RNZ: Mediawatch

With trade officials trying to hammer out a Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement behind closed doors in Hawaii this week, it was hard for the media to say what was on the table, and what was at stake, in what's been called the biggest trade deal ever. Some media this past week simply said we'll have to wait and see what the deal would contain, but others tried harder to work out what the outcome might be.

Obesity and Outrageous Fortune spinoffs? Hard facts or soft soap? Mastermind or Masterchef? Not everyone will agree on taxpayers' money to be spent on new programmes. Mediawatch looks at some of the decisions in New Zealand on Air's latest round of funding announcements.

Obesity and Outrageous Fortune spinoffs? Hard facts or soft soap? Mastermind or Masterchef? Not everyone will agree on taxpayers' money to be spent on new programmes. Mediawatch looks at some of the decisions in New Zealand on Air's latest round of funding announcements.

It runs well-made shows from some of the world's best TV broadcasters and some local ones as well, but they're rarely reviewed or written about. It's available nationwide on Freeview and Sky and its survived while other channels have withered and died, but Choice TV has remained under the radar. But could that be about to change? For the first time, New Zealand on Air is backing a local show to screen on Choice TV. Mediawatch asks to the channel's Julia Baylis how the it works and what it can offer free-to-air viewers.

How the media coped with TPP secrecy; new TV shows getting taxpayer backing, and some that aren't; a local TV channel coming out from under the radar; a rare fair go from a foreign quiz show .

How the media coped with TPP secrecy; new TV shows getting taxpayer backing, and some that aren't; a local TV channel coming out from under the radar; a rare fair go from a foreign quiz show .

Many hours on our main TV channels are taken up with British and Australian TV quiz shows on weekday afternoons. They're well-made shows, but too many questions are designed for Brits and Aussies and almost impossible for viewers here to answer. This past week, the tables were turned when a British contestant was stumped by a very Kiwi question.

An error made in Mediawatch last week in an item on debate prompted by coverage of the future of Kiwirail: Mediawatch noted that the finance minister had warned that present levels of support for Kiwirail were unsustainable, and in a Nine to Noon interview on the 10th of July about Kiwirail being put on notice by the government it wasn't Bill English who fronted up to speak about it, but his press secretary Joanne Black. That was wrong. Joanne Black is not a press secretary for the minister of finance. She was on Nine to Noon as a spokesperson for Kiwirail. We regret the error - apologies to Joanne Black and Kiwirail.

An error made in Mediawatch last week in an item on debate prompted by coverage of the future of Kiwirail: Mediawatch noted that the finance minister had warned that present levels of support for Kiwirail were unsustainable, and in a Nine to Noon interview on the 10th of July about Kiwirail being put on notice by the government it wasn't Bill English who fronted up to speak about it, but his press secretary Joanne Black. That was wrong. Joanne Black is not a press secretary for the minister of finance. She was on Nine to Noon as a spokesperson for Kiwirail. We regret the error - apologies to Joanne Black and Kiwirail.

"If it bleeds, it leads" - so goes the old saying about the media headlining stuff that's truly shocking. But someone simply losing their rag in front of the cameras also excites the editors. Mediawatch looks at how Labour leader Andrew Little and former rocker Phil Rudd ended up on the evening TV news - because they got angry at the wrong time.

"If it bleeds, it leads" - so goes the old saying about the media headlining stuff that's truly shocking. But someone simply losing their rag in front of the cameras also excites the editors. Mediawatch looks at how Labour leader Andrew Little and former rocker Phil Rudd ended up on the evening TV news - because they got angry at the wrong time.

How did scary stories of an ice age just 15 years from now spread throughout the news media last week? Mediawatch looks at the role of a couple of stray quotation marks, some dismal churnalism - and how the media reacted when the experts pointed out this was mostly rubbish.

How did scary stories of an ice age just 15 years from now spread throughout the news media last week? Mediawatch looks at the role of a couple of stray quotation marks, some dismal churnalism - and how the media reacted when the experts pointed out this was mostly rubbish.

Reporters often come into conflict with the police in the course of chasing a good story. But both sides are dedicated to uncovering the truth on behalf of the public they serve and they also have to be good at persuading people to co-operate. Knowing when to bend the rules a little is also a key skill, but the consequences of cutting corners can be dire if their findings don't stand up to scrutiny. So what can investigative reporters learn from police investigators? At the recent conference of the NZ Centre for Investigative Journalism, Mediawatch talked to former detective John Gualter.

How a scary story about an imminent ice age went round the world recently, even though most experts said it was nonsense. Also: how journalists have more in common with cops than they might like to think; people being angry ending up on the evening news; changing the tune on our trains. Produced and presented by Colin Peacock and Jeremy Rose.