This is edition 2026/066 of the Ten@10 newsletter.
Hi all,
This is the Ten@10, where I collate and summarise ten news items you generally won't see in the mainstream media.
Enjoy!
1. New Zealand's media trust is still in crisis
Bryce Edwards
- 📱 Trust in social media news rose slightly (13% to 17%) despite widespread concern about misinformation
- 🔄 Social media is becoming a major news source (19%), nearly equal to TV, even though users don’t fully trust it
- 👍 Facebook dominates social news (61%), followed by YouTube (44%) and Instagram (28%), with some using ChatGPT (12%)
- 🏆 RNZ is the most trusted outlet, followed by Otago Daily Times and TVNZ, highlighting trust in less commercial models
- 📊 The NZ Herald is the most used outlet (52%), followed closely by Stuff and TVNZ, despite lower trust rankings
- ⚖️ There’s a clear gap between trust and usage—people often consume news they don’t fully trust
- 📉 Commercial TV news is struggling, with ThreeNews usage dropping sharply since 2024
- 💡 Overall, the media landscape shows slight improvement in trust but deep structural issues in engagement, credibility, and consumption habits
