We love to hate the media but it’s social media we should be concerned about, writes Danyl Mclauchlan. This piece was originally published on December 9, 2018 About halfway through Before Sunrise – a 1990s romantic comedy that has the same significance for Gen-Xers as the Vietnam war did to the Boomers and Harry Potter does … Read more
Amid the millions upon millions of views you gave to us – your friends – here are the stories you read most. 10. Leonie Hayden: Grateful horis and model minorities: why don’t we know we’re racist? “Lately a lot of people have objected to the observation that cis-gendered, heterosexual, white, able-bodied men are over represented nearly everywhere that power … Read more
This year was monumental for The Spinoff’s video department, producing all manner of documentaries, exposés and real crackup shit – plus two bloody telly shows! We select 10 of our favourite videos, in no real order, as decided by fierce internal debate. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Livestreams posted on Facebook by our major news organisations have been overrun by an army of anti-1080 activists. Hayden Donnell goes in search of the source of the spam campaign. This post was originally published August 23, 2018 Yesterday the government announced new wheel clamping regulations. As it often does, the Herald posted live video … Read more
It’s remembered as one of New Zealand’s best comic thrillers, but how did it happen? Joel McManus talks to director Robert Sarkies about his 1999 film Scarfies. This piece was originally published on April 15, 2018 An empty flat. A quarter of a million dollars worth of weed. A drug dealer that wants to kill you. … Read more
Every day in the lead-up to Christmas, the Spinoff has been swinging open the squeaky hinges on calendar doors to reveal a short, sizzling commentary on a weighty subject. Our arbitrary and strictly enforced word limit: 365. Today, to mark the birth of Christ, 20 Spinoff writers have combined to create the most nuclear take … Read more
It’s the most wonderful time of the year, unless you’re a journalist, in which case Christmas is just another day. So what’s the vibe like in newsrooms on Christmas day? And why can’t journalists just take the day off? A state highway is blocked after a car crash. There’s been a drowning at a West … Read more
Bringing you the best weekly reading from your friendly local website. Tina Ngata: Once were gardeners, lovers, poets… and warriors “We are not a warrior race. We are, and always have been, a race of voyagers, scientists, gardeners, lovers, poets, composers, philosophers, artists, orators, mathematicians, dancers, astronomers, builders and healers. We were peacemakers and keepers as much as … Read more
In a very special Christmas episode of Get It to Te Papa, our series following journalist Hayden Donnell on an ambitious quest to collect underappreciated Kiwi cultural artefacts and get them into our national museum, Hayden sets out to restore the winking eye and beckoning finger to Auckland’s Giant Santa. Episode one and two of … Read more
Duncan Greive concludes his survey of the state of New Zealand’s media in 2018 with a look at some of the smaller and emerging players – including Spark, Bauer Media and Māori Television. Spark’s emergence as a genuine media contender is the highlight of a fascinating year amongst the mini majors – a loose group … Read more
Bringing you the best weekly reading from your friendly local website. This week the country was shaken by the news of English backpacker Grace Millane, who was murdered on the eve of her 22nd birthday. We spent a lot of time here at The Spinoff considering how to cover the horrific story. What was useful? … Read more
It has been the best-performing media brand of the past five years. Yet Labour’s bold plans to grow it have caused RNZ nothing but trouble so far, and major clouds loom on the horizon, writes Duncan Greive. While reporting this series I spoke to over a dozen executives, senior editors and reporters across the New … Read more
The owner of both Newstalk ZB and the Herald retains a singular influence in the New Zealand media. But anonymous rival executives have doubts about its ability to pull off a paywall in 2019 – a move which shapes as the boldest in our media, writes Duncan Greive. If there is a single common theme … Read more
Ten years after that blue whale first woke up on a New Zealand beach, Beached Az is coming back to our screens. Below, an exclusive Beached Aziversary trailer plus details of what to expect from the new 10-episode series. The team behind the 2008 Youtube behemoth Beached Az (Anthony Macfarlane, Jarod Green and Nick Boshier) today release … Read more
