However, the row this week about One News’ coverage of the government is in another league entirely and raises serious questions about interference in editorial freedom — and in an election year, what is more.
The row started innocuously enough. Last week the government’s law and order ministers and the Prime Minister held a press conference to do what many a government before them has done — announce that they were getting crime under control.
The government had some good statistics it wanted to spruik — the latest New Zealand Crime and Victims Survey showed that there were 49,000 fewer victims of violent crime in the year to October 2025 than two years previously — and it rather hoped to see them plastered everywhere in a celebratory tone.
However, that night One News — as is entirely its prerogative — opted to focus on a different, and valid, law and order issue, the revelation that the number of registered gang members had just crept up over the number of sworn police officers.
The government was not best pleased and opted to make its displeasure public. Twice parliamentary questions this week have included a patsy question designed to allow a minister to attack One News for not covering the violent crime stats story.
As it happens, One News did, eventually, cover the violent crime stats. It is the circumstances of it doing so which causes disquiet.
It may be that it had no space in its bulletin on the day of the announcement to cover the story — a common issue for all media outlets where time and space are at a premium. It may also be, as has been suggested in some quarters, that One News’ journalists felt that maybe greater priority should have afforded the violent crime story and so returned to the topic.
But what emerged in the interim was that during the weekend TVNZ chairman Andrew Barclay spoke to Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith and the matter of the crime statistics story came up.
Only the men involved know for sure what was said, but many people have been only too keen to put one and one together and assume that One News covered the violent crime stats story because it may have felt somehow obliged to.
Should those claims have been made about an independent media outlet they would have been troubling enough, although entirely an internal affair.
When they involve a publicly owned media outlet like TVNZ they are much more concerning. Reporters at our state-owned media have a difficult enough time asserting their neutrality and objectivity as it is without controversies like this further chipping away at their credibility.
One News will soon be covering politicians on the campaign trail. Viewers should be able to watch tracks in full confidence that they are entirely the reporter’s own work, and their journalists should not feel like they are wondering what is happening behind their backs while they do their vital work of informing the public about the issues of the day.
Mixed emotions
Southern rugby fans will have experienced a measure of despair and a dash of joy with the news that Jamie Joseph had, again, missed out on becoming coach of the All Blacks.
Obviously there is regret that Joseph had missed out on the pinnacle job in New Zealand rugby. As a deeply experienced Super Rugby and test rugby coach, Joseph was a strong candidate for the role and NZ Rugby no doubt agonised over whether to pick the Southern man or the equally well qualified man they ultimately plumped for, Dave Rennie.
On the plus side however, missing out does mean that Joseph can continue at the helm of the Highlanders and getting the team back in to the play off mix for this season and beyond will do his future prospects no harm at all.
It may be that Joseph’s time will come: Rennie’s appointment is only until after the next World Cup and the incoming All Blacks coach has a difficult task ahead.
