In our video series Kiwis of Snapchat, comedian Tom Sainsbury sources exclusive Snapchat footage of Kiwi citizens and luminaries making the news. Today: “Names for the baby? I’d definitely suggest Paula.” The Spinoff TV screens Fridays at 9.45pm from June 22nd on THREE. Thanks to NZ on Air. Click here for all our Kiwis of … Read more
Our first TV show premieres on Three at 9.45pm – here’s what to expect Two years after writing the headline “Good news: TV is dead”, The Spinoff has been forced to expediently concede that its obituary came a little early. Straight after the celebrated New Zealand institution that is 7 Days, we internet urchins will … Read more
For the first time drug driving deaths have eclipsed drink drivers. Or have they? Don Rowe looks at the media furore around an AA press release some experts argue is unsubstantiated. Last week news broke that for the first time in New Zealand drug drivers were responsible for more deaths than drink drivers. Stuff, the … Read more
Has there ever been a good pretend Kiwi accent on screen? Like, ever? Madeleine Chapman searches far and wide for one, just one, decent New Zealand accent. What’s in a name? Not a lot of vowels if the name is New Zealand and spoken with a New Zealand accent. The near absence of vowel sounds … Read more
The Spinoff TV’s Ra Pomare and Angella Dravid discuss the big First Baby news. Live blog: Rolling updates as New Zealand awaits the arrival of the First Baby The Spinoff TV screens Fridays at 9.45pm from June 22nd on THREE. Thanks to NZ on Air.
The Peach Teats billboard is a legitimate cult classic. In the first of a new series uncovering the stories behind classic New Zealand illustrations, Toby Morris meets the artist responsible for State Highway 1’s favourite cheeky calf. If you’ve ever driven State Highway 1 through the central North Island, you’ll have seen it. And if … Read more
Bringing you the best weekly reading from your friendly local website. Hemma Vara: Five great sustainable, ethical clothing labels – all made in NZ “WORLD founder and ethical fashion champion Dame Denise L’Estrange-Corbet claimed it’s almost impossible to manufacture clothes in New Zealand, so we set out to find some labels that are not only creating … Read more
Ever wondered why some random always leaves the same emoji on your photos? Lucy Revill introduces the ghastly robots of the ‘gram. How long have you spent on Instagram this weekend? It’s a bit of a time suck, right? Well I have good news: rather than manually liking other people’s images or leaving comments, you … Read more
What on earth would possess someone to publish a cacophony of fabrications so unhinged that they make Infowars look tame? January 19 2018 was a day that changed what normal meant in New Zealand’s political history. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced her pregnancy, and changed perceptions across the world about what it meant to be … Read more
In our video series Kiwis of Snapchat, comedian Tom Sainsbury sources exclusive Snapchat footage of Kiwi citizens and luminaries making the news. Today, Paula Bennett has a modest proposal for the country. The Spinoff TV screens Fridays at 9.45pm from June 22nd on THREE. Thanks to NZ on Air. Click here for all our Kiwis … Read more
A scrap with Facebook over a copycat Stuff page reveals how fine the line is between combating fake news and straight up censorship. Fans of the meme page NZ Stuffed would have probably noticed over this week that the content had vanished from their Facebook feeds. Why? It had been shut down by Facebook, at … Read more
The Spinoff answers the question other media are too scared to ask – is the First Baby actually a demon? The Spinoff TV screens Fridays at 9.45pm from June 22nd on THREE. Thanks to NZ on Air.
The ‘Nectarine Nero’ meets Kim Jong-un in Singapore today to pursue the shared goals of peace in Korea and a lovely Nobel prize. Don Rowe breaks down the 30 seconds or so the pair spent with the press ahead of their talks today. Well how about that, the Apprentice guy is in Singapore negotiating for an … Read more
The latest headlines from New Zealand’s best-read and most-loved cafe newspaper, presented by the nation’s favourite newsreader, Angella Dravid. Read more: The Spinoff reviews the Coffee News The Spinoff TV screens Fridays at 9.45pm from June 22nd on THREE. Thanks to NZ on Air.
