logo
Politicians targeted by ads, ministers' multimedia handouts

Politicians targeted by ads, ministers' multimedia handouts

RNZ News4 days ago
media politics 20 minutes ago
Campaigns targeting politicians in the media are getting more intense - and politicians are getting more multimedia with their own messages for the press. Are these the same old tactics using new tech? Or a new push to dodge media scrutiny and shape the story?
Podcast (MP3) Oggcast (Vorbis)
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Columbia University to pay over US$200 million to resolve Trump probes
Columbia University to pay over US$200 million to resolve Trump probes

RNZ News

time3 hours ago

  • RNZ News

Columbia University to pay over US$200 million to resolve Trump probes

By Kanishka Singh and Jasper Ward , Reuters US President Donald Trump. Photo: AFP / Saul Loeb Columbia University has said it will pay over US$200 million (NZ$330m) to the US government in a settlement with President Donald Trump's administration to resolve federal probes and to have most of its suspended federal funding restored. Trump has targeted universities including Columbia since returning to the White House in January over the pro-Palestinian student protest movement that roiled college campuses last year. In March, the Trump administration said it was penalising the university over how it handled last year's protests by cancelling $400 million in federal funding. It contended that Columbia's response to alleged antisemitism and harassment of Jewish and Israeli members of the university community was insufficient. "Under today's agreement, a vast majority of the federal grants which were terminated or paused in March 2025 - will be reinstated and Columbia's access to billions of dollars in current and future grants will be restored," Columbia said in a statement. The university said it has also agreed to settle investigations brought by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for $21 million and that its deal with the Trump administration preserved Columbia's "autonomy and authority over faculty hiring, admissions, and academic decision-making." After the government announced the funding cancellations, the school announced a series of commitments in response to the Trump administration's concerns. Last week, Columbia adopted a definition of antisemitism that equates it with opposition to Zionism. The school also said it would no longer engage with pro-Palestinian group Columbia University Apartheid Divest. The Trump administration had no immediate comment on Wednesday. Trump had said in recent weeks that a deal with Columbia was close. The government has labelled pro-Palestinian protesters as antisemitic and as sympathizers of extremism. Protesters, including some Jewish groups, say the Trump administration has wrongly conflated their criticism of Israel's military assault in Gaza with antisemitism and their advocacy for Palestinian rights with support for extremism. Wednesday's announcement came one day after the university disciplined dozens of students over a pro-Palestinian protest in May in which demonstrators seized Columbia's main library. The government has attempted to use the leverage of federal funding with other educational institutions as well, including Harvard University, over campus protests. It has also tried deporting some foreign pro-Palestinian students but has faced judicial roadblocks. Rights advocates have raised concerns about due process, academic freedom and free speech over the government's actions. - Reuters

Murkowski questions whether Trump admin is attacking Obama to distract from Epstein fallout
Murkowski questions whether Trump admin is attacking Obama to distract from Epstein fallout

RNZ News

time4 hours ago

  • RNZ News

Murkowski questions whether Trump admin is attacking Obama to distract from Epstein fallout

By Piper Hudspeth Blackburn , CNN Photo: AFP GOP Senator Lisa Murkowski questioned whether Trump administration officials are accusing former President Barack Obama of treason in order to distract from the fallout over its handling documents related to Jeffrey Epstein . "Obviously, this is new language. Words like treason are big words, right?" the Alaska Republican told CNN's Kaitlan Collins Wednesday in an interview on "The Source." "It does cause one to wonder if this is an effort by folks in the administration to have the conversation, move on to something else, other than the Epstein matter, move on to something else, another, somebody other than President Trump so let's go back to prior presidents," she said. "Based on the timing of all of this, it does kind of cause you to question," Murkowski said when asked by Collins if allegations from Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard were a "distraction technique." GOP Senator Lisa Murkowski Photo: AFP / Getty Images / Drew Angerer Her comments come after weeks of failed efforts from Trump to mitigate backlash over his administration's decision not to release more documents related to the Epstein investigation . Murkowski told CNN that she encourages the release of more files from the probe, saying, "Just deal with the Epstein thing once and for all." "I think if they had done it earlier on and moved on to other things, maybe we wouldn't be in this place where everyone is now thinking about, you know, what's the next big conspiracy behind all this," she added. One day after President Donald Trump accused Obama of treason over the intelligence assessment that Russia interfered in the 2016 election and sought to help Trump, Gabbard declassified a highly sensitive congressional report she claimed was more evidence of a "treasonous conspiracy." A spokesman for Obama dismissed the accusations from Trump. "These bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction," said Patrick Rodenbush. A House Oversight subcommittee voted Wednesday to subpoena the Department of Justice for the Epstein files. - CNN

Tech: Microsoft security flaw, record NZ losses from cyber
Tech: Microsoft security flaw, record NZ losses from cyber

RNZ News

time5 hours ago

  • RNZ News

Tech: Microsoft security flaw, record NZ losses from cyber

Cybersecurity expert Tony Grasso joins Kathryn to talk about Microsoft's recent Zero Day security flaw - who was affected and how has the company responded? The latest report into the cost of cybercrime has found the second-highest quarterly financial losses ever, at a cost of $7.8m. But that's just what's been reported. Tony also looks at how South Africa's digital transformation is making it a target for sophisticated cyber criminals and why Latin American organisations are facing an average of 2,700 attacks a month - almost 40% higher than the global average. Tony Grasso is Principal Consultant at cybersecurity firm TitaniumDefence. He worked at GCHQ in the UK and is a former Intelligence Officer in New Zealand. To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store