Don Rowe reviews Spin-Off, a knitting quarterly with easily as many polemics and features as The Spinoff – only with more staff. Reports of print’s demise are overstated – and I’ve got proof. It’s contained in the 104 pages of the Spin-Off quarterly, easily the best publication of its name and a giant Fuck You to the … Read more
The brilliant, barnstorming founding editor of Metro, Warwick Roger, has died aged 72. In this essay first published on the Spinoff in 2017, a memoir by American writer Richard Ford prompts Sir Bob Harvey to look back on his friendship with Roger and their shared love of Ford’s books. How does friendship happen? What glue does … Read more
You’re probably using the term clickbait wrongly, explains Alex Braae. A shocking abuse of language is taking place in media every day, and experts are completely lost on how to deal with it. One word has been so brutally abused, overused and mangled that it is now completely unrecognisable. Do you know this word? Click … 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
The Spinoff recently launched a free daily digest of the most important news from around New Zealand called The Bulletin, and it’s proving to be a big hit. Here’s why you should sign up. Nobody has an abundance of time any more. The idea of sitting down for a leisurely read of the paper every … Read more
Tomorrow, with the support of Vector, The Spinoff smashes a bottle across the bow of a new email newsletter rounding up the best and most important NZ news of the day. We think it will become an important part of your morning. For all the complaints about the state of journalism, the one you won’t … Read more
As 2017 draws to a close, we ask eminent guest columnist Ernest Penman to reflect on the year that was. When I cast my mind across the year 2017 I am transported immediately to that moment, L’éphanie. Allow me to explain. I gently adjusted my fedora as I mounted the undulating Kmart snake, lining up … Read more
Originally conceived to notify you of important breaking news, news alerts in New Zealand have morphed into something altogether stranger. David Farrier reports. I’ve been in America a lot this year and it’s felt like I’ve slowly been descending into madness. I’ve found myself in a dark place where each day I’m reminded that the … Read more
Climate change is the defining challenge of our times. The Spinoff is devoting a week of coverage to the issue, its advocates, complexities, and solutions. Today, five journalists discuss the intricacies and importance of covering climate change. Climate change is the biggest story on any editor’s newslist right now. Legendary environmentalist David Suzuki wants journalists to … Read more
All week this week the Spinoff Review of Books examines A Moral Truth, an important new book about investigative journalism in New Zealand. Today: the book is reviewed by John Campbell. In August, 1903, the New Zealand Herald published a series of articles by Hilda Rollett on “the slums of Auckland”. Greedy landlords, overcrowding, “diseases … 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
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
This media era is characterised as one of disastrous clickbait and diminishing journalistic standards. But Kirsty Johnston and the Herald’s new project Under the Bridge shows that passionate, paradigm-shifting investigative journalism is alive and well in New Zealand. Duncan Greive spoke to Johnston about creating journalism that matters. “I’m pretty much your classic young female … Read more
If the first week is anything to go by, the relationship between the Donald J Trump administration and the press will be anything but cosy. That’s excellent news for journalism, argues Paul Brislen. Day One of Trumpton got off to a rocky start with the new press secretary for The Donald taking to the podium … Read more
It’s been a long, lazy summer for many of our morning news outlets, which are finally set to return on Monday after a month off air. But who provided the best holiday cover for Hosking, Ferguson, Barry and the rest? Duncan Greive grades the breakfast news stand-ins. Thanks to the internet and aeroplanes and probably My … Read more
Fifty years ago, Peter Arnett became the first, and only, New Zealander to win the Pulitzer Prize, for his coverage of the Vietnam War. Ben Stanley met Arnett at his Los Angeles home – and learned about the silent season of our greatest newsman. First published March 22, 2016. Let me tell you a story … 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
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
Steve Braunias reviews a peculiar new book by a living legend of American journalism. This is the way the publishing career ends for one of the great innovators of literary journalism: not with a whimper, but a bang, the story blowing up in his face. American writer Gay Talese’s latest book – and maybe his … Read more
We’re launching our new media section with the first in a series looking at the state of US media by Yasmine Ryan, who is visiting newsrooms across the US under the auspices of the World Press Institute Media Fellowship. To kick off, a visit to Washington DC and the offices of The Washington Post and … Read more
What happened that morning in Parihaka on November 5, 1881? Te Whiti O Rongomai by Danny Keenan sets the scene for the armed invasion. The morning was cold for late spring, with moist air clinging to the sleeping villagers gathered together. Some were stirring, huddled under sodden blankets, listening for the sound of the troops. … Read more
New Zealand On Air has signalled a transformation of the way it funds media – the biggest such change in the public body’s 27-year history. What will the new approach look like? The draft funding strategy published this morning sets out the plan for a single, contestable media fund as part of NZ On Air’s … Read more
A celebrity interview can be a minefield, especially when it comes to the subjects deemed ‘off limits’ by publicists. Jesse Mulligan asked some fellow interviewers about the topics they were told never to bring up. In 1999, two years after the suicide death of lead singer Michael Hutchence, INXS announced an Australasian tour with 1970s … Read more
This is the final episode for this season of The Get. A new season will start in the near future. In the meantime if you have journalists and writers you’d like us to talk to send your suggestions to jose@thespinoff.co.nz. “It might be a week or even a couple of weeks where you’re on the … Read more
The Spinoff and Barkers are proud to present a new seven-part podcast series: The Get. Each week Canon award winning journalist Naomi Arnold will interview some of New Zealand’s best feature writers and news journalists about how they hunted down the biggest stories of their careers. “They are the stories I find endearing – mavericks, … Read more
When John Key flies out to Fiji today, one journalist who won’t be joining the delegation is old Pacific hand Michael Field, who is banned from entering the country. He explains how he got added to Bainimarama’s blacklist. I’ve a long history of being banned in the Pacific. The reason why I’m unable to join … Read more
Few of us can refrain from speculation when faced with a crime story like Making a Murderer and Serial – or Mark Lundy or David Bain. Elizabeth Beattie talks to New Zealand legal experts about the influence of social media on our most high profile trials. Had a conversation about Teresa Halbach’s RAV4 lately? What about Adnan … Read more
Fifty years ago, Peter Arnett became the first, and only, New Zealander to win the Pulitzer Prize, for his coverage of the Vietnam War. Ben Stanley met Arnett at his Los Angeles home – and learned about the silent season of our greatest newsman. First published in the summer 2015 issue of Barkers’ 1972 magazine. … Read more
Why was Conrad Smith always praised for his ‘intelligent’ play, while Ma’a Nonu was often branded an ‘imposing physical specimen’? Jamie Wall takes on racial stereotyping in the New Zealand rugby media. There’s an opening in the archetypes department of NZ rugby. No, not the bashful, camera-shy tight forward. Not even the first five who … Read more