For too long, fashion magazines have been trading on a hyper-glossy, hyper-produced idea of aspiration – one that particularly jars in the current climate, writes Zoe Walker Ahwa for Ensemble. We need more glamour. A style mantra for some, and an apt conclusion in the eulogy of my career as the editor of New Zealand’s … Read more
With the collapse of Bauer NZ resulting in Australian magazines flooding our shelves, Wendyl Nissen looks back at her battle to get homegrown content given the star billing it deserved. Thanks to some hard-fought battles 30 years ago, New Zealand women have been enjoying their own version of Woman’s Day and Australian Women’s Weekly (AWW) … Read more
In recent weeks, several American editors have been exposed for their toxic work practices. For a New Zealand journalist who spent a decade ensconced in this deeply dysfunctional culture, their day of reckoning comes not a moment too soon. The worst behaviour I ever saw from a grown man was at The New York Post. … Read more
Until the sudden closure of Bauer Media in April, Simon Farrell-Green was the editor of HOME, New Zealand’s oldest architecture magazine. Here he explains what comes next. Being the editor of a major architecture magazine was the best job I ever had. I got it in 2016, after a career spent between Metro and freelancing … Read more
One month ago Bauer closed all its New Zealand mags, including Woman’s Day. This week a new issue of Woman’s Day went on the shelves. What’s going on? After a five-week absence, a major women’s magazine produced by Bauer has returned to New Zealand supermarkets and subscribers’ letterboxes. At first glance, it appears to be … Read more
Thousands of magazine subscribers are out of pocket following the closure of the New Zealand arm of the Bauer publishing empire. Cat MacLennan is one of them, and she has a message for the company’s German chief executive and majority owner, Yvonne Bauer. Tēnā koe Ms Bauer, I am one of your magazine subscribers in … Read more
Internal memos from NZ’s biggest magazine company, which announced its sudden closure yesterday, state they were lobbying to change a ban on publication. But the minister responsible, Kris Faafoi, has doubled down on rejecting that position, calling those internal communications ‘contradictory’ to what they said to him directly. Updated with comment from Bauer at the foot. … Read more
Today came the shocking news that Bauer Media is closing its New Zealand operation, with the loss of scores of jobs. Bauer was the publisher of most of NZ’s magazines, among them Metro, Woman’s Day, North & South, Next, Home, the Listener, Kia Ora and the NZ Women’s Weekly. Here readers, writers and former staff … Read more
The Covid-19 crisis in media has claimed NZ’s biggest magazine publisher, Bauer Media, but the government says it didn’t seek help through its business assistance initiatives. Bauer Media NZ is closing its doors permanently and with immediate effect due to the severe economic impact of Covid-19, staff have been told via a Zoom meeting this … Read more
Just a tiny handful of print publications will continue through the lockdown, with only daily newspapers specifically identified as being able to continue. Duncan Greive spoke to publishers of magazines and community newspapers about the impact on them and their communities. Publishers of magazines and community newspapers are reeling, after a ruling from their regulators … Read more
The top-selling food magazine in New Zealand is closing its print operation. Niki Bezzant, Healthy Food Guide‘s former editor, reflects on the challenges the title faced. The news that after 14 years and 176 issues Healthy Food Guide magazine is closing its print operation came as a shock to some. It certainly was a shock … Read more
Otago University’s student magazine Critic Te Arohi has had a stellar couple of years, producing bold, disruptive journalism that delights in poking authority with a large stick. Respective editors have taken the same approach to their covers, producing a number of anarchic images designed to provoke and titillate (with great success). As anyone in magazine … Read more
‘A girl’s best friend’ was Creme magazine’s tagline, and for many girls growing up in New Zealand in the early 2000s, that was absolutely true. Five years after Creme shuttered, Amanda Robinson looks back at a teen phenomenon. When I think of Creme magazine I think of grocery shopping at the Foodtown in Glenfield Mall, … Read more
Longtime fan Nik Dirga pays tribute to the magazine that weaponised satire before the internet. Last week, news broke that Mad magazine – warping young minds ever since 1952 – would stop publishing original content. It will reportedly switch to just reprint material later this year, and then likely end regular publication entirely soon after … Read more
Here come the brides! Together Journal’s latest cover features a same-sex couple in what might just be a mainstream wedding world first, reports Maria Slade. A New Zealand-based magazine believes it’s the first mainstream wedding publication to feature a same-sex couple on the cover. Together Journal is a quarterly magazine founded by Kiwi businesswoman Greta Kenyon … Read more
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
In January National Geographic, the venerable publication of geography, history and culture, achieved a milestone: the Gender Revolution special issue marked the first time a transgender person had featured on its cover. Adrian Hatwell talks to the photographer behind the cover, New Zealander Robin Hammond. When National Geographic‘s January 2017 issue went on sale late … Read more
The June issue of North & South featured a cover story as old as time: ‘what the hell is wrong with millennials’? Two millennials had a read and What They Found Inside Will Shock You. First published June 16, 2016. The latest issue of North & South has done the unthinkable, and found a non-millennial … Read more
On Wednesday, Simon Wilson said goodbye to Metro, where he had worked for nine years, five as editor, and to the magazine’s publisher Bauer Media, which last month made him redundant. This was his farewell speech. “They all laughed at Christopher Columbus, when he said the world was round. They all laughed when Edison recorded … Read more