Welcome to Oceania, where the Party’s state-mandated groupthink and doublespeak has the populace cowering in fear. Thoughtcriminal Joseph Nunweek smuggled out this dispatch. It was a bright if Orwellian day in June, and the clocks were striking seven. I awoke, as ever, to the steady hiss of a hot water cylinder. I rose from my … Read more
Bringing you the best weekly reading from your friendly local website. The Spinoff: Huge and true: The Spinoff TV is coming to Three on June 22 “Two years ago, we declared ‘Good news: TV is dead’. It turns out we were perhaps premature in that assessment. In less than three weeks The Spinoff TV will hit all … Read more
Viaduct bar Headquarters posted an inflammatory Facebook status on Thursday, calling league fans many bad things. Ra Pomare caught up with the Warriors in Christchurch to get their take on league fans being called ‘vandals’ and ‘abusers’. The Spinoff TV screens Fridays at 9.45pm from June 22nd on THREE. Thanks to NZ on Air.
Alex Casey witnessed a whole new dystopia on the set of Mortal Engines. Here she shares her key findings on matters including the giant sets, the catering, and Peter Jackson’s feet Hugo Weaving is holding the soundstage door open for me. This is not a drill, this is not a test run, this is, quite simply, … Read more
Two years ago, we declared ‘Good news: TV is dead’. It turns out we were perhaps premature in that assessment. In less than three weeks The Spinoff TV will hit all of your screens at once, arriving at 9.45pm into Three’s hallowed Friday night lineup, straight after 7 Days. We’ll do our best to approximate … Read more
These are cruel days for white old men who feel silenced. We scour the country to find the last remaining safe spaces for these struggling titans. It’s hard out here for a pimp. But it’s even harder out here for those who don’t know what song or movie that’s referencing. In other words, it’s hard … Read more
A rush to assign blame for deaths in police chases can only distort the important discussion around a pursuit policy that should put human life first, writes Toby Manhire. The debate around police pursuits is one of those that can be relied upon to coax out the uglier side of our natures. A chase in … Read more
In this editorial from the current issue of Critic, Joel MacManus looks back on week in which his small student magazine became a global news story. There are too many things I want to say and too little space to say them in, so here’s a big ol’ list of random thoughts about the Menstruation … Read more
Bringing you the best weekly reading from your friendly local website. Chelle Fitzgerald: Dollar drinks on the dancefloor: the heyday of Dunedin student pubs “‘Going to town’ in Dunedin was fucking awesome back in the day. There was no need to preload, because all the clubs sold ‘house doubles’ (read: cheap bottom-shelf alcohol) for $2, or, … Read more
After decades spent botching every one of its online products, Sky has just unveiled a bold new strategy which appears to answer its critics. Duncan Greive surveys its tumultuous history and asks CEO John Fellet whether this time really will be different. By the mid-1990s, Sky TV had become a bonafide media phenomenon in New … Read more
Can newspapers based in tiny towns be profitable? A publisher based on the sparsely populated West Coast believes it can, and is expanding as a result. As the so called death of journalism gathers momentum, media companies are increasingly looking to consolidation for survival. More content syndication, covering a bigger geographical area with single titles, … Read more
Two Auckland schools went into lockdown recently, so why did one dominate the coverage? The Side Eye looks into the way King’s College and Ōtāhuhu College featured in reporting. The Bulletin is The Spinoff’s acclaimed, free daily curated digest of all the most important stories from around New Zealand delivered directly to your inbox … Read more
Yesterday the University of Otago seized thousands of copies of its own students’ association’s magazine. The editor of Critic Te Arohi, Joel MacManus, talks through the genesis of the menstruation issue – and yesterday’s extraordinary events. Two months ago, the Otago Women’s+ Club approached me about the idea to do a menstruation themed issue of … Read more
Homelessness in New Zealand is a very serious problem, and it’s too important to be muddied by misinformation, writes Toby Manhire. One of the world’s gold-standard news agencies yesterday shone a light on a big New Zealand problem, homelessness. The headline: “Left behind – why boomtown New Zealand has a homelessness crisis”. And the introduction, … Read more
Hopeful Christian’s death might flatten the spirit at Gloriavale but it has spiked their potential for mockery – and celebrity. Can something so discomforting also be humorous, asks Anke Richter Only a PR God could have made this happen: the patriarch of Gloriavale died last Tuesday – the same day that the new episodes of … Read more