Source: Dr David Robie – Café Pacific
COMMENTARY: By Martyn Bradbury, editor and publisher of The Daily Blog
This New Zealand general election on November 7 has an enormous amount at stake.
If this hard-right coalition government gets re-elected to cement into place 19th Century Settler White Privilege using an anti-Māori, anti-Treaty, anti-beneficiary, anti-worker, anti-renter and anti-environment agenda for their donors interests, NZ society will be irreparably damaged.
So who do you watch for Fourth Estate Journalism for your election coverage matters this year?
If you give a damn about NZ politics, here are The Daily Blog’s picks of best NZ media and journalists to follow as we face the most consequential election of our generation:
1: Barbara Dreaver – TVNZ
There’s a bloody good reason she was awarded the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to investigative journalism and Pacific communities in 2024.
Bab’s is a national cultural treasure.
Her body of work every single year marks her journalism and her ability to pull NZ’s attention towards the current affairs of the Pacific as the benchmark for Fourth Estate values in this country.
The range of issues Barbara Dreaver covers from natural disasters to geopolitical machinations to domestic internal dynamics, her spectrum and skill as a journalist is true dedication to the craft.
She is such a humble person and her stories are always focused on the ignored voices.
We need her quality of journalism more than ever before.
Standing ovation for the Queen!
Her journalism is the benchmark for Fourth Estate accountability.
2: A View From Afar Podcast – Selwyn Manning and Paul Buchanan
Honestly the best critique of foreign policy in New Zealand. You can watch the podcast here live when it goes out or find them on Evening Report. You learn more in 30 minutes with them than you will ever glean from the mainstream media.
Why the hell NZ on Air is not sponsoring this astounds me, they do more explanation of what’s actually going on than any other NZ media network.
3: Werewolf Blog – Gordon Campbell
Gordon remains the best political Blogger in New Zealand. His Werewolf blog is a weekly must read and he does more independent researched journalism than anyone else in the game. If you are not reading Gordon Campbell each week, you shouldn’t be commenting on politics.
4: Bryan Bruce Investigate Substack
Bryan Bruce is an investigative reporter who works tirelessly for a civil debate on the issues of inequality and poverty. His documentaries remain some of the most important popular critiques of neoliberalism and capitalism in NZ.
Our very own military strategist Ben Morgan has his own Substack account. He has been blogging for TDB for over 2 years, updating strategic movements in the Pacific and the Ukraine/Russia conflict. He is readable and gives a far better regular insight to what is happening than any other mainstream media commentator.
6: Nick’s Kōrero – Nick Rockel Substack
Nick offers a wicked and sharp critique of the Political right. His skill and fluidity of writing marks him as an artisan blogger who is an important artist and underrated blogger who deserves far greater recognition.
During an emergency, the Marae always becomes one of the central points of the community response; the same is happening in media. As the media emergency occurs, it is the Māori media that step up and become the central point of journalism.
Waatea Radio has recently expanded into digital journalism and the new power of that journalism is providing a real alternative to the dying mainstream media monoliths. Waatea is the ONLY media company that is growing!
Our comrades over at the Against the Current blog offer weekly insights and criticism into the weeks events from a staunch socialist perspective. It is always well researched and well reasoned.
9: No Right Turn Blog – Idiot Savant
Idiot Savant is one of the OGs of NZ blogging. They are a must read weekly blogger with some of the best criticisms of government policy with a deep focus on policy and the counter productive outcomes of that policy. Fearless with the strongest values in NZ Blogging, the NZ Blogosphere would be a lesser place without No Right Turn.
You cannot deny that the RNZ Politics team have been producing some of the best journalism this year. They have become the benchmark and the record of choice for NZ journalism. Sure there are constant screw ups (Mick Hall should never have been sacked), but that’s management issues from people who are never held accountable, but the journalism they have been producing this year has been mana enhancing for the profession.
