pay and conditions of our essential workers, and Mike Hosking's flip-flopping journey through the Covid-10 crisis.

Our media have plenty of ‘emergency journalism’ experience after several major disasters and crises in recent years. But covering the whole country going into lockdown was a new one - and in spite of the sudden surge of public interest in their work, the impact will be severe for them too.

Our media have plenty of ‘emergency journalism’ experience after several major disasters and crises in recent years. But covering the whole country going into lockdown was a new one - and in spite of the sudden surge of public interest in their work, the impact will be severe for them too.

While Covid-19 has created vast volumes of politics, business and health news in recent days, the sports news has been all about the absence of sports events - and filling the bulletins and channels has been a desperate struggle.