Colin Peacock

The Government has unveiled a $50m “adrenaline shot” for commercial media companies struggling with the sudden slump in revenue caused by the Covid-19 crisis - with more to come in weeks ahead. But…

New Zealand’s biggest news publisher Stuff is appealing to readers to fund its reporting just days after its CEO told Parliament "ongoing government support for a commercial media industry" is needed…

News media representatives set out the crisis their industry faces to Parliament’s Epidemic Response Committee on Wednesday before the government finalises a package of measures to help them survive…

Media company NZME has announced 200 jobs will go and it has suspended publication of popular newspaper supplements in its latest cost-saving response to the COVID-19 downturn. 

Even before the first hints we had “turned a corner” with Covid-19, pundits were pumping up the volume on calls to loosen the lockdown and get more shops and businesses open again. But others in the…

The lockdown designed to save lives has also damaged livelihoods by slowing the economy to a crawl. Some pundits and politicians are now warning in the media that health can’t always be the top…

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…

Bauer Media was the publisher of the NZ Listener, North & South, NZ Woman's Weekly, Next, and Metro. It has cited the Covid-19 shutdown for its decision. The government has confirmed the company never…

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…

Major media organisations rolled out lots of commemorative coverage to mark one year since the atrocity in Christchurch. It honoured those who died - and those who survived but have suffered - and…

Tough new measures announced yesterday to counter COVID-19 pleased pundits who had pleaded for action in recent days. But the effects could also change the game for media in the long run. Meanwhile…

Farmers in drought-stricken regions are having a tough time right now, but do recent reports of environmentally-inspired hostility putting their mental health at risk really stack up? 

Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Lately. This week Colin talks to Karyn Hay about a chilling picture of the White Island rescue risks, RNZ's ads riling the rest of the media, more on Critic's…

BusinessDesk was an independent agency supplying the media with news and commentary for more than a decade. Now it’s offering “world-class coverage of NZ business and how the world works” for $250 a…

The deaths of Hannah Clarke and her children at the hands of husband with a history of violence were so shocking that many reports warned people in advance the details were distressing. But breathless…

Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Lately. This week Colin talks to Karyn Hay about tensions over 'those' photos of two journalists investigating NZ First, Breakfast burn-out, how a poke at the woke…

Kevin Kenrick leads the broadcaster that pulls in the biggest audiences in the country and the most money from advertising. But TVNZ - like state-owned RNZ - will be folded into a new public media…

RNZ Concert’s proposed relegation to the 'sub-optimal-for-symphonies' AM band was short-lived, but the government freeing up another FM frequency for RNZ raises more questions about what will be…

RNZ’s planning a new music brand based in Auckland to hook younger people. But RNZ Concert will make way for it on FM and be reduced to an automated service with no human hosts. That has sparked a…

The government's been criticised for making ts long-awaited plan for public broadcasting behind closed doors. This week the broadcasting minister Kris Faafoi lifted the lid a little, but the new…

Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Lately. This week Colin Peacock talks to Bryan Crump about RNZ's big music shake-up. Also - the media memorialising Mike Moore, an ODT reporter's sudden departure -…

Cabinet has approved the idea of a new public service outfit to replace state-owned RNZ and TVNZ by 2023 - but they want more details from the broadcasting minister. So does the public and the rest of…

Organised broadcast radio is 100 years old this year - and it's not just alive, but still kicking pretty hard. Some say surviving and even outliving other media and technological changes make it the…

Gordon McLauchlan - who died this week - cast a critical eye on New Zealand’s life (“boring”) and people (“smiling zombies”). He also zeroed in on our media and PR industry with wisdom gained during a…

Super Rugby kicked off earlier than ever before last Friday under the slogan 'Rugby Recoded'. Last year Sky TV broke the bank to retain the live rights but critics claim the competition's profile has…