Alex Casey is a human adult woman who reads the news. Every week she’ll report back on what she sees. This week, the last before she goes the hell away from our news-sites for a few weeks: tennis brides, the pro-heckling movement and endless ‘everything makes you fat and dead’ stories about food. Read previous editions of this uplifting … Read more
The fourteenth episode of our weekly pop music chat for umusic, shot and edited by The Spinoff’s own José Barbosa. It involves two pop rookies – The Spinoff’s Alex Casey and bFM’s Joseph Harper – listening to state-of-the-art pop music and having a chat about it. Simple. This week the two talk about Taylor Swift, … Read more
From Caitlyn Jenner’s internet-breaking news, to Maura Pfefferman, the transitioning matriarch of Transparent, transgender issues were everywhere in 2015. But, asks transgender activist and academic Lexie Matheson, how much has really been achieved? It’s interesting that one of the Words of the Year for 2015 is ‘transgender’. Helen Newstead at Collins Dictionary told us “Collins … Read more
Duncan Greive interviews David Dallas about his furious new single ‘Don’t Rate That’. David Dallas might have the most consistent trajectory in New Zealand hip hop. He’d established an instantly familiar style, and spent his last couple of albums polishing it, crafting huge hooks and eyeing up the America. It worked out pretty well by him: he got … Read more
Jess McAllen writes about a recent story on mental health issues in the teaching profession – troubling, but not for the reasons its author thought. When I applied for a job at Fairfax in 2014 I was faced with the question that all people with mental health conditions dread. “Journalism can be a stressful environment,” … Read more
Naomi Arnold, editor and publisher of the brilliant Featured website, selects the 10 best non-fiction news features of 2015. Since Featured began nearly two years ago, we’ve been collecting the best New Zealand non-fiction writing, creating an online library where you’ll always find something good to read. Here’s a selection of some stories we’ve enjoyed … Read more
Alex Casey is a human adult woman who reads the news. Every week she’ll report back on what she sees. This week: men’s quotes, Crusher coverage and the real reason women should be grumpy. MONDAY Ah, a new week. The great thing about December is that you start to see end of year wrap ups, and get … Read more
The twelfth episode of our weekly pop music chat for umusic, shot and edited by The Spinoff’s own José Barbosa. It involves two pop rookies – The Spinoff’s Alex Casey and bFM’s Joseph Harper – listening to state-of-the-art pop music and having a chat about it. Simple. This week the two talk about recent artists … Read more
Earlier this week Massey University released their list of the quotes of the year. They were all by men. Alex Casey finds that a little odd. This week Massey University has released their list of contenders for 2015’s Quote of the Year, with competition organiser Dr Heather Kavan pointing out that 2015 has shown a … Read more
NZ On Air has released its 2015 annual report. José Barbosa pulls up some things to applaud and some things to question. Such is the current media environment the release of NZ On Air’s state-of-its-work report feels a bit like a message in bottle chucked into a chum bucket and fed to Jaws. The funding body … Read more
After yesterday’s grim news that 3D has been axed by Mark Weldon and MediaWorks, we thought back to a recent speech by one of the show’s journalists. Half a year and what feels like a lifetime ago – when Campbell Live and 3D were going concerns – Paula Penfold spoke to the Wintec Press Club about her team’s momentous work on the … Read more
TV3’s current affairs show 3D, which has existed in various guises since the channel’s founding in 1989, was shut down today. UPDATE: scroll down for statements from MediaWorks and the 3D team. The Spinoff has learned that staff at TV3’s flagship current affairs show 3D were today told that the show was officially cancelled and will not return … Read more
A new column: Alex Casey is a human adult woman who reads the news. Every week she’ll report back on what she sees. MONDAY It’s always a great start to the week when you get immediately smacked in the face with the harsh reality that you will not only get old and die, but that you will … Read more
His paper broke the story which led to the Cairns trial, and Jared Savage has covered it brilliantly throughout. Scotty Stevenson spoke with him after the verdict. Jared Savage spent nine weeks in London covering the Chris Cairns perjury trial for the New Zealand Herald. After the verdict was read, I talked to Savage over the phone about … Read more
Calum Henderson talks to the acclaimed recording artist and guest star of Master of None S01E03 about Aziz, stock photography, and who he’d face in the Fight For Life. The third episode of Aziz Ansari’s widely acclaimed Master of None largely revolves around a ‘secret show’ by an act called Father John Misty. Ansari’s character … Read more
