Reporting shortages without prompting petrol panic. Also: a social media post about the Labour Party leader ended up as headline news - in spite of denials and no-one knowing what’s really true. Does the right to tell a story override others’ right to privacy - or the public interest?

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In this episode:

00:50 How the media reacted to the prospect of fuel shortages and the possibility of heavy measures to manage them, and rekindling memories of carless days.

11:00 Newsroom Pro editor Jonathan Milne on reporting shortages without prompting panic - and the bigger picture of our oil dependence and the reality of energy supplies.

17:05 Damaging personal allegations about Labour leader Chris Hipkins spread widely in social media after a single post by his former partner, creating a dilemma for news media.

22:03 Media law expert Nicole Moreham on the legal limits on the right to tell your own story when it clashes with the privacy rights of others, defamation and the public interest.

Guests: Nicole Moreham, professor of law at Victoria University of Wellington; Jonathan Milne, editor of Newsroom Pro.

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Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Why are so many stories zeroed in on political party leaders? Also: Trump's wild claims about the BBC, Post and Press online makeover, TVNZ's aesthetic athletics reboot, feijoas must go.

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The media piled on after one poor poll result, piling more pressure on the PM. Who calls the shots as third parties get in in the act with news media? Also: is Country Calendar current affairs, documentary or reality TV? Or all of the above? And what explains its Coro-level loyalty and longevity?

Read more about this episode of Mediawatch on the RNZ website

In this episode:

0:47 One poor poll result that put pressure on the PM late last week was still pre-occupying the media this week. Was it really a story?

16:12 The editor of The Post and Sunday Star Times - Tracy Watkins - on who calls the shots and pays the bills in its polling partnership with pollster Freshwater Strategies and lobby group Infrastructure NZ.

23:28 Country Calendar has passed 60 unbroken years on air - and survived the cull of other factual and current affairs shows that also rated well. How come?

26:48 Producers Dan Henry and Katherine Edmond on why Netflix would never make Country Calendar, its style, its funding - and putting women behind and in front of the camera.

Guests: Tracy Watkins, Dan Henry and Katherine Edmond

Follow Mediawatch and listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or any podcast app to make sure you never miss an episode.

Find more RNZ Podcasts at the new section of the RNZ website at rnz.co.nz/podcasts

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details