Mediawatch: Amazon Prime’s announcement of a Lord of the Rings TV series to be made here was big news – as was the huge tax break it is likely to get. It’s part of a business model that means Amazon paid no tax on $18 billion profits in …

Facebook is rolling out a move to hide the number of likes on users’ posts during a trial in Australia this weekend.

People point the finger at politicians, platforms and the news media for the spread of fake news and misinformation, but an expert tells Mediawatch the PR industry’s role usually goes under the radar – and an ethics upgrade is urgent.

Spark took a gamble by buying the World Cup broadcast rights and sparked a flood of sceptical – sometimes hostile – media coverage, but the bigger picture is the future of sport on screen.

Google’s YouTube faces up to $US200 million ($314 million) settlement over violation of US child privacy laws after a Federal Trade Commission investigation.

Mediawatch: Venture capitalists last month pumped $US15.3 million into Substack – a start up that helps writers monetise email newsletters.

Mediawatch: Recent elections overseas were won by narrow margins amid claims voters were influenced by messages injected in their social media feeds from political parties. Is all this coming to an election near you in 2020?

Actress Valerie Harper, who won four Emmys playing budding feminist Rhoda Morgenstern on the 1970s TV series The Mary Tyler Moore Show and her own spinoff sitcom, has died aged 80.

Disney has released the first footage of The Mandalorian, a live-action Star Wars series that includes the New Zealand director and actor Taika Waititi voicing a robot.

Mediawatch: The Broadcasting Standards Authority has sanctioned Sky TV for screening snippets of the gunman’s video of the Christchurch mosque attacks in March. But other broadcasters escaped censure here and in Australia.