Publicly funded reporters will be employed by news publishers around the country in a first-of-its-kind scheme unveiled today to address declines in local news coverage. It’s the result of a government-approved collaboration between RNZ, publishers and the government’s broadcasting funding agency. .

The re-entry of the Pike River mine this week was an historic event but there were no media there to record it; the families of the 29 men who died in the disaster did not want them there. Mediawatch takes a look at some recent research that might explain why.

It named no names, but the much-anticipated report into bullying in Parliament did lift the lid on people turning the place toxic.The journalists among them are part of the problem, according to the report, but there wasn't a lot about that in the media.

There was a sudden surge of interest in Christian politics this week and the possibility of new political parties excited political reporters. Meanwhile the PM meeting the world’s top Mormons made headlines - in Utah, but not here.

Bullying report also points finger at reporters; Pike River families keep media at arm's length; a sudden surge of interest in Christian politicians.

Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Lately. Colin Peacock talks to Emile Donovan about media self-absorption, an awful Aussie election gimmick; two lost-and-found tearjerkers; a spoiled spoiler story - and media people with their eyes on the prizes.

The Christchurch Call now has international backing, but a prominent media freedom advocate in the US tells Mediawatch there could be unintended consequences for the media and journalists.

A staff-elected board member at the ABC was credited by some with providing a steadying hand during last year's political interference scandal that saw the sacking of the Australian public broadcaster's chief executive and the resignation of its board chair. So, would New Zealand's publicly-owned media companies benefit from having a staff memb ...…

Tip Top was scooped up by a global behemoth this week, sparking a mini-meltdown over a quintessential Kiwi company slipping offshore. But others insisted the media got the wrong end of the stick on that and rewrote ice cream history.

The Christchurch Call and response; media staff at their companies' top table; flipping Tip Top gives media an ice cream headache.

This week on Mediawatch Midweek Jeremy Rose talks to Emile Donovan about the unmasking of an anonymous Russian social media commentator - who's been called the most important journalist in the country; the power of a signature - Milo vs Mirena; and media clashes with the alt-right.

“Let’s do this” was Labour’s slogan before the last election. Now some pundits reckon timidity could cost the party at the next one - and a lot could hang on when the PM says: "I do.”

In the middle of an intense election campaign, Australia’s public broadcaster has been looking for new leaders itself after a scandal that saw off its top executives last year. A veteran media watcher tells Mediawatch there’s lots to learn from the mess at the ABC and its efforts to address the "death of broadcasting".…

The strongest cyclone to hit coastal India for years yielded spectacular shots of devastation for TV news and social media this week. But the real story was why so few people died in such a poor and populous place.

One engagement ring rules them all; Australia looks for leadership in government and on air; cyclone survival not the sexy story

Mediawatch’s weekly catch-up with Karyn Hay on Lately: This week Colin Peacock talks to Karyn about more fibre and new faces in broadcasters’ breakfasts; RNZ’s new show for early risers; a random typo tweets that rebounded - and the sliding doors of Kiwi rock nostalgia.

National served up the ‘slushies in jail’ story to the media, who then forced it down our throats for two days - then bit the hand that spoonfed them.

For years, the country's top-selling paper talked about making online readers pay - just like subscribers to the printed paper. This week the New Zealand Herald finally did it. The ads they once monopolised are dwindling so it makes sense to seek more revenue from the readers. But will they now cough up to cover the cost of quality reporting?…

Any complacency about extremism here was extinguished by the attack in Christchurch on 15 March. The media claimed it marked “the end of our innocence”. We're still in the top ten for global press freedom but our media need to be vigilant against incursions on their freedoms too.

Tapping readers for revenue - the Herald puts up its paywall; NZ media freedom enters uncharted waters after Christchurch; slush and burn.

This week on Mediawatch Midweek Jeremy Rose talks to Karyn Hay about the NZ Herald's new paywall; the new daily podcast: The Detail: and a couple of stories that have barely made the news.

