Stories by Hayden Donnell

The TVNZ Young Voters' debate run by Re:News was a rowdy interjection into what had been a relatively subdued election campaign. Its moderator has some ideas on how media organisations can better…

As National announced its long-awaited tax plan, some journalists took a hard look at its numbers, while others focused more on political strategy and impact.

In this week's edition of Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Mark Leishman about a dire poll for Labour raising the spectre of a media-driven death spiral; a reorganisation at NZME; a plea…

A spike in shocking cases of exploitation has put the plight of migrant workers in the media spotlight. But these latest stories are part of a longstanding issue that's sometimes flown under the…

Political calls to crack down on crime are echoing in our media ahead of the upcoming election - not for the first time. Two seasoned journalists showed this was part of a pattern in a report on crime…

In this week's edition of Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Mark Leishman about one news broadcast foregrounding climate while another hones in on cellphones and Chris Luxon misspelling…

The UN says we've reached "the era of global boiling". Given that, you'd think climate might have got more of a mention from the media as the National Party released its road-heavy $24 billion…

Midweek Mediawatch - Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Nights. This week Hayden Donnell talks to Mark Leishman about the coverage of Kiri Allan's arrest and subsequent resignation - and media pushing…

In this week's Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Mark Leishman about the Greens' entire manifesto crowded out by coverage of a single law and order tweak from Act . Also a Mediawatch…

Political reporters often say people need to get to know National leader Christopher Luxon. But he's ubiquitous in the media and has been in the job 18 months. Is it possible he's unknowable? Or is it…

In this week's Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Mark Leishman about a titanic amount of coverage of the Titan submersible tragedy. Also: complaints about an unfair focus on…

Most publications would never dream of running advertising for free, or publishing a highly ideological press release verbatim, but they may do so if the same information is presented in the form of…

In this week's Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Anna Thomas about RNZ's 'pro-Russia edits' saga now extending stories about other countries - and a newspaper's feature story that fell short…

Crime is set to be a big election year issue, with polls showing the public feels unsafe and the opposition claiming the government is 'soft' on offending. A pair of Herald journalists have tried to…

RNZ is investigating how online stories about the war in Ukraine, supplied by an international news agency, were edited to align with the Russian view of events. A staff member has been stood down…

In this week's Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Mark Leishman about racist abuse of journalists and the potential for more of it in a toxic election campaign. Also: an eyebrow-raising Media…

Three's new current affairs show Paddy Gower Has Issues walks a tonal tightrope - balancing comedic heckling and faux-serious investigations with in-depth reporting on important issues of the day.

In this week's Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Mark Leishman about coverage putting the Loafers Lodge disaster in context - even in the midst of chaos and confusion, some impressive…

Some in the media learned the lessons of Cyclone Gabrielle and the Auckland Anniversary Weekend floods, just as the emergency management authorities have done - and they made a concerted effort to…

For 22 years, media stories regularly bemoaned Kiwis treated as second class citizens across the ditch. This week, the problem finally got resolved, only for coverage to turn to fears of a 'Great…

The government is beefing up RNZ’s budget after scrapping the new public media entity it planned over four years. But what’s the ‘broadcasting strategy for all New Zealanders’  the minister says he’s…

Midweek Mediawatch - Mediawatch's weekly catch-up with Nights. Hayden Donnell talks to Mark Leishman about Twitter tagging public broadcasters around the world - including RNZ - as 'government…

In this week's edition of Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Mark Leishman about Donald Trump getting arrested, trust in news falling again, a controversy involving a Cabinet minister and…

The future of MediaWorks talk network Today FM and its news service are in doubt after a proposal to close the station prompted an on-air staff revolt. Today FM abruptly cut to pop music after…

The media did little to mark the fourth anniversary of the March 15 terror attack, and some victims and their families say they are starting to feel forgotten.