It may surprise you to learn that not every article we publish is read by hundreds of thousands of discerning punters. Here are 10 reads from this year that we think warranted more click-love. Tomorrow we publish the top 10 most-read posts of 2020. Today, as a curtain-raiser, we turn our attention to the stories … Read more
The pandemic put unbearable pressure on New Zealand’s media this year, but also saw it gain larger and more engaged audiences than ever before. Duncan Greive wraps his head around what it all means. Subscribe and listen via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or via your favourite podcast provider. For the final 2020 episode of my media podcast … Read more
Did a group of plucky young New Zealanders really save the Pacific from nuclear testing with some boats, bravery and beer? Not quite, write Sylvia Frain and Rebecca H. Hogue. Who doesn’t love a beautifully made commercial that makes us feel good about New Zealand and our place in the world? The latest in this … Read more
If you love The Spinoff and are an experienced developer, we want to hear from you. The Spinoff is looking for an intermediate developer to join us in our Morningside, Auckland office to take ownership and responsibility for the development of the full Spinoff site. This includes writing extensible and robust full stack code in … Read more
Move over Simone Anderson, Clarke Gayford has put away his fishing rod and replaced it with his phone… and a sheep? Stewart Sowman-Lund explains. The world of sponsored content is murky at the best of times and downright insane at the worst, with smiling influencers selling everything from teeth whitening kits to Covid-19 conspiracies. Thankfully, … Read more
The extraordinary adventure that is Australia’s attempt to make Facebook and Google pay for news has reached its climax, writes Hal Crawford, and it’s still possible the world’s smallest continent will end up with one of the world’s worst internet experiences as a result: no Google search and no news on Facebook. The “News Media … Read more
With venues slow to pick up Spark Sport, New Zealand cricket fans might have trouble finding places showing the games. Alex Braae reports. For decades, any sports bar worth the name will have had a Sky Sports subscription. Long hazy days at the pub could be spent watching a test match slowly unfold, punctuated by … Read more
We’re selling original art from some of New Zealand’s top artists and illustrators to raise money for a great cause. Browse the artwork and other merch at The Spinoff Shop now. Two artists. Two drawings. One good long conversation. It was a simple idea, and one we were lucky enough to get to make into … Read more
The outgoing director of grassroots community campaigning organisation ActionStation joins Duncan Greive to talk about a busy, and effective, few years in the job. ActionStation was formed in 2014, but it feels like it’s been around much longer than that. The independent, crowdfunded community organisation has led a number of highly visible and successful campaigns … Read more
Stuff’s Pou Tiaki editor Carmen Parahi rallied her troops for what would become the ‘Our Truth, Tā Mātou Pono’ project on a Saturday, and pitched the idea to Stuff’s CEO the very next day. She tells Leonie Hayden about what happened next. On Monday the media-consuming public awoke to a surprise from Stuff, whose comments … Read more
Welcome to Papercuts, the podcast all about books! Sit back, relax and let Jenna, Kiran and Louisa tempt you with the best new titles to add to your book stack. The gang are back with their usual witches’ brew of book news, insightful book reviews and discussions, not-book reviews and their dangerously teetering TBR piles. … Read more
NZ Rugby is in a fascinating situation at the moment, with some big calls to be made over the coming years. The man in charge of making them joins Duncan Greive on this week’s episode of The Fold. Mark Robinson probably has one of the most complex jobs in the country. As CEO of NZ … Read more
The documentary has become the defining art form of the Covid era, writes the director of the first film made in New Zealand since the pandemic began. I’ve flirted with telling the story of our Rakino Island neighbour Colin McLaren for a dozen years. His story has always intrigued me – once part of the … Read more
Another week, another scandal hits a lowly ex-reality TV idiot. But what of those who rush in to defend Pete Evans, and people like him? Emily Writes outlines the tried and true formula. Welcome to the first ever guide to defending D-grade celebrities who share Nazi imagery online. Before we start, you might be wondering … Read more
Why the news media will miss the Trump presidency – and how the New Zealand leader’s use of social media bears a passing resemblance to Trump’s. Many journalists and the companies that employ them are going to miss President Donald Trump more than they realise. The Trump news tornado has arguably saved some of the … Read more
