As newsrooms push for their reporters and audiences to engage with each other on digital platforms, some women journalists say gendered harassment and abuse from media consumers has become an exhausting, and accepted, part of the job. Charlotte Graham investigates. I have worked in broadcast journalism for more than a decade, including in on-air roles, … Read more
Compiling the best reading from your friendly local website. Emily Writes: Putting to bed bad advice about infant and toddler sleep “Let me start by saying I’ve tried every single thing possible to get my children to sleep at night. Now, aged two and four – they mostly sleep. Usually for about five hours straight. Which … Read more
From small beginnings in January last year, the true crime podcast My Favorite Murder has grown into a worldwide phenomenon. Ahead of their Auckland show next week, Lucy Gable pays tribute to creators and hosts Georgia Hardstark and Karen Kilgariff, while Sam Brooks lobs them some questions. Imagine this; It’s a shitty, wet Saturday night and … Read more
As the most notorious figures in boxing and mixed martial arts collided in The Money Fight this weekend, Don Rowe sat down for a few beers with Israel Adesanya, a multi-sport veteran of almost 100 fights, to talk about fame, defeat and the realities of a sport centred around dishing out brain damage. Supported by Garage … Read more
Alex Casey spends a night at the New Zealand Social Media Awards, and meets both the influencers at the top of the food chain, and those trying desperately to climb the ladder. Joel Thomas took the photos. A sales rep for Mitsubishi Electric specialising in heat pumps and refrigeration, Tama was proudly sporting a t-shirt … Read more
For years now Sky has been the biggest force in New Zealand media, crushing everything in its path. But by ignoring digital it has found itself in a brutal squeeze between rising costs and shrinking revenue – all with thousands of customers poised to flee post-Lions tour. Duncan Greive asks if the end is now … Read more
Compiling the best reading from your friendly local website. Kiki Van Newtown: What it’s like to grow up poor in New Zealand “The thing about being poor is that nobody ever intends to end up that way. My family were always working class, but I was about seven when I realised we were actually poor, … Read more
Host of RNZ’s All Night programme for the last 13 years, Lloyd Scott talks New Zealand through the night for the last time this evening. Simon Day joined him for a shift to discuss his 53-year career at the public broadcaster, his mate Barry Crump and changes at RNZ. Three times a week my wife’s alarm goes … Read more
The All Blacks will be featured in an in-depth eight part documentary series for Amazon Prime. New Zealand Rugby CEO Steve Tew talks to Duncan Greive about what the partnership means for the brand – and for their relationship with Sky. US tech giant Amazon’s Prime video on demand service is well into production on an … Read more
On the eve of his appearance at a Victoria University event in Wellington, comic book author Fumio Obata talks to Guy Somerset about his ongoing project chronicling the aftermath of the Fukushima tsunami and nuclear disaster. At art school, Fumio Obata was taught the importance of “the theme, having something of your own, something only … Read more
A cautionary tale, by Paul Brislen. It started with an email from a colleague. Could I sign the attached form? I get this sort of email a lot; no two clients or providers use the same format so it was quite nice to see a link to an online service. I clicked on it. Almost … Read more
Compiling the best reading from your friendly local website. Toby Manhire: Jacinda Ardern and Kelvin Davis: why this is terrible for Labour, and why it is brilliant “At her first press conference as leader of the Labour Party, Jacinda Ardern has promised to run “the campaign of our lives”. She and new deputy Kelvin Davis, who … Read more
Decimated first by piracy and then by streaming, video stores are meant to have vanished. But some have survived, and their success signposts how they might thrive into the future, writes Aaron Yap. Nestled in the heart of Mt. Albert in Auckland is one of the last remaining Video Ezy stores in New Zealand. A … Read more
Most world leaders are content with typing their own name into Twitter, or coining new weird words. Not Helen Clark, who solves pub arguments and affirms her past deeds, writes Alex Casey. I’ll never forget the first time Helen Clark interacted with The Spinoff on Twitter. I think it was a fave, or maybe a … Read more
2016 saw the end of a 23 year career at TV3 for Hilary Barry, with her resignation also triggering the end of ex-Mediaworks CEO Mark Weldon’s reign of terror. A year on she’s happily ensconsed at TVNZ’s Breakfast, and sat down for a few beers with Duncan Greive to look back on her glittering career, that chaotic era and … Read more
