RNZ: Mediawatch

If, as C P Scott said, facts are sacred, then Figure.NZ is a virtual cathedral of statistics. Now in its fifth year of existence the site is home to 44,000 graphs and charts. Mediawatch's Jeremy Rose talks to Figure.NZ CEO Lillian Grace.

New Zealanders are drowning in comment. Auckland University staff alone wrote 220 comment pieces for general audiences in 2017. Think tanks and sector groups churn them out op-eds, and many others do too. But do they change minds? Mediawatch's Jeremy Rose investigates.

Last week opposition leader Simon Bridges joked that nothing he said during a Radio Hauraki interview mattered because there was going to be a "news vacuum" following the birth of the Prime Minister's daughter. He couldn't have been more wrong, as Mediawatch's Jeremy Rose reports.

This week: Mediawatch asks if comment is free who's paying the bill? Talks to the CEO of a company dedicated to the facts and nothing but the facts. And looks at how a jokey interviewlanded the leader of the opposition in political hot water.

An Australian telco's groundbreaking online coverage of the FIFA World Cup failed to fire this week. Disgruntled punters and even the PM have forced it to put the pictures back on TV instead - and all this has sparked fans' fears of frozen screens here during the Rugby World Cup next year.

The birth of a baby is usually a private matter for the parents, but the arrival of the PM’s daughter became a modern media moment.

Radio hosts know cyclists and cycle paths are a red rag to their frequently car-bound listeners. Mediawatch looks at how one broadcaster responded to research showing most Aucklanders support cycling while another station asked the audience if bikers should be banned from the roads.

The birth of the PM's baby becomes a big media moment; soccer streaming strife across the ditch sparks fans' fears of frozen screens here; backing for biking hits one-way traffic on the air.

The official searches for missing plane MH370 have been called off - but two DJs from music station The Rock have been in Mauritius this week looking for it themselves. They raised the money from their fans and have the blessing of their bosses at Mediaworks. Was this a stunt taking the listeners for a ride?

Chances are you’ve heard lots lately about Dancing with The Stars in the media  - even if you’ve never watched it. TVNZ’s now heavily promoting its new rival ‘Tinder in the tropics’ show as well. Are the TV networks overdoing the in-house hype for the shows - and should we be footing the bill for them?

Overdoing the in-house hype for reality tv shows; Police payout and apology a win for Nicky Hager and reporters, but it came at a cost; DJs' fruitless quest to find MH370 funded by fans

The police apology to Nicky Hager has helped clarify - at last - important principles of journalistic privilege and protection for sources. But it’s the third time in recent years that state agencies have coughed up unknown amounts for botched and futile investigations of journalists.

Red flags were raised in the media about meth-testing houses, but it didn't stop the evictions, unnecessary repairs and the growth of an unregulated industry that made millions of dollars. How come? 

News that a pub in the Far North had turned off its pokie machines after a young mother left her baby outside while she gambled was met with enthusiastic support from many of the country's leading television presenters last month. But Pub Charity chief executive Martin Cheer says not a single journalist got in touch for its side of the story until it sent out a press release disputing who had turned the machines off last Tuesday. Mediawatch's Jeremy Rose looks into the story.

Odd yarns about dogs in the news lately - and a news presenter who slipped off the leash.