Last Monday's announcement of the decision on moving out of alert level 4 was a major event for the media. In normal times people aren't so interested a PM's press conference co-starring top cops and public servants - but this time people were desperate for a hint of freedom to come - and news of when fast food would be back on the menu.
Juliet Speedy anticipating a fast food frenzy a week away. Photo: screenshot / Newshub
Several outlets covered the PM's announcement live from 1pm and Newshub went live for over four hours on Monday afternoon.
And why not? The captive audience available to them has never been greater. You could even forgive commercial broadcasters for hoping the public were locked down at home as long as possible.
The umbrella group representing free-to-air TV broadcasters reported this week that far more people had been watching TV for far longer during the lockdown.
According to the latest audience research, 47 percent of people over the age of five tuned in every single day last week.
They also said the figures showed nearly four in 10 people tuned in during the 6-7pm TV news hour and the biggest viewing increases across the board were in the category ‘HHS’ - households with kids.
TVNZ also reported big spikes last week at 1pm for the Prime Minister’s daily updates and for its 6pm news, with last week’s audiences the highest since lockdown for both.
TVNZ said nearly 1.5 million people tuned in to last Monday's decision-day 4pm update - and hundreds of thousands more would have watched on Three or tuned in to the radio and online coverage.
Shortly before the announcement, Sean Plunket on Magic Talk radio asked mental health expert Kyle McDonald if there was a worrying element of "Stockholm syndrome" about the habit. Under normal circumstance few people would tune in to a PM press conference co-starring a top public health official.
While he was one of few media personalities not trying to predict the outcome, there was a raging debate in the media about what level 3 should be like and when we should make the move.
Not for nothing did the Weekend Herald carry this timely Rod Emmerson cartoon:
..'The hills are alive, with the sound of self-anointed level3 experts'... cartoon in fabulous print in today's Weekend Herald and premium online here... #COVID19nz https://t.co/21iqG1WHhq pic.twitter.com/jQRvXSgLg7
— Rod Emmerson (@rodemmerson) April 17, 2020
Sir Ray Avery - medical entrepreneur and an ally of the Plan B group of academics told Magic Talk the lockdown had been an over-reaction - and they had been locked out of the decision-making.
However, Sir Ray and the Plan B prescription actually had heaps of exposure in the mainstream media.
Another weird aspect of the 'level 4 vs level 3' debate playing out in the media was just how much and how often the takeaway trade got a mention.
Last Monday for example The New Zealand Herald rushed out a story headlined 'When your favourite fast food stores will open' which ran through the strategies of the big brands.
Newshub at 6 that night also had big appetite for that, crossing to reporter Juliet Speedy outside a closed McDonald's restaurant in the dark telling viewers they could drivethru for their first fix at 5am on Tuesday.
National MP Judith Collins hooked the media easily by describing the upcoming move to level 3 as “level 4 with KFC”.
There was plenty more in the media too about the so-called takeaway frenzy which was still almost a full week away.