I’m not a personal fan of Espiner, but you can’t question the journalism he provides. His relatively new Podcast does hold the powerful to account and it’s probably the sharpest political interview in NZ. You can’t ignore his intelligence or how well researched he is.
12: Chris Lynch Christchurch’s Newsroom – blog
No one is going to pretend Chris Lynch is left-wing, but this isn’t a list of left-wing media to follow, this is a list of good journalism regardless of political persuasion. Lynch has a deep entry to Christchurch and is the first person to turn to when an issue hits NZ’s second largest city.
13: Te Ao with Moana – Māori TV
It’s simply the best current affairs show on NZ Television. Week after week they produce the most insightful and interesting content and I honestly believe that if this show was prime time TVNZ, our country would actually be a smarter place to love. This amazing piece on Willie’s Oxford Speech is the best thing you will see on TV this year…
14: The Bradbury Group podcast
Our first episode was name checked in Parliament! Who else has the Speaker of the House and a Knight of the Realm appearing as guests?
15: The Kaka with Bernard Hickey Substack
He is simply the best economist in NZ. If there are only 3 NZ news organisations you can fund, he is one of them. He brings new facts and critiques to government policy that is actually the best in the game. You have to follow him daily or you have no place thinking you know anything. If there is a debate on economics and Bernard Hickey isn’t here, it isn’t worth engaging with.
Newsroom, without a doubt, now generates the best daily journalism in NZ. Their critique of the economy and politics is probably the best in the country. It is super intelligent and presents coherent well thought out and reasoned counter points to government babble. If there is a news source worth supporting, it is Newsroom.
17: The Knightly Views – Gavin Ellis blog
Gavin is an old school editor and his arguments are always focused on a better public broadcasting model. His observations on where the media landscape is going are some of the best in NZ. He is a weekly must read to understand what is happening in the media eco-system.
18: Mountain Tui Substack
Finally a reason to read The Standard. The Left have lacked any true muscular champions and Mountain Tui is finally that voice. Excellent political criticism and insight all from behind an anonymous veil that allows for honesty. Widely rumoured to be Shane Te Pou.
19: SpiderHoof Twitter
Part of a new class of left-wing commentator who has sprung up on the social media platforms, Spider Hoof is funny, clever and always worth checking out on Twitter.
20: Mata with Mihingarangi Forbes podcast
One of the best political podcasts in the country, Mihi is one of our political journalist treasures and her team bring the best criticisms. They were the first media outlet to really expose the Atlas Network and its influence on our political system, no one else had the courage to do that.
21: Gerard Otto Facebook
Parts of the new wave of commentators who use social media platforms to communicate with, he is another incredibly sharp critic of the government and well worth reading.
22: Scott Hamilton Twitter
Very talented historian who has the ability to connect the past with what is happening in the present. One of the few people you genuinely learn something new everytime you read them. Incredible knowledge of NZ’s hidden history.
23: Clint Smith Twitter
Clint is one of the best political twitter accounts you can follow. Up to the minute critiques on government policy, he is one of the few whose hot takes are 99 percent right. He is an excellent starting position for anyone wanting to keep up with the news cycle.
24: Verity Johnson – Stuff columnist
She articulates liberal Auckland better than anyone else in the game. Her insights into the largest city are always politically relevant!
25: Simon Wilson – Listener columnist
Ever since Mayor Wayne Brown tried to shut down having to do any interviews with Simon, he has become a must read to understand what is happening in Auckland City. He is a talented writer with a real ability to move the dial on Auckland politics. He’s the reason you get a Listener subscription.
26: John Campbell – RNZ
The public broadcaster is free of the commercial and political constraints other broadcasters face, the public broadcaster can speak truth to power and has the obligation to do so!
John Campbell is not writing opinion pieces, he’s writing analysis and thinking deeper than the current shallow mainstream media allows for.
Attacking his journalism and his analysis under the guise of balance is a false narrative designed to strangle his voice off.
