Lightning strikes about 190,000 times a year in New Zealand – one strike every 167 seconds, on average. So what does it feel like to get hit? Kate Newton reports for RNZ. Tucked under a large bush on a rainwashed coastal hillside, Martin Williams was watching the sky above Sponge Bay get darker and darker. … Read more
The government has pulled its backing for big irrigation projects, but smaller ones are still getting financial support. RNZ’s Eric Frykberg looks at the balance between keeping farmers and growers in business and improving the quality of water in streams and rivers. This story originally ran on RNZ – Listen to the full Insight documentary here Stu Wright’s … Read more
It has been the best-performing media brand of the past five years. Yet Labour’s bold plans to grow it have caused RNZ nothing but trouble so far, and major clouds loom on the horizon, writes Duncan Greive. While reporting this series I spoke to over a dozen executives, senior editors and reporters across the New … Read more
The Christmas season is upon us and that means Women’s Refuges face their busiest time of the year, writes barrister and anti-violence advocate Catriona MacLennan for RNZ. This year, a new law will give police more power to protect women who need help most. While some families will be enjoying presents and parties this festive … Read more
Horatio Robley witnessed the most famous battle of the New Zealand Wars, he fathered a child with the daughter of a sworn enemy, his sketching helped end a war and his book helped save the art of Māori tattooing. But mostly he’s famous for his grotesque collection of nearly 40 human heads, writes William Ray for RNZ. If … Read more
61% of people working on the minimum wage in New Zealand are women. RNZ’s new documentary series Minimum gives a voice – and more importantly, a face – to these women. Sam Brooks reviews. In 2017, there were roughly 76,400 people on minimum wage in New Zealand (which was $15.75 an hour at the time), and … Read more
Broadcaster John Campbell will tonight present his final show as the host of Checkpoint on RNZ. Emily Writes explains why he is a basket of kittens and how she loves everything about him. Last week I had to admit to my husband that I’m desperately in love with John Campbell. I had just returned from the Word … Read more
A just-released cache of Nielsen data shows the impact a series of Facebook algorithm changes has had on New Zealand’s online media (spoiler: it’s not great). “How’s your traffic been?” a friend who works at one of the big media companies asked me recently, and even in asking we both knew the answer. It was … Read more
As part of RNZ’s sexuality podcast, Bang!, Melody Thomas looks at Māori sexuality and gender expression prior to colonisation. Despite spending more than a year learning about sex, sexuality and relationships in Aotearoa – until recently, I knew very little about pre-colonial Māori perspectives on these things. I’d have more easily defined the indigenous North … Read more
Broadcasting minister Clare Curran yesterday announced how $15m of new funding for the media will be distributed. How will it affect what you hear, see and read? The minister called it the “beginning of a new era”. Sounds radical. What was announced? Yesterday we learned the detail of a $15m boost to media funding announced … Read more
The Checkpoint host’s departure for a new role at TVNZ is the latest blow to the public broadcaster in a tumultuous 2018. Toby Manhire attempts to get his head around it all. One of the biggest beasts of New Zealand broadcasting, John Campbell will leave RNZ on September 14, almost three years to the day … Read more
Birds do it. Bees do it. But do podcasters do it? The On the Rag team join forces with RNZ’s Bang! to talk about sex, baby. In a Very Special Crossover, Alex Casey, Leonie Hayden and Michele A’Court sit down with Bang!‘s Melody Thomas to talk about sexual awakenings, crushing on The Grinch and what NOT … Read more
Reggae musician Carl Perkins has died, aged 59, after a battle with bowel cancer. He was a member of pioneering Aotearoa reggae group Herbs in the early ’80s, starting on percussion with the band when they were recording their second album Light of the Pacific. He had a hand in writing the hit ‘Long Ago’ … Read more
Studies show high levels of racial bias and discrimination in schools continues to disadvantage Māori and Pasifika children. Some say a new initiative has already yielded results but isn’t getting the support it needs. The Ministry of Education has told the government it could achieve a “step change” in Māori children’s achievement by tackling their … Read more
Cyrus Haley burned down several of the most famous buildings in 19th century Auckland and tried to kill the family of a prominent businessman. To this day we still don’t know why. THE CHASE January 27th, 1872. Auckland’s chief of police, Inspector Broham, is hot on the trail of a fugitive who’d been terrorising the … Read more
