Backbencher

I visited RNZ several times during the period of April 21st through the 30th. The first thing that becomes evident is that New Zealand is not a world player. The news and features tend to be more in the scope of what is reported here in our local newspapers.
My goal here was to get an overall picture of New Zealand as portrayed by their radio programming. I sampled items from the Anzac celebration, along with talk radio and news from the Morning Report link. The coverage of the Anzac memorial is touching; typical of what we have been doing here in the media as remembrance of the World War II veterans. It's a Memorial Day type of event, but this is the decade of
WWII in New Zealand as well.
The news was more like you were listening to local NBC than listening to the news of a nation. One of the top stories was the murder of a 15 year old in Christchurch. This story was reported on from the crime to capture of the killer. Another was the explosion of a facility that was using propane as a refrigerant rather than the approved freon. This one sparked several other broadcasts about the safety and legality of using propane as a refrigerant.
Talk radio is the same everywhere, but here I found it to be more left-leaning. Society issues such as Wellington’s electric network being sold to a Chinese investor talked about the general direction the country is headed. Exploitative reporting was there, telling how ING-NZ has asked approval to issue life insurance policies on un-born children, and how this prays on the fears of the wealthy. And political mud about the Deputy Secretary of Labor helping get members of her own family into the country.
There were really no stories that had global clout, but the crime rate must be really low.