RNZ: Mediawatch

Colin Peacock presents a live critical overview of the news media's election performance from the Backbencher. Also: a look back at how the election campaign unfolded in the media - and the political divide between town and country exposed in the rural media.

Claims that the election turned the rural-urban divide into a chasm were strongly echoed in the media - especially the farming press.

An election campaign full of hazards for candidates ended amid a punctured pipe, a bubble bursting, the threat of a youthquake and a chasm between town and country. Mediawatch boils down the media's election campaign in 15 minutes.

Broadcasting at the back of policy parade; local politics out of focus; are you ready to be immersed in the news?

The broadcasters we have today were largely shaped by political decisions made more than 25 years ago. Mediawatch rounds up the media policies that political parties are offering this time round - if the issue is on their radar at all.

Local candidates in the election aren’t always asked about genuine local issues when the media come calling. Do local voters really want to know what gets them on the dancefloor?

Virtual reality and 360 video are already part of the mix for big names in online news overseas. Now two new projects here have had a crack at it with funding from the public purse. Is “immersive journalism” a game-style gimmick - or a way to really revitalise the craft?

When a girl burst in on her dad's live news interview on BBC TV back in March, it quickly  went viral and became one of the year’s most memorable bloopers. Or did it?

Three live Ardern v English debates in seven days pumped up coverage of the election campaign. The media picked out the leaders’ zingers, bangers and clangers, and they agonised over who won and who lost. But what did we learn from them?

Debatable benefits of head-to-head leaders' clashes; pundits with skin in the campaign game; digging deep for the fiscal hole truth.

Election campaigns are boom time for PR consultants and pundits, but the public need to know if they’re also in the middle of their spin cycle when they appear in the media.

National’s discovery of a 12 billion dollar-deep hole triggered a string of claims, counterclaims and sporting similes in the media. But did they get to the hole truth in time?   

The profits of Apple, Google and Facebook soar while the bottom lines of news media companies slump. Trust in news has been dented by a surge in 'fake news' online. Silicon Valley is clearly part of the news media’s problem. Is it also part of the solution?

Around the world the news media has a problem. The online explosion has given them a huge new audience - but not much income. Meanwhile, the spectacular profits of technology companies such as Apple, Google and Facebook are hitting new highs every year. Silicon Valley is part of the news media's problem but is it also part of the solution? Produced and presented by Colin Peacock.

New Zealand’s longest serving political leader suddenly signed off this week warning that superficial stuff seemed to be drowning out real political issues in the media. Week one of the election campaign showed he’s got a point.