If people of insight and oversight can see the looming social carnage this hard-right racist climate-denying government is manufacturing, they have an obligation to speak out.
John speaks out.
27: Andrea Vance – Stuff senior journalist
She’s just so good and a weekly must read. Probably the best political journalist in front at the moment, her critique of ACT this year has been next level.
28: BHN – Youtube
The BHN boys, Pat and Chewie, have created a whole new late night online news audience and are the masters of this new medium. Always interesting, always challenging, they are the future of media in this country.
29: Café Pacific – David Robie
Dr David Robie is one the great Pacific journalists and provides a news source focused on the Pacific and what is happening in our geopolitical neighbourhood. We are fortunate to have him guest blog on TDB regularly and he also publishes Asia Pacific Report.
30: Mick Hall – Consortium journalist
Forced out by RNZ for telling the truth, Mick Hall was pushed into the spotlight after he correctly inserted context to international wire stories. He should never have been forced out, and now writes at the very excellent Consortium News.
Sean Ackland, Brie Elliot, Dr Harpreet Singh, Samual Hudson
All left-wing commentators you should be following this election.
Media to Avoid:
Not all media are created equally. There is some media you just want to avoid.
1: ZB
If you want to be a rich prick with rich prick attitudes that make you a dickhead, ZB is for you. The ZB Troll Farm are always malicious and frustrated, like a parking warden who hasn’t had an orgasm for a month.
These are literally people you would not piss on if they were on fire. With Alt-Right Culture War Billionaire Jim Grenon taking over NZME, it’s only a matter of time before Cameron Slater gets appointed editor of the Herald.
2: The Platform vs Reality Check Radio Schism
On one side you have a cross burning, redneck banjo twanging witch hunter who believes in science and on the other side you have a cross burning, redneck banjo twanging witch hunter who doesn’t believe in science. The great schism of contrarian media between The Platform and Reality Check Radio is more akin to twins trying to eat each other in the womb. It’s like watching a death cage match between Voldemort and Trump in that you aren’t sure who to cheer for, you just want them to both kill each other.
3: Seven Sharp
There is a reason this nation is as thick as pig shit, and it’s 7 Sharp. The manner in which TVNZ have bastardised the 7pm current affairs slot into a lightweight infotainment project is why we can’t have nice things.
Oh we all love Hill’s and her latest battle with what some male viewer thinks she would wear, but it’s dross fronted by private school kids who have never gone without. It’s as intellectually anaemic as it is banal. How does this stay on while actual current affairs gets cancelled?
4: The Centrist – Alt Right Culture War Malice
Nothing screams “bad faith” quite like the new “unauthorised” book about Jacinda by David Cohen…
…I had originally agreed to being interviewed but pulled out after I got a weird vibe from him, I’m bloody glad I did because it turns out that the book is being supported by alt-Right hate blog The Centrist…
Du Plessis-Allan asked Cohen about the Centrist link and whether he was worried that “would possibly lend your book to becoming a bit fringe?”.
…The Centrist, as TDB has pointed out, is the new alt-Right hate blog started by alt-Right culture War Canadian Billionaire Jim Grenon, the same alt-right Billionaire who just took over NZME.
The Centrist was behind the insinuation Benjamin Doyle was a sex fiend, they publish anti-Trans hate, anti-Māori hate, anti-Treaty hate, anti-vaccine hate, and are climate deniers.
That they are behind Cohen’s Jacinda smear book is like finding out your local kindergarten is run by the Nazgul.
5: Bluesky
If you are woke and pay a subscription to The Spinoff, you are on Bluesky, and that is where you should stay! The woke are great for mummy blogger free the nipple vegan cycling protests, not so good at the neoliberal economic hegemonic structure. The woke are great at chasing voters all the way into our enemies arms. If you are on Bluesky – STAY ON BLUESKY
You are what you read
The truth is paywalled, but the lies are free
We need to think of the media not as another commodity, but as “the commons” and a de-commercialised structure demands we see journalism as a common good.
