Season 2025

E1. Episode 1

Feb 3, 2025 · 15m

Media Watch returns with new host Linton Besser. This week: A media storm over big asylum seeker figures, but did anyone check the numbers? Nine ditches Darwin news; plus Planet America has a podcast - or does it?

E2. Episode 2

Feb 10, 2025 · 15m

Trump 2.0 media circus; ABC's 'Antoinette issue'; Nine's beach house porkies. Presented by Linton Besser.

E3. Episode 3

Feb 17, 2025 · 15m

Sam Newman's nazi boost; Daily Tele's stunt backfires; Seven's horoscope horror. Presented by Linton Besser.

E4. Episode 4

Feb 24, 2025 · 15m

'Jack The Ripper' revelations come back from the dead and the media keep forgetting. Seven puffs up golden boy Basil Zempilas in the WA elections. Plus Murdoch family infighting casts doubt over the company's future.

E5. Episode 5

Mar 3, 2025 · 15m

Marty Sheargold's jibe at the Matildas proves the final straw for Triple M bosses. A foreign interference scoop proves a dud. Plus Sky's Steve Price attempts his own Media Watch-style investigation.

E6. Episode 6

Mar 10, 2025 · 15m

Commercial TV networks go all in on Cyclone Alfred coverage, Labor scores a win with misreported housing numbers, plus Trump takes control of the White House press pack - giving supportive outlets new prominence.

E7. Episode 7

Mar 17, 2025 · 15m

The explosive laden caravan turns out to be a con job. Clive Palmer tries to provoke outrage and succeeds at The Age. Political commentator and one-time Liberal Party candidate depicted as an average punter on news website.

E8. Episode 8

Mar 24, 2025 · 15m

Claims by The Australian that Yallourn coal plant will have its life extended come under scrutiny. Andrew 'Twiggy' Forrest's fight against Meta over scam ads. AI shopping ads give surprise fashion advice on Seven's website.

E9. Episode 9

Mar 31, 2025 · 15m

Labor invites social media influencers into budget lockup, Star journo Nick McKenzie caught on secret recording, plus There's a bear in there: an un-bear-lievable tale from The Australian.

E10. Episode 10

Apr 7, 2025 · 15m

Miracle sports water: Seven gives oxygenated water too much oxygen. Travel insurance tales: 1Cover's warm embrace by news outlets. Plus radio rebels rebuked: Another ACMA gong for Kyle and Jackie O.

E11. Episode 11

Apr 14, 2025 · 15m

Billionaire gives back: Adrian Portelli's cash splash whips shoppers and the news media into a frenzy. Plus reins of power - racing industry criticism curiously goes missing.

E12. Episode 12

Apr 28, 2025 · 15m

Poll position: A shock SMS poll result boots a Labor heavyweight, but raises questions. Plus an old-school comedian reaches out to an old acquaintance - ABC Chair Kim Williams - for help scoring interviews.

E13. Episode 13

May 5, 2025 · 15m

Election surprise: Labor's landslide win - why some media failed to sway voters. SBS's new family DNA show, with a big-pocketed partner backing it. Plus a touching greyhound racing story in the Herald Sun shows the tail wags the dog.

E14. Episode 14

May 12, 2025 · 15m

Holy smoke: How the election of a new Pope caught some in the media off guard. Nine's travel lift out showcases a new destination a little too far off the beaten track. Plus WA media gives the cold shoulder to its new NRL team.

E15. Episode 15

May 19, 2025 · 15m

One of Australia's most decorated soldiers loses another battle in his long running defamation case, 2GB fluffs up a scandal about children dressing up as animals plus the NRL appoint Seven's news boss to run the Perth Bears.

E16. Episode 16

May 26, 2025 · 15m

The Coalition's chaotic split given the Mills and Boon treatment by the media, Trump silences a lonely bastion of journalistic integrity in Asia, and The Chicago Sun-Times reading suggestions a little too far outside the box.

E17. Episode 17

Jun 2, 2025 · 15m

Live from censorship central, it was Dubai week on Nine's Today show. A front page story about a transgender child at a sports carnival filled with errors. Plus why a controversial ABC Gaza interview was taken offline.

E18. Episode 18

Jun 9, 2025 · 15m

What the Trump-Musk fallout tells us about the social media megaphones they own, charities left empty handed after being involved in a Channel 7 show and commercial news overlook a tragic custody death in the NT.

E19. Episode 19

Jun 16, 2025 · 15m

LA protests cast a shadow over press safety in the age of Trump; The drone advocate who happens to also be a drone investor; Plus a prominent reporter's secret trip bankrolled by a major defence company.

E20. Episode 20

Jun 23, 2025 · 15m

As the US bombs Iran, the fog of war descends over the media; A wild car chase on the streets of Melbourne given the hero treatment; plus The Herald Sun splash that got Tony Mokbel bashed and led to a big pay day.

E21. Episode 21

Jun 30, 2025 · 15m

Journalist Antoinette Lattouf has won her blockbuster legal showdown, so what does it mean for trust in your ABC? Plus from Donut Day to Free Chicken Day, the proliferation of 'National Food Days' helps sneak food ads into our news diets.

E22. Episode 22

Jul 7, 2025 · 15m

Outrage over the Adelaide Advertiser's racy treatment of a tragic killing. The automotive journalists who engaged in a financial engagement with the carmaker they were reviewing. Plus an AFR article's anti-red tape screed that conveniently leaves out an important fact.

E23. Episode 23

Jul 14, 2025 · 15m

Much room for mushrooms: What to make of the all-you-can-eat buffet of mushroom headlines, podcasts and TV specials. Plus a breakfast show's fast-food love-in prompts unsavoury questions.

E24. Episode 24

Jul 21, 2025 · 15m

A press picnic with the release of convicted criminal Salim Mehajer. China extends a warm welcome to Albanese, but not the journalists with him. Plus Sunrise's foot doctor with credentials that don't quite foot the bill.

E25. Episode 25

Jul 28, 2025 · 15m

In defence of a free press, South Park links arms with an unlikely ally in Rupert Murdoch. As photos of hunger shock the world, even those taking them begin to starve. Plus the AFR struggles to disclose its sponsored content.

E26. Episode 26

Aug 4, 2025 · 15m

A Sky News report falsely sounds the alarm on migration anarchy in Europe; The new tech behind the Government's social media ban has the gambling lobby rubbing their hands; The Daily Telegraph splashes the wrong kid across its tabloids.

E27. Episode 27

Aug 11, 2025 · 15m

Seven News brings us burger news that looks a little pre-assembled. A Herald Sun splash about a senior Victorian Liberal and his wife prompts outrage. A Daily Mail society listicle has not gone down well with those included.

E28. Episode 28

Aug 18, 2025 · 15m

SBS's debate on men, by men, becomes focused on women. Animal rights reporting faces an uncertain future due to a legal ruling. Plus a snake video splashed across news bulletins exposes the media's short-term memory.

E29. Episode 29

Aug 25, 2025 · 15m

Stop the Boeings: 2GB's Ben Fordham fires up his listeners with questionable migration numbers. Sky News' big interview with Benjamin Netanyahu fails to deliver. Plus the tech news outlets that fell for an AI writer.

E30. Episode 30

Sep 1, 2025 · 15m

ATO whistleblower Richard Boyle escapes jail time, but protections still fall short. A tragic youth suicide gets the full Courier-Mail treatment. Plus a retirement village so good it made the news.