Former head of Newshub Hal Crawford surveys Australian media, and finds it significantly changed in less than four years. I have a strange relationship with Australian media. In some ways I’m an insider: I’ve worked in the industry for 25 years, I know people from most major companies, and I have a lot of affection … Read more
The man who led the All Blacks to victory in the first World Cup went on to become a Rhodes scholar, political operator and business leader. Today he’s worried about tribalism and the Trumpian tendency to vilification. He sits down with Spinoff business editor Maria Slade in Sydney. Rugby legend, Rhodes scholar, business leader and … Read more
Looking back on 10 years which saw New Zealand’s media transform from a position of near-limitless power and influence to the deeply humbled reality of today. At the end of 2009 I had resigned from my first good job, convinced that print media was finished. The good job was as editor of Real Groove, a … Read more
Stuff has confirmed that 16 reporter and three news director jobs could be made redundant in community papers. And that’s terrible news, former Rodney Times editor Rhonwyn Newson writes for Newshub. When I was a child my mum would occasionally pop into our local newspaper’s newsroom and drop off a photo of my brother’s water-polo … Read more
Public media in New Zealand would be better served by pumping money into institutions that already exist, rather than inventing a new TV station, argues Alex Braae. The ANZ branch in Taumarunui is closing down. I know that from reading it on the front page of the Ruapehu Press, picked up at a petrol station. … Read more
Two witches at The Spinoff respond to Al Nisbet’s terrible cartoon this morning, one which is not only confused about the meaning of ‘witch hunt’ but could also work to silence women emboldened by #MeToo. What in the name of Anjelica Houston’s wig is this?! Look, we honestly don’t know. We’ve tried burning it at … Read more
Redactions which disappeared due to a technical glitch point to a standoff which pits NZ on Air and the big private media companies against RNZ. The stakes? A huge funding boost which could shape the future of our media. A standoff is brewing between RNZ and NZ on Air over who will control the annual … Read more
Following that Waikato Times column about blokes suffering from women’s periods (comprehensively rebutted here) Michele A’Court generously proffers some empathy advice for men. This post was first published April 27, 2017. Hey Tom O’Connor, I think you’re doing “empathy” wrong. You’re doing that thing where, instead of imagining what it is like to experience something, you just describe … Read more
Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand, with the interview available as both audio and a transcribed excerpt. Big news this week, with Fairfax NZ, one of the largest and … 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
On Thursday the Dominion Post published a story critical of the fees the Wellington City Council charged Lions fans to park camper vans in the city. A few hours later the Council gave back double. Duncan Greive reports on a brawl in the capital. Variations on the phrase “never argue with anyone who buys ink by … Read more
We reproduce in full and with permission the email Fairfax’s central region editor Bernadette Courtney sent to the Wellington City Council’s Kevin Lavery yesterday, in response to the WCC’s disputing the Dominion Post’s coverage of a campervan story. Dear Kevin, I am disappointed that I have to write to you to voice my concerns about … Read more
Every time the radio survey results come out we get the same amazing news: everyone killed it! Duncan Greive reads the press releases and tries to figure out what’s really going on. EVERY NZME STATION INCREASES LISTENERS MEDIAWORKS RADIO REMAINS THE NUMBER ONE RADIO NETWORK IN NEW ZEALAND WITH ITS LARGEST EVER REACH Record Audiences … Read more
The Commerce Commission was right to reject a bid by NZME-Fairfax that would have created a dominance unprecedented in a western democracy, and now the paywalls need to go up, writes Peter Griffin The Commerce Commission’s rejection of a plan for our two biggest media companies to merge is one of the most significant determinations from the regulator … Read more
The challenge for anyone, politicians especially, who opposed the idea of a Fairfax-NZME merger on high principle is to find a practical solution as news media go deeper into the storm, writes Toby Manhire The Commerce Commission would make a rubbish journalist. Not only did it fail repeatedly to meet its own deadlines in issuing a … Read more
Following that Waikato Times column about blokes suffering from women’s periods (comprehensively rebutted here) Michele A’Court generously proffers some empathy advice for men. Hey Tom O’Connor, I think you’re doing “empathy” wrong. You’re doing that thing where, instead of imagining what it is like to experience something, you just describe what it is like for you to know … Read more
Last week plans for a new news-based site, run by Mark Jennings and Tim Murphy, thudded prematurely into public view. What are the former mainstream news chiefs’ plans for the venture, could they have done more to stop the crisis they now hope to remedy, and can they sign up John Campbell to cover the … Read more
Sure, you could read every submission to the Commerce Commission on the proposed merger of NZME and Fairfax, but time is money and your social media-addled attention span is short. Henry Oliver understands, and is here to help. Yesterday, the Commerce Commission published the public versions of the submissions received in response to its draft … Read more
The Commerce Commission has rejected the NZME-Fairfax merger in a bold draft decision that plays down forecasts of digital doom. Is there any way back from here, asks former Herald editor-in-chief Tim Murphy. An early disclaimer: I merrily predicted on Day One and again as late as yesterday that the Fairfax-NZME merger would be approved … Read more
Hayden Donnell recently speculated on the meaning of a leaked internal memo from Stuff.co.nz. Today the site’s editor Patrick Crewdson tells him why he’s not really a slave to Mark Zuckerberg. Before I begin, here’s a haphazard, non-complete listicle of great journalism being carried out in mainstream New Zealand commercial media. 1. Everything by Stuff … Read more
A top-level Fairfax memo has somehow found its way into the hands of youth web tool The Spinoff. We picked it apart for clues as to the future of journalism. About a week ago, we received an email originally sent out to editorial staff at Stuff.co.nz. It was filled with intrigue, Facebook, slightly concerning editorial policy, … Read more
Former Herald editor-in-chief Tim Murphy has now read the 130-page media mega-merger application to the Commerce Commission three times. Here he examines the central argument, along with the long bows, flying pigs, and echoes of Napoleon. They must have smiled at times in the flash headquarters of NZME and the “character” K Rd digs of … Read more
Think media celebs are spoilt rotten? They are, confesses Jesse Mulligan – right up until the day they say goodbye. Hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders will watch Hilary Barry deliver her final bulletin on TV3 this Friday night, but the real tragedy is that only dozens will get to attend the party afterwards when … Read more
Opinion: The marriage of Fairfax NZ and NZME may make sense in commercial terms, but it’s bad for depth, diversity and democracy, writes Paul Brislen If you want to know about a burning platform that’s forcing change, talk to a journalist. “Do 10% more with 10% less” has become the new strategy. And that’s in … Read more
Amid reports of NZME and Fairfax NZ being carved off from their Australian owners, former Herald editor-in-chief Tim Murphy considers the prospects for a merger between NZ’s two big newspaper groups DitchMe. AbandonMe. MarryMe off to Fairfax. The Australian owner of the New Zealand Herald and NewstalkZB and a clutch of lesser radio stations, websites … Read more
The Spinoff was attacked by a crosstown media rival. In response, The Spinoff Editorial Board convened for an extraordinary crisis meeting to produce a ruling on the aggressor, Mark Reason. On Monday, The Spinoff published a story headlined ‘Men in business class, women in economy: A tale of two T20 World Cups’. Mark Reason, a man employed by Fairfax Media … Read more