In the latest in a series of interviews with key media personalities, Duncan Greive sits down with the head of the station known until recently as Radio New Zealand for a full and frank discussion about its place in our media. For most of the 2000s Radio New Zealand felt unmoored from the rest of … Read more
The twelfth episode of our weekly pop music chat for umusic, shot and edited by The Spinoff’s own José Barbosa. It involves two pop rookies – The Spinoff’s Alex Casey and bFM’s Joseph Harper – listening to state-of-the-art pop music and having a chat about it. Simple. This week the couch is overrun by Bieber … Read more
Mark Weldon, the embattled CEO of MediaWorks, has just been granted a contract extension by the company’s board, according to an email leaked to The Spinoff. In the email, written by MediaWorks chair Rod McGeoch, he describes recent media coverage of Weldon’s performance as “well beyond what any reasonable person would see as a justifiable reaction … Read more
The eleventh episode of our weekly pop music chat for umusic, shot and edited by The Spinoff’s own José Barbosa. It involves two pop rookies – The Spinoff’s Alex Casey and bFM’s Joseph Harper – listening to state-of-the-art pop music and having a chat about it. Simple. This week they are joined by Lawrence Arabia’s … Read more
Ben Stanley meets with Pulitzer Prize winning Southlander Peter Arnett – arguably the finest war correspondent ever – to talk about journalism and where it’s headed. This Q&A is taken from interviews associated with the cover story of Barkers’ 1972 magazine – the latest issue is in stores now. Despite the changing face of media, it … Read more
In a special edition of Jamboree, our weekly gossip column, four Spinoff cub reporters share their experiences of the Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards: José Barbosa From His Living Room: Alex Casey From the Truly Vile Livestream: “A limo’s pulling up, a limo’s pulling up,” Bella Henry exclaimed to her co-host Gwen Taylor “….it’s… Rachel…” A forced … Read more
MediaWorks launched gossip site Scout amid much fanfare just two months ago, yet today it appears to be hanging by a thread amid resignations and troubling news stories. Duncan Greive spoke with a number of former Scout staff members and MediaWorks employees, and was given access to a large cache of correspondence, recordings, data and other documentation to create … Read more
The tenth episode of our weekly pop music chat for umusic, shot and edited by The Spinoff’s own José Barbosa. It involves two pop rookies – The Spinoff’s Alex Casey and bFM’s Joseph Harper – listening to state-of-the-art pop music and having a chat about it. Simple. This week they discuss 5SOS’ ode to Duran Duran, … Read more
An occasional series commending excellent New Zealand reporting. This time: missing small town millions on Morning Report. Every week day I listen to Morning Report on Radio New Zealand – sorry, RNZ*. When I don’t, I feel vaguely uneasy – like I don’t quite know what’s going on in this country, and might be missing something of … Read more
The ninth episode of our weekly pop music chat for umusic, shot and edited by The Spinoff’s own José Barbosa. It involves two pop rookies – The Spinoff’s Alex Casey and bFM’s Joseph Harper – listening to state-of-the-art pop music and having a chat about it. Simple. This week they discuss Keyboard Cat’s addition to … Read more
The scene is the set of a craptastic public access TV channel. A woodwork demonstration with a table saw is underway as the cameras roll. The demonstrator is a gangly, seemingly spaced out man in white overalls; he’s being interviewed by a young guy with a mop of permed hair and glasses. Overalls says “There’s … Read more
The winners of New Zealand’s most prestigious media awards were announced yesterday at a bacchanalian feast in Hamilton. The annual Wintec Press Club awards were staged as part of the Wintec Press Club free lunch extravaganza, held on the banks of the Waikato River, featuring guest speaker and gun nut Heather du Plessis Allan. Journalists from … Read more
The eighth episode of our weekly pop music chat for umusic, shot and edited by The Spinoff’s own José Barbosa. It involves two pop rookies – The Spinoff’s Alex Casey and bFM’s Joseph Harper – listening to state-of-the-art pop music and having a chat about it. Simple. This week they are joined on the couch … Read more
TV presenter Sonia Gray hosted Miss Universe New Zealand over the weekend. Here she recounts for us her experience walking back in time to this magical and deeply strange world. Photography by Max Alawwad. It’s almost impossible to imagine now but, like smoking on airplanes and cheering for Chris Cairns, Miss Universe New Zealand used to be a real … Read more