A new social media platform that keeps censorship to a bare minimum has taken off in the wake of Donald Trump’s election loss. So what is this thing? You’ve quite possibly never heard of Parler, the new app taking the free speech world by storm. But in the United States it’s top of the app … Read more
No Filter, a superb new book chronicling Instagram’s rise, reveals more about the pathology of Mark Zuckerberg than anything else, writes Duncan Greive. As with many of the tech companies that went on to blithely mess with society, at first there was nothing but starry-eyed idealism. Instagram founder Kevin Systrom was an aesthete, moved by … Read more
Which side spent more and why? Jihee Junn crunches the numbers and finds a few misleading claims along the way. Ahead of election day, a handful of interest groups took to Facebook and Google to lobby for their respective views on the assisted dying and cannabis referendums. In the end, New Zealanders voted decisively for … Read more
Journalist Bernard Hickey joins host Duncan Greive for a wide-ranging chat about the challenges faced by New Zealand media and why he’s launched a new subscription-only daily email. Working at the intersection of politics and economics, Bernard Hickey is one of the most interesting and unique journalists in New Zealand today. As you’ll hear in … Read more
After receiving a damning screen-time report, Alice Webb-Liddall gave up on social media for two weeks and discovered more than just a few more hours in her day. I was home sick from work two weeks ago when I encountered a shameful problem I didn’t realise I had. Swiping right on my home screen, I … Read more
From antitrust suits to restrictive new laws, the world’s digital behemoths are in hot water. So who’s on the naughty list and why? Hal Crawford explains. All around the world, governments are moving against big tech companies. The US government last week filed a suit against Google in an era-defining antitrust case. The European Union, … Read more
Out of an office on Queen Street, the film buffs’ social network Letterboxd has thrown the rules out the window, attracting a young, progressive global base of users redefining what ‘good’ and ‘bad’ film is. New Zealand’s back in level one, and cinemas are back in action. Ish. Productions around the globe have locked down … Read more
The writer of the acclaimed new Rose Matafeo comedy tells Sam Brooks how her own experiences as an expectant mother inspired the script. When writer-actress Sophie Henderson first started trying to become pregnant with her husband, director and actor Curtis Vowell, she didn’t expect it to happen so fast. She probably also didn’t expect that … Read more
It’s normal to feature two different perspectives discussing a major US political set piece. Yet this morning RNZ’s flagship Morning Report hosted two unabashed Trump acolytes ahead of the final debate. At 2pm New Zealand time, the final debate between president Donald Trump and his challenger, Joe Biden, takes place in Nashville, Tennessee. It’s Trump’s … Read more
From winning two world cups with the Black Ferns to heading up TVNZ’s sports and events department, Melodie Robinson’s career has been one full of remarkable firsts. She joins host Duncan Greive to talk about it on this week’s episode of The Fold. When the Ministry of Education decided to start a children’s educational channel … Read more
The comedian stars opposite Matthew Lewis, the artist formerly known as Neville Longbottom, in a charming new New Zealand comedy about a pregnant woman completely losing her shit. Recently I watched all of series one of Duchess, the Netflix vehicle of comedian Katherine Ryan, based on her life as an unconventional single mother. I’m a … Read more
Your essential guide to following election night with your eyes and ears, on TV, radio and online, plus where to watch and listen to Sunday’s bumper crop of post-election analysis. Don’t forget to keep your second screen tuned to The Spinoff, where we’ll have rolling coverage kicking off as soon as polls close on Saturday. … Read more
The Spinoff’s new(ish) political editor Justin Giovannetti joins Duncan Greive to share his impressions from a hectic first six months on the job – and in New Zealand. When Justin Giovannetti interviewed for the job of political editor at The Spinoff, from Canada, the world was quite a different place. In the time it took … Read more
Former Woman’s Day and NZ Woman’s Weekly editor Sido Kitchin joins The Fold’s Duncan Greive to talk about starting School Road Publishing and launching a whole new stable of magazines following the collapse of Bauer Media. Sido Kitchin loves telling New Zealand women’s stories. An important figure in the magazine industry, she edited Woman’s Day … Read more