Media Monitors Index

The beginning of the Tri-Nations competition has beaten the FIFA World Cup for the top mentions spot in the month of July. Paul the Octopus, who received world wide acclaim for his football predictions contributed to 4.5% of the media mentions in NZ surrounding the World Cup.

With the All Blacks powering through their first test matches, the momentum should continue into August in terms of media coverage – let’s hope it continues through to the Rugby World Cup next year, which comes in at third place for July. The saga with Auckland and its “party central” venue contributed to over a quarter of the mentions for the RWC.

Domestic issues such as the arming of police, and discussion around binge drinking and liquor licensing laws creep into the top five. Where binge drinking tends to be an ongoing media topic, the issue of armed police in NZ can spike when incidents such as the shooting of police dog Gage and two police officers occur.

Climate change discussion heavily featured the Emissions Trading Scheme – mentions of the ETS contributed to 66% of the volume for July. The 16 Crafar farms in receivership raised the spotlight on the issue of foreign investment in NZ land, as a sale to an overseas investor would need approval from the Overseas Investment Office.

The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico was the main international issue hitting headlines across the country, while GST and Afghanistan edged out mentions of Chris Carter and super city news for the bottom two places. Beleaguered MP Carter received 1,095 mentions for July, and the super city debate 1,073 mentions.

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