Author: Gavin Ellis

Gavin Ellis is a media consultant, commentator and researcher. He holds a doctorate in political studies. A former editor-in-chief of the New Zealand Herald, he is the author of Trust Ownership and the Future of News: Media Moguls and White Knights (London, Palgrave) and Complacent Nation (Wellington, BWB Texts). His consultancy clients include media organisations and government ministries. His Tuesday Commentary on media matters appears weekly on his site www.whiteknightnews.com

Another threat to our news industry: AI slop

AI slop – the 2025 word of the year in several prominent dictionaries – is lazy and often misleading online content generated by artificial intelligence. It presents a major threat to legitimate news outlets, including those in New Zealand.

There is a high risk that the loss of trust that inevitably follows users’ realisation that they have been taken for a ride will widen into a belief that ‘you can’t trust news: Full stop’

Yesterday both RNZ and TVNZ carried stories about the emergence of AI slop in this country, primarily on what purported to be a news site, but which carried no original reporting and distorted visual reality.

They interrogated the site – called NZ News Hub (clearly a take-off of TV3’s Newshub which closed in 2024) – and found numerous AI-generated images that were not identified as such. The broadcasters also found the site consistently dramatised natural disasters and emergencies beyond what had actually occurred. Continue reading “Another threat to our news industry: AI slop” →

Book review: How to Rebuild Trust in Journalism by Tim Watkin

The following review was published by Newsroom on 5 February 2026

 

How to Rebuild Trust in Journalism by Tim Watkin (BWB Texts $20)

Reviewed by Gavin Ellis

The relationship between news media and the public is like a marriage. It is conceived in heaven but there is an ever-present danger that it will be perceived as the Eighth Circle of Dante’s Inferno. That is where we find panderers and seducers, hypocrites, sowers of discord, and falsifiers.

Like a good marriage, journalism’s bond with the community is based on trust. Trust is a small word that belies its power and obligation. Behind it lies a reliance that we behave openly, honestly and transparently toward each other. It is also an informal grant of power to act honourably on behalf of the other party.

A matrimonial thread runs throughout Tim Watkin’s book which addresses what may well be an existential issue facing news media both in New Zealand and the wider world. He uses marriage as a powerful analogy, one that will resonate with readers who enjoy successful or failed marriages…or both. No marriage will succeed without trust, and the absence of it will also destroy the public’s relationship with news media. Continue reading “Book review: How to Rebuild Trust in Journalism by Tim Watkin” →

Media relationship with the public is like a marriage – based on trust

My review of Tim Watkin’s book was published today on Newsroom. Here is a sample: 

“The relationship between news media and the public is like a marriage. It is conceived in heaven but there is an ever-present danger that it will be perceived as the Eighth Circle of Dante’s Inferno. That is where we find panderers and seducers, hypocrites, sowers of discord, and falsifiers.”

You can read the full review here: https://newsroom.co.nz/2026/02/05/book-of-the-week-journalism-is-broken/

Politicians target news media at our collective peril

All elections have targets. They include anyone or anything that might be perceived as a threat. I have a nasty feeling that in the 2026 New Zealand general election our news media will be one of those targets.

My premonition is driven by two factors. The first is the emboldening effect of the American president’s unremitting and debilitating war against journalists who do not kowtow. And the second is the growing belief that various forms of social media and AI-driven search engines have diminished the politician’s need for news media to reach constituents and they are therefore dispensable.

Attacks on the media by politicians are nothing new and they can be part of a healthy contesting of ideas and views. News media are – and rightly should be – as accountable as those they hold to account. However, when those attacks diminish or undermine the role of journalism itself, politicians and would-be politicians risk damage that extends well beyond their own self-serving aims. Continue reading “Politicians target news media at our collective peril” →