Overview
On air since 2001 and as a podcast since 2007, Mediawatch looks critically at big stories and issues in the news right now - and what’s going on behind the scenes across the media.
Mediawatch examines the output of reporters, producers and editors - as well as the input of PR and the ad industry. It also questions the executives, policy-makers, politicians, regulators and tech companies which influence our media today.
Colin Peacock, Producer and presenter of Mediawatch
Colin studied journalism at the University of Canterbury then headed overseas to freelance back in the 1990s before pitching up at BBC News for eight years. He worked for BBC World TV and news and sport network 5 Live before ending up as a producer at the World Service. After a stint at World Update, a co-production with Public Radio International in the US, he returned to New Zealand and came to RNZ in 2003. He’s been producing and presenting Mediawatch since 2007.
Hayden Donnell, Mediawatch producer
Hayden Donnell has been a writer, reporter and editor for news outlets including the New Zealand Herald, TVNZ, RNZ and Newshub. In recent years he’s also worked for The Spinoff, where his story on the making of Kim Dotcom’s much-maligned album Good Times won a Voyager award for best entertainment feature. He also presented the web series Get It To Te Papa, which follows his quest to get underappreciated artefacts into our national museum. He joined the Mediawatch team at the beginning of 2020.