A plug for Mediawatch

Written By: - Date published: 10:53 am, December 18th, 2011 - 4 comments
Categories: Media, radio - Tags: ,

One of my Sunday morning treats is listening to Mediawatch while I potter in the kitchen. It’s the show that watches the watchers. It’s always interesting, often acerbic or insightful, and sometimes fascinating. It should be required listening not just for political junkies, but for anyone who cares what’s going on in this country (and how it is marketed to we the public).

I didn’t catch much of today’s show, but it started with a discussion of “controversial proposals to keep the media honest” – a fine line between imposing standards and imposing censorship? It followed with a roundup of an extraordinary year for the media in NZ, including coverage of NZ’s biggest natural disaster in February, the RWC, the election, the worst of the media this year, and the biggest political suck-up of the year (the “Mad Butcher”). Here’s the audio for today’s show.

Other earlier shows of note, the election special, the RWC and sport, and the Canterbury earthquake.

Not a major “event” as such, but also well worthy of note this year (I never did get round to writing about it at the time), was this piece on the ownership of the media in NZ. Quietly, in the background, this is perhaps the biggest “invisible hand” that shapes politics in New Zealand.

Anyway, thanks for a great year Mediawatch – keep up the good work in 2012.

4 comments on “A plug for Mediawatch ”

  1. Shona 1

    I couldn’t agree more, Media watch is one of the few NaT Rad shows that ‘s still appointment listening.

  2. randal 2

    they should do more about the infantilisation of the media and the the rabid right on skakwbak radio like layton smif and that idiot ex allblack whose only concern apart from dissing labour is getting free food.

  3. Jan 3

    Agree, agree, agree with the poster! Mediawatch is always acute and understated- even if I don’t always agree with the material on the programme itself it’s presented in a way that opens up rather then closes down thinking. Colin Peacock and Jeremy Rose and the other presenters are awesome.

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