I love how it’s always a great time to buy a house according to the NZ Herald because the Herald’s advertising is so dependent on real estate. There is NEVER a genuine attempt to challenge what a class of Landlords forever screwing renters will actually create in this country, because, according to the NZ Herald, it’s never been a better time to buy a house.
Trust in news has dropped to 33 percent in 2024 from 53 percent in 2020.
From the social contract theory, trust has fallen because people don’t believe the media are upholding their end of that contract.
Part of this is driven by the politicians themselves. Winston’s attack on the media is unhinged madness which works because he is so reliant on low news engaged voters who get their news off Facebook.
This ocean of criticism against the media goes beyond fair criticism to open hostility and abuse.
There is a correlation between distrust and unfair criticism but I also want to see the correlation between loneliness and believing bat shit crazy stuff you’ve read on Facebook.
The social contract of the Fourth Estate has been sold off in favour of a consumer media network.
They examine the way the Public Journalism Fund has been twisted into state propaganda by Winston’s lies.
Our drop in trust has been more extreme than many other countries.
It’s an interesting argument but my sense is that the reason this attack on the media has been so successful is because the mainstream corporate media had been screwing the interests of working people for many years. The first editorial the NZ Herald ever ran was begging white New Zealander’s to go to war against Māori.
Trump’s use of “fake news” was popular because the mainstream media had been selling capitalist values, not Fourth Estate journalism, to Americans for decades.
Social media allowed the legacy media gatekeepers to be overthrown and the resulting anarchy has led to a world of fractured realities.
Winston’s big lie that the entire mainstream media were bought off because of the Public Journalism Fund appeals to the conspiracy electorate New Zealand First need to stay over 5 percent now.
I wrote many bogs critical of the funding notes that NZ on Air put forward that stipulated that if you wanted public funding for Māori media that you couldn’t breach basic tenants of Treaty value because it created the impression of an editorial direction that wasn’t there, but to conflate what were funding notes to mean the entire media had been bribed is Winstonian in its deceitful manipulation.
What Winston chooses to miss is that there was a follow up response by NZ on Air on those funding notes stating that ultimately editorial control was with the content producer.
So yes, there were stupidly woke Wellington guidelines but those notes were superseded by the reminder of editorial independence.
What he also failed to acknowledge is that a large chunk of that Public Journalism money was for positions and training.
By claiming that amounts to the entire media being bribed is not disingenuous or just false, it is malicious.
Winston is channeling Trump with his “Big Lie”.
The “Big Lie” by Winston is that the entire media were bribed.
This has caused enormous damage which he has benefited from.
But again, I think it’s deeper than just Winston AND the righteous cynicism many have towards mainstream media.
Covid was a universal experience, we all sacrificed equally in an unequal world, it has had enormous impacts on us and one of those enormous impacts has been crippling loneliness.
More and more of us are lonely and it was kicked off by being forced to stay home during the pandemic.
That loneliness is desperately corrosive to the spirit and to the person, and the dichotomy of intense loneliness combined with mass 24/7 social media connectivity has made many of us insane with a level of anger and feral hate that is the call signs of a terribly tortured individual.
We have been brainwashed by hate algorithms for the profit margins of vast Tech Gods.
The media you consume ultimately changes the way you think.
Be selective this election.
Martyn “Bomber” Bradbury is a New Zealand media commentator, former radio and TV host, and former executive producer of Alt TV. He edits and publishes The Daily Blog, the largest and leading left-wing political commentary and analysis website. He was given the nickname “Bomber” by a former Craccum editor, reputedly to describe his bombastic personality.
The post Top 30 NZ news media you should follow this election and the Top 5 you should ignore – The Daily Blog appeared first on Café Pacific | David Robie.
Original source: https://analysis1.mil-osi.com/2026/09/02/top-30-nz-news-media-you-should-follow-this-election-and-the-top-5-you-should-ignore-the-daily-blog/