The home of Three and radio stations like The Edge has been owned by private equity for 10 years now. As part of his series on NZ media in 2018, Duncan Greive talks to anonymous executives within and without of the company to find out whether it might be close to getting an owner that … Read more
It’s the biggest and by far the most profitable media company in New Zealand. In today’s instalment of his series on NZ media in 2018, Duncan Greive asks media executives why no one believes in Sky any more. When the history of New Zealand media is written in the next few years, one CEO will … Read more
Stuff is both the biggest news site in the country and its most precarious big media company. Duncan Greive continues his series on the major media companies with a hard look at it from some senior media executives speaking under condition of anonymity. In late November, the staff of Stuff gathered to meet their new … Read more
The Spinoff partnered with UMR to survey the attitudes of our readers, and the nation as a whole. Today, how are we consuming media, and what do we reckon about it? Previously: Data! Opinions! The results of The Spinoff’s major national survey with UMR With apologies to Maddie Holden, clicks are abundant and low value. … Read more
Today we launch a week-long series taking the temperature of the NZ media at the end of another year of upheaval. Duncan Greive speaks to senior figures across NZ’s biggest media companies to find out what they think about their plight, their rivals and the industry as a whole When you run a media business, … Read more
In the first of a series on the major New Zealand media companies, sourced through anonymous conversations with senior executives, Duncan Greive assesses the state of NZ’s biggest TV network. ‘We’re buying to play on the channel, not to put it in the cupboard.” In a single caustic line, MediaWorks’ head of content Andrew Szusterman … Read more
Bringing you the best weekly reading from your friendly local website. Madeleine Chapman: My beef-only week living as Jordan Peterson “My first meal of plain mince with a dash of salt tastes surprisingly good. While I eat, I read the first chapter/rule of Peterson’s: Stand up straight with your shoulders back. I read about lobsters and the … Read more
We love to hate the media but it’s social media we should be concerned about, writes Danyl Mclauchlan. About halfway through Before Sunrise – a 1990s romantic comedy that has the same significance for Gen-Xers as the Vietnam war did to the Boomers and Harry Potter does for Millennials – Jessie and Celine, who are adrift … Read more
This week Massey University released its annual ‘Quote of the Year’ competition, serving up a shortlist of 10 to vote to the 2018 title. And, look, some of them are fine! But in the spirits of breadth and plurality, our quote-loving team has produced its own crop of 10 for the inaugural Spinoff Alternative Quote … Read more
Every day in the leadup to Christmas, open the door to reveal a Spinoff writer’s short, sizzling commentary on a weighty subject. Our arbitrary and strictly enforced word limit: 365. Today: Leonie Hayden on why she should still have a Christmas stocking. I am 37-years-old and I still get a Christmas stocking. I would be … Read more
Every day in the leadup to Christmas, open the door to reveal a Spinoff writer’s short, sizzling commentary on a weighty subject. Our arbitrary and strictly enforced word limit: 365. Today: Alex Braae on why you should pay for journalism. You’ve got enough stuff. Your cupboards are bulging with crap. But somehow you still have … Read more
Mike Hosking’s Newstalk ZB breakfast show rates highly in every city and region in the country except Rotorua. Madeleine Chapman investigates. At 5:59am every weekday morning, as Kate Hawkesby is saying her goodbyes and Mike Hosking prepares to start his popular breakfast radio show, the city of Rotorua changes the channel. The ratings monster of … Read more
You’ve already met the new Freeview On Demand – now it’s time to get acquainted with the documentaries on it. Tara Ward has you sorted. Don’t listen to what your parents told you, because watching television definitely makes you smarter. It’s especially true for a good documentary, which can enrich your life, challenge your thinking … Read more
Bringing you the best weekly reading from your friendly local website. Alex Braae: Who wore it stupider? Comparing Hosking and Hawkesby on cycling “There’s a rumour about Newstalk ZB’s ratings that perhaps explains a lot about their hosts’ opinions. The station first really boomed in the early 90s, coinciding with the mass importation of Japanese cars. … Read more
In a paper published today in the New Zealand Medical Journal, a University of Canterbury study has found that vocal fry is voluntary and is becoming common in some young New Zealand women. Fried things are delicious. But apparently fried lady voices are not. The study that’s causing such a fuss today isn’t talking about … Read more