We review the entire country and culture of New Zealand, one thing at a time. Today: In celebration of Thane and Dunc’s anniversary party – held tonight at an Auckland strip club – Emily Writes reviews The Rock’s website. Because usually she loves The Rock. My husband has listened to The Rock for as long … Read more
Noelle McCarthy and John Daniell talk about the challenges – eg Winston Peters – they confronted in creating their new series for RNZ, Slice of Heaven. There are few more vexatious issues than immigration. Particularly in the wake of recent political ruptures around the world. Particularly in an election year. In a new podcast for … Read more
Stuff today released Black Hands, their first podcast series, in which leading David Bain authority and occasionally-terrible column writer Martin van Beynen draws on ten years of experience following the case to outline exactly why he believes Bain is guilty of murdering his family. Don Rowe spoke to van Beynen about the killings, the difficulty of … Read more
Want us to do more investigative journalism? Now you can help make that happen, writes Duncan Greive. The Spinoff was founded as an experiment in magazine journalism. An attempt to figure out if there was a way to fund it online without the torrent of empty calorie content which has been the hallmark of many news … Read more
Over the weekend, US Ambassador Scott Brown had what he probably thought was an interview scheduled with Kim Hill. What actually ensued was a brilliantly shady media boxing match. Sam Brooks gives his play-by-play. My prevailing memory of Kim Hill is from something I once taped on One, back in the dark ages where you would … Read more
Compiling the best reading from your friendly local website. Lucy Kelly: I had an eating disorder, and To The Bone gets it almost completely wrong “Anorexia is not these gaunt girls looking like Kate Moss with dark eyeliner and baggy clothes; anorexia is not beautiful. It is not a phase, it’s not a diet gone too … Read more
Jodie Whittaker will play the 13th Doctor on Doctor Who. Here’s a quiz that uses the word doctor in its many forms. Having trouble viewing the quiz? Take it here. The Spinoff Media is sponsored by MBM, an award-winning strategic media agency specialising in digital, with vast experience across all channels. We deliver smart, tailored media … Read more
Our War for Auckland Veteran’s Association memorial mugs, complete with rare collector’s edition spelling mistake, are a covetable momento of last year’s War for Auckland campaign, and we have 10 of them up for grabs. Just complete our super-quick reader survey and you’re in the draw. Take the survey here. The Spinoff Media is sponsored … Read more
The new Netflix movie is a remarkably tone-deaf and insight-free depiction of anorexia nervosa, writes Lucy Kelly. Content warning: this article discusses anorexia and other eating disorders in detail, which may be triggering to sufferers and survivors. It was summer in 2011 and I lay in my bed and went through my ritual of checking … Read more
A TVNZ exec made headlines last week for calling Netflix a fad. But after another big budget failure, Duncan Greive asks if it’s time the state broadcaster tried to learn from the streaming giant, rather than embarrassing itself by dismissing it. Last week Andrew Shaw, TVNZ’s veteran deputy director of content, made headlines for describing … Read more
Compiling the best reading from your friendly local website. Harriet Gale: What the hell went wrong with Parnell Station? “[Parnell Station] will always be out of the way and down the hill, tucked away via a warren of dog-leg back alleys. It’s hard to find, physically hard to walk to and so deserted it’s a little … Read more
We review the entire country and culture of New Zealand, one thing at a time. Today, in this men-only post, we salute a man ad for a man house. This post is for men only. Ladies, please close the window. Move over, man cave. Get ready to swipe your man card for the mansion. The … Read more
Whether they’re sharing beauty tutorials or performing pratfalls for the camera, social media influencers tend to have one thing in common: they want us to buy things. In a video collaboration between Frame News, Wrestler and The Spinoff, we look at influencers, and the powerful marketing industry behind them. Almost as soon as we had … Read more
Compiling the best reading from your friendly local website. Carlene Newall de Jesus: When rugby brings out the worst “The level of inappropriateness was shocking. These were not catcalls, these were the sounds of lions preying on the vulnerable. Literally. Ninety percent of the harassment came from men wearing the recognisable red and white Lions … Read more