RNZ defends Wong coverage, then stops posting about her

Summarised by Centrist

RNZ says it is “confident balance is being achieved” after Chris Lynch Media questioned the number of Facebook posts featuring Opportunity leader Qiulae Wong. Lynch says the broadcaster has not posted about Wong since his article appeared.

Lynch counted nine RNZ Facebook posts concerning Wong or her party within one 48-hour period. One story about a health debate between Labour and National’s health spokespeople was nevertheless illustrated with a photograph of Wong.

The volume attracted criticism from RNZ’s own followers. Some accused the taxpayer-funded broadcaster of being “obsessed” with Wong, while another joked that he had become worried after going half an hour without seeing RNZ report on her.

RNZ said campaign coverage naturally “ebb[s] and flow[s]” according to news value, announcements and events. It argued that examining such a short period could produce a misleading impression.

Across the full week from 19 to 25 October, Labour and National each appeared in more than twice as many election-related Facebook posts as Opportunity, RNZ said.

Lynch noted that other observers had also questioned the attention given to Opportunity. Labour leader Chris Hipkins separately complained that smaller parties had received disproportionate coverage during the campaign, although he did not single out RNZ.

Editor’s note: Lynch says RNZ has not published another Facebook post about Wong since his article appeared on 30 October. The abrupt silence is striking after the broadcaster defended the earlier concentration as the natural “ebb and flow” of campaign reporting.

Apparently, the tide went out as soon as somebody started counting.

Read more at Chris Lynch Media

Image: The Opportunity Party

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