While condemning social media platforms for hosting and spreading extremists’ content, many media here also took the online bait from a noted British troll too toxic even for Fox News and the tabloids in the UK.

Some pundits predict the “Christchurch call to action" and the PM's upcoming social media summit in Paris won’t move US-based tech companies. They've always resisted regulation and can fall b ack on powerful US free speech laws. But could reformers find US lawyers and lawmakers end up on their side?

Don't feed the troll; which side the law is on for bringing social media to heel; The Herald puts a price on the paywall. Co

The New Zealand Herald's publisher NZME has announced digital subscriptions will be available from next week. Online readers will have to pay $5 a week for everything the Herald has to offer. It's the most significant move in the market for online news in New Zealand so far.

Mediawatch’s weekly catch-up with Karyn Hay on Lately: This week Colin Peacock talks to Karyn about the megabucks mining magnate taking on Mister Twisted Sister across the ditch; Breakfast TV going stale; so long and thanks for all the features - and the end of the 'umm' . . . for a sum.

News of New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions going up after two successive years of decreases failed to make the television news bulletins. Mediawatch takes a look at the state of climate change reporting in New Zealand.

For five years our news media kept the story of kidnapped nurse Louisa Akavi under wraps and this week they won praise for putting her safety ahead of a scoop. But the last time this happened, the media’s ethics didn’t quite come out so squeaky clean in the wash-up.

TVNZ made a bold move screening a contemporary local drama each weeknight this past week - but it was a foreign fantasy on pay TV that grabbed the media's attention. And turns out New Zealanders have a stake in the much-hyped Game of Thrones series too.

Sitting on a sensational story for safety's sake; accounting for carbon in the age of climate change; in thrall to Thrones.

Over the past four years, a small team of local journalists at multimedia outlet Vice has published New Zealand and Pacific stories watched and read around the world over the past four years. A new lid-lifting look at billionaires’ bunkers beneath our soil is set to go viral too. So why has the plug just been pulled on Vice’s local journalism?…

After Christchurch, governments around the world are gearing up against the ‘weaponisation’ of the internet by terrorists and extremists. The grim content they create also forces news media to make tough calls. Professor Roxane Cohen Silver has studied the effects of extreme images - and what the media need to know about that.…

Governments gear up to crack down on social media: how to handle content created by extremists; Vice NZ caught in global squeeze. Programme Code Participants Colin Peacock, Jeremy Rose Topics

Mediawatch’s weekly catch-up with Karyn Hay on Lately: This week Colin Peacock talks to Karyn about a student paper pulling up trees in Dunedin; arguments over archiving extremists’ content online; new multimedia content for RNZ funded by you; Brexit and bananas - and a curmudgeonly radio host calls it a day.…

Banning the gunman’s so-called manifesto was a controversial call by the Chief Censor last week. It has divided opinion among the media over whether they should delve into it - and just how much of it the public needs to know.

ZB broadcaster's "leeches" blurt censured; manifesto ban divides media; reporters return to politics as usual.

Normal party politics have been mostly in abeyance since last month’s terrorist attack. But some political reporters are already returning to political reporting as usual - analysing political strategy and speculating about the next election.

Newstalk ZB broadcaster Heather du Plessis-Allan has been censured for Pacific Island slurs in a ruling that contains uncharacteristically strong language from the official broadcasting watchdog.

On Mediawatch Midweek Jeremy Rose talks to Lately's Karyn Hay about Guns, God and Algorithms; Bougainville, and rapping the news.

Mediawatch takes a look at the coverage of Islam and Muslims in the media before and after the Christchurch atrocity of 15 March.

After the atrocity in Christchurch, Stuff says it's time to civilise the often unpleasant space 'below the line.' It no longer accepts online comments on news stories about topics that get readers the most wound-up. Is this censorship in response to tragedy - or was more moderation long overdue?

Why the country's most popular news publisher is cracking down on comments from its readers; reporting Islam before and after 15/3.