Spinoff cheat sheet: Carol Hirschfeld has left the public broadcaster after misleading her boss over the nature of a meeting with Clare Curran. What’s going on, and what does it mean for the minister? What just happened? Great question. Carol Hirschfeld, a journalist with a formidable career including senior roles at Three, Māori TV and … Read more
The migratory patterns of New Zealand media content grow even more elaborate as RNZ and the Spinoff reveal their groundbreaking new deal. The juggernaut of quality New Zealand journalism is teaming up with friendly local website The Spinoff, it was announced today to nil fanfare. According to a media release from RNZ, both parties are delighted … Read more
Redactions which disappeared due to a technical glitch point to a standoff which pits NZ on Air and the big private media companies against RNZ. The stakes? A huge funding boost which could shape the future of our media. A standoff is brewing between RNZ and NZ on Air over who will control the annual … Read more
The appointment of Jessica Mutch and Tova O’Brien to TV’s top parliamentary positions means the leading editors in the press gallery are all women. Madeleine Chapman asks four of them whether that matters, and about the broader state of play in 2018. With the announcement that Tova O’Brien and Jessica Mutch will assume the role of … Read more
In July, US Ambassador Scott Brown had what he probably thought was an interview scheduled with Kim Hill. What actually ensued was a brilliantly shady media boxing match. Sam Brooks gives his play-by-play. My prevailing memory of Kim Hill is from something I once taped on One, back in the dark ages where you would tape … Read more
Use of te reo by the national broadcaster has come under fire this week from leading New Zealand thinkers including Dave Witherow, Don Brash and John Drinnan. The debate shows how far we have come as a nation – and how far we still have to go, writes RNZ chief executive Paul Thompson. RNZ’s small but significant … Read more
With 2017 coming to a close, one brave fisherman has thrown his hat in the Worst Opinions ring with a rant against te reo and those who dare speak it. Madeleine Chapman responds. You might be thinking that the Spinoff publishing responses to bad columns is getting old. But so are these columnists and that … Read more
Radio New Zealand has released a 30-minute documentary on the battle at Ruapekapeka, an incredibly sophisticated pā in the far north where 400 Ngāpuhi and Ngāti Hine warriors stood against a combined British force of 1600. Don Rowe attends the premiere, and considers what it means for New Zealand’s self-image. There are good guys in this … Read more
Unless you have eight eyes like some kind of politically-engaged spider, your second most important decision tomorrow will be choosing which channel to watch the election results on. Luckily, we’re here to help For the Spinoff’s election night plans, scroll all the way to the foot of this page 1 NEWS Vote 17 Election Night … Read more
This Te Wiki o Te Reo we’re sharing the stories of New Zealanders who have challenged themselves to learn te reo Māori. Today: RNZ Morning Report host Guyon Espiner writes about fighting the ‘whitelash’. When I started learning te reo Māori in earnest this year I had one main fear: humiliation. I expected that Pākeha … Read more
Yesterday on RNZ’s Morning Report journalist Guyon Espiner brought finance minister Steven Joyce together with Labour’s finance spokesperson Grant Robertson, and asked them both about Joyce’s accusation that Labour has a $11.7 billion hole in its spending plans. Here’s the transcript. In the interview, Guyon Espiner is sitting between the two politicians, with a laptop … Read more
As newsrooms push for their reporters and audiences to engage with each other on digital platforms, some women journalists say gendered harassment and abuse from media consumers has become an exhausting, and accepted, part of the job. Charlotte Graham investigates. I have worked in broadcast journalism for more than a decade, including in on-air roles, … Read more
Noelle McCarthy and John Daniell talk about the challenges – eg Winston Peters – they confronted in creating their new series for RNZ, Slice of Heaven. There are few more vexatious issues than immigration. Particularly in the wake of recent political ruptures around the world. Particularly in an election year. In a new podcast for … Read more
The best New Zealand production of the year isn’t TV or radio – it’s a podcast and online video which uses hindsight and our former prime ministers to produce a series of lasting power, says Duncan Greive. While it mightn’t seem so on Twitter during Question Time or in the comments sections of any semi-popular … Read more