Trust in the legacy mainstream media has been consistently eroding, with audiences increasingly frustrated by perceptions of bias and blurred lines between fact and opinion.
In a detailed report today in state-funded legacy media, figures like broadcaster Mike Hosking have accused New Zealand media of “falling in love” with political figures such as Jacinda Ardern, abandoning fairness and balance. Ironically, critics have levelled the same charge at Hosking for his own partiality toward leaders he favours, underscoring how accusations of bias often depend on political perspective.
Research by the Broadcasting Standards Authority (BSA) found that many viewers and readers have grown tired of what they see as sensationalism, shallow coverage, and overt editorialising — with people calling for neutrality, deeper reporting, and clearer separation between advertising and journalism.
Former New Zealand Herald editor Gavin Ellis points to clickbait headlines, reporter-driven commentary, and commercially linked content as major reasons audiences doubt the integrity of legacy outlets. He cites examples such as Seven Sharp’s promotion of Ikea’s “Swede As” campaign — blending entertainment and marketing within a current-affairs context — as evidence of compromised editorial boundaries. Ellis argues these practices feed perceptions that “the news is for sale,” even as the same media spaces carry “vital public-interest messages” like “immunisation campaigns”. Surveys confirm that many New Zealanders have simply stopped believing legacy mainstream media are motivated by public service; instead, they suspect profit, political ideology, partisanship, or performance drive what makes the news.
RNZ editor and author Tim Watkin and academic Melanie Bunce add that the issue runs deeper than bias alone. Watkin likens the public-media relationship to “a relationship on the rocks,” suggesting the media must rebuild trust through transparency, verification, and genuine care for audiences. Bunce, now based in London, observes that distrust has been worsened by political attacks on journalists and by legacy outlets’ struggles to explain how impartiality works in complex debates like Gaza or Brexit. Both argue that journalism must reclaim its distinct alleged “superpowers” — objectivity, verification, transparency, and empathy — to prove its worth in an era where audiences are “cheating” with social media and alternative independent news sources.
The headline says it all. Why should “experts” be consulted rather than the actual audience? It appears that media want to remain the propagandists that they are, and they want experts to decide how to create better propaganda.
Oh dear, have the wheels fallen off the globalist propaganda, band wagon? Funny how people have noticed the dislocation between reality and the claims made, by the talking heads.
Here I will,help solve the mystery.
The media in this country give us one sided propaganda, lies, half truths, and a politically left wing bias. Their programmes (ironic word) are Sh1t, the newsreaders are woke, and there’s too many people with facial and other tattoos, (YUCK) all the ads have a brown man married to a white woman. We are tired of the continuous vaccine propaganda, fear porn and the “we’ll tell you how” “we will reveal” (no you fricken won’t) plus the constant use of Maori which most people don’t understand and don’t want to understand either. I used to want to learn Maori, I even took a course but now it’s rammed down my throat at every turn and I am OVER it! Don’t they have special Maori TV and radio (also funded by us hapless taxpayers) too many ads on TV and on Hoskings show, no wonder with all the exhorbitant salaries paid to those non celebrities and up themselves leftard woke arseholes like Jack Lame and Sillary Barry. I will never forget that B1tch laughing about making unvaccinated people stay outside at Christmas. Just shut them down already and stop making us pay for their Sh1t takes.
Every time I hear the news talk news which Sean plays on the Platform, all I ever hear is Chris Napkins, ypu hardly ever hear any other politicians. It’s so biased it’s not funny. Napkins is a horrible little man. “people made their own choices” you little F’ing Machiavellian Marxist midget. And what’s that creepy thing he does with his mouth??? YUCK.
I turned my TV off in May 2020 thanks to that evil witch jabby. I stoped listening to radio when they de platformed Peter Williams and Sean Plunket and Leah panapa for saying only women can have babies, I mean honestly, anyone who thinks otherwise is sleepwalking us into dystopia.
I have never been freer than now. I don’t miss TV at all. It took about 2 weeks to adjust but we are so happy and will NEVER go back. If you are reading my comment, try weaning yourself off the BS, you won’t regret it. I don’t buy newspapers either, just a bunch of lefty’s and newly graduated people who think men can be woman and that they know better than us. Just give us the news and the facts we can make our own minds up thanks. Or alternatively please just go broke and beggar off!
That’s my 5 cents for the arvo.
Too late. The MSM deserves to fail, in majority.
Just like video killed the radio star, the great awakening lifting the veil on hidden truth and knowledge is killing the propaganda psyop masquerading as mockingbird corporate state funded legacy media.
