EV angst, NZ Geo confronts financial fragility

EVs were booming, but incentives have been stripped back and recent reports of fires have fueled safety fears. Has media coverage amped up the danger? Also: a year ago a NZ Geographic revealed its own flaky finances to persuade supporters to step up. How did that work out?

Read more about this episode of Mediawatch on the RNZ website

In this episode:

1:06 For a while the EV market boomed with incentives in place, though they came at a cost. Now the incentives have been dialled down - and so has demand. And a steady stream of stories about the fire hazards have spread like wildfire.

13:18: Dr Troy Bailsden on how to ‘pre-bunk’ alarmism about EV safety - and where to find facts on the real but remote risks of batteries.

19:51: Magazines devoted to longform journalism are struggling to stay in print. A year ago award-winning NZ Geographic urged subscribers to up their backing to keep it going. One year on publisher James Frankham on how that worked out - and what’s next.

Learn more: Mediawatch: Angst about EVs blows up in the headlines | RNZ News

Guests: Troy Baisden, James Frankham

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Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details