Lies distortion and spin
They all got paid off during covid to make the right noises
Like the corrupt element of the medical fraternity
In backing and supporting the official narrative of ‘safe proven effective’
While assisting in hunting down persecuting and discrediting those speaking out in espousing the truth
These people are implicated complicit and have cost people their lives businesses and health
The legacy media will never be able to regain trust. They are inherent liars, two-faced parasites, manipulative bottom feeders, disingenuous life forms.
Lets just start and end with the fact they are bald face liars. They have lied repeatedly about.Covid, Trump, Ukraine… the list goes on and on
The post which starts with lies distortion and spin has it dead right.
The clueless government goes from bad to worse.
First the government created the problem by bribing the media and requiring media to lie to the public.
Now the government wants to repair the problem by instructing RNZ and TVNZ to increase the public’s trust in the media https://www.treasury.govt.nz/publications/oia-response/information-regarding-trust-media-oia-20250700
Why can’t the government ever learn? The government needs to stop interfering and stop sending such Letters of Expectation to the media if the government truly wants any independent media – and that’s the ONLY way any trust can be restored in any media.
The thing is, if I feel that a podcaster, journalist, youtuber is bullsh^tting me, I unsubscribe and unfollow.
That’s that.
But if TVNZ, RNZ or Herald is spewing their propaganda BS, they are still fed with my tax dollars.
Oh how I despise them!
The mainstream media experts are as divorced from reality as the mainstream media!
With Ai the perception between fake and real is so blurred now a days, what should you believe?
Sure the over 65’s consume RNZ & TVNZ, and believe everything they are told.
Or, what they need to you know. More so translated to what they want you to believe.
The whole covid conspiracy, not just a theory, an actual conspiracy.
Remember, the fear factor ramped up, on a trusting public. Get jabbed or die?
Trust the science, which was flawed. Safe n effective, which it isnt safe, nor is it effective.
Trust MSM, never again.
Not all us “over 65s” consume RNZ & TVNZ or “believe everything we’re told”, I avoid their “news” at all costs and have done for decades.
Stuff = Fake News. HERALD = I CANT STAND THEIR CLICKBAIT HEADLINES AND TACKY GOSSIP STORIES CRAP LIKE KIM KARDASHIANS LATEST CRAP. 1NEWS AND SEVEN SHARP I NEVER BOTHER TO WATCH SO I CAN’T POSSIBLY COMMENT.
They’re irrelevant, simple as.
Anything big happens anywhere in the world, and for 12 hours there is raw, unfiltered information, video and data pouring through X and live leak etc giving us the FULL picture of what’s happening. Two days later the NZ-MSM finally gets its pants on and runs some highly edited and highly opinionated mini-segment on said news story, cherry-picking information and twisting the facts to make their dwindling boomer audience feel one way or another. Who cares, another 10-15 years and most that audience won’t exist anymore.
The rest of us have moved on from their BS years ago already (especially after “safe and effective”), and will never trust them again, no matter how many digital ID laws are passed or how badly they censor the internet. The Orwellian crap they’re pulling in the UK has not benefitted the BBC one bit, if anything it’s hurt them even more.
Expert means sycophant idiot brown nose or yes man.
The Control of thought, DTNZ, Feb 1, 2025, says it tall:
https://dailytelegraph.co.nz/opinion/the-control-of-thought/
They have reached the finger-pointing stage. Still, they haven’t grasped the fact that it wont be over until after the blood-letting stage. They accept the fact that they are driven by ideological bias, while being state-funded, they haven’t grasped the fact that they are supposed to be nuetral. The State is not their favourite Politician/Party/Ideology, it is the people, and they don’t know who we are; if we are not in their bubble, we are the enemy.
The media have a hell of a lot to answer for with all there lies bastards
Had a big lol at the party when they criticized Seven Sharp for promoting Ikea, but then said it was a good opportunity to advertise for vaccines (eg. Pfizer, GSK, etc.).
They really don’t get it, do they.
lost trust in media in the 1990’s after Michelle Hewitson (sp?) Noth Shore Times or something small back then, woke me up to interview me after faking being my aunty to get my home phone number from my employer, who then fired me for giving a media interview. Hewitson (sp?) had told my boss gave her the number specifically for the interview – so i talked. Of course trade unions got paid off by boss so i lost everything and found it difficult to get re-employment anywhere so had to move out of town.
needless to say am also unvaxxed, so i guess that experience back then saved my life!
The reason people don’t trust the “legacy” media is because their lies are blatant and unbelievable.
As long as they keep pushing the globalist agenda no one with even half a brain will ever take the mainstream media seriously.
Whenever I read the world “expert” the image of Dr Bunsen Honeydew and Beaker instantly comes to mind
The lying legacy media are the 21st century equivalent of the Nazi Joseph Goebbels’ propaganda,
Hmmm ‘experts’ baaaaahahahahahahaha from baaahahahahahaha BSA LMFAO!