Intern stage manager Janaye Henry just had her first big gig running today’s alert level change announcement. Here’s how she went guiding Jacinda Ardern and Dr Ashley Bloomfield through the briefing.
In this episode of The Spinoff’s media podcast The Fold, Duncan Greive is joined by New Zealander Hamish McKenzie, co-founder of Substack, to talk about a new era of publishing and Elon Musk. For years, the media landscape has been filled with publications making money by selling ad space. While that model has proved itself … Read more
In the wake of the latest round of flagrant racism, some believe it’s time the format was completely written off. Alex Braae argues that talkback has so much more to give than audiences are currently getting. If you think talkback radio in New Zealand is only ever an unremitting stream of bigotry and outrage, you’ve … Read more
Summer reissue: The Fold’s very first guest is back to tell Duncan Greive how she pulled off the media deal of the year. The chaotic couple of weeks which finally saw the end of the Stuff-NZME saga were riveting and strange, replete with stock exchange announcements, legal challenges and finally the acquisition of New Zealand’s … Read more
Summer reissue: The associate editor of The Indian News joins host Duncan Greive to discuss his belief that New Zealand’s media ignores the quarter of our population not born here – and why both parties lose as a result. First published July 31, 2020. Independent journalism depends on you. Help us stay curious in 2021. … Read more
Summer reissue: As the American media giant comes under fire for its treatment of POC contributors, it’s time to talk about the whiteness of food media in Aotearoa, say Jean Teng and Charlotte Muru-Lanning. First published June 13 2020 A wave of consciousness around racism is sweeping the globe at the moment. Protests that started … Read more
Last year Al Jazeera news anchor Kamahl Santamaria wrote one of our most read stories, reflecting on a tumultuous 2019 for Aotearoa, as observed from the other side of the world. Here he shares his thoughts on how the world saw his homeland throughout another huge year. I wrote a piece like this at the … Read more
As the amount of time we spend online continues to increase, so too does the possibility we’ll be exposed to scams, hacks and data leaks. But do we really understand the risks, or how we can avoid them? You probably have a mental image of who falls victim to cyber-crime. And it’s probably wrong. In … Read more
After years of losses and months of speculation, Three has finally been sold. We speak to the MediaWorks CEO, and its broadcast operations’ new owner Discovery, about their plans for the channel. This morning, the long-rumoured acquisition of MediaWorks’ broadcast operations (mainly Three, along with some extras) was formally announced, with US cable TV monster … Read more
Four New Zealand food writers share their thoughts on being non-white in a very white industry – and suggest what they think needs to change. Recently, The Spinoff published a piece by Jean Teng and Charlotte Muru-Lanning about the lack of diversity in New Zealand’s food media scene. It provoked much discussion among those in … Read more
The associate editor of The Indian News joins host Duncan Greive to discuss his belief that New Zealand’s media ignores the quarter of our population not born here – and why both parties lose as a result. I first met Gaurav Sharma in the aftermath of March 15. New Zealand and the world has gone … Read more
The Fold’s very first guest is back to tell Duncan Greive how she pulled off the media deal of the year. It will justifiably be lost in the tumult of Covid-19, but the chaotic couple of weeks which finally saw the end of the Stuff-NZME saga were riveting and strange, replete with stock exchange announcements, … 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
As the American media giant comes under fire for its treatment of POC contributors, it’s time to talk about the whiteness of food media in Aotearoa, say Jean Teng and Charlotte Muru-Lanning. A wave of consciousness around racism is sweeping the globe at the moment. Protests that started in response to the death of George … Read more
He started as a journalist, became a producer, and is now one of NZ’s most successful TV creators. Bailey Mackey joins Duncan Greive on The Fold. This month’s episode of The Fold, The Spinoff’s media podcast, features host Duncan Greive in conversation with Bailey Mackey, a TV producer with one of the most interesting CVs … Read more
With the lion’s share of the spend going to support broadcasters, newspaper operators are likely to be ‘aghast’, says media analyst Gavin Ellis. The first round of a rescue package for New Zealand media has been announced, following government promises to “triage” its support measures for an industry in crisis. The majority of the funding … Read more
For all The Spinoff’s latest coverage of Covid-19 see here. Read Siouxsie Wiles’s work here. New Zealand is currently in alert level four. The country is shut down, apart from essential services. For updated official government advice, see here. The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is funded by The Spinoff Members. To support this work, join The Spinoff Members here. On … Read more
The shock closure of Bauer NZ – and with it all of the country’s current affairs magazines – is a stark reminder of the fragile state of local media, writes Mel Bunce, the author of a book on the subject. It is a dark week for journalism in New Zealand, with the surprise announcement that … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Media reels after horror week, Wellington Council facing massive budget crunch, and highest single day of new Covid-19 cases. It had always been clear that this was going to be a difficult time for the media, with the Covid-19 downturn hitting already battered budgets. But could … Read more
Social media giant Facebook has banned a large number of trusted media outlets for posting ‘inappropriate content’. See update at the foot. The Spinoff has seen all current Facebook links removed from feeds, tagged as ‘inappropriate content’ or violating ‘community standards’, at the height of the Covid-19 epidemic. This appears to be impacting news organisations worldwide, … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: New guidelines on gatherings and social distancing announced, OCR slashed ahead of fiscal stimulus, and Air NZ facing crushing losses. Gatherings of 500 or more people have been banned in the latest round of measures aimed at preventing the spread of Covid-19. It has meant the … Read more
The Spinoff editor Toby Manhire joins Duncan Greive to discuss the RNZ Concert saga, the potential merger with TVNZ and Winston Peters’ new photography hobby on this month’s episode of The Fold. Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, RSS or via your favourite podcast provider.
JP Pomare is a Kiwi living in Melbourne, and a stingingly great writer. His new thriller In the Clearing is set in the Australian bush, with fire forever licking the horizon. We asked him to tell us about the view from over there. 1 Notes on burning When my family read my new novel In The … Read more
In the wake of the shocking revelations about Three, Duncan Greive assesses the health of New Zealand’s six big media companies. This story was first published on 20 October, 2019. Winston Peters has studied the cold, pitiless heart of a certain strand of New Zealander for four decades now, and has become our foremost expert … Read more
It’s the most wonderful time of the year, unless you’re a journalist, in which case Christmas is just another day. So what’s the vibe like in newsrooms on Christmas Day? And why can’t journalists just take the day off? First published on 25 December 2018 A state highway is blocked after a car crash. There’s … 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
Commercial media, a business that requires public trust and goodwill, is in a tough financial position right now. Gaurav Sharma says that’s in part because of its poor job of reaching immigrant communities, in the first of a new monthly column for The Spinoff. Let’s start with a test, about references to Indian people in … Read more
Where do we watch content, what do we want from it, and how do we view New Zealand news? Here’s what we learned from NZ On Air’s latest survey on identity, culture and the media. We still like to watch free-to-view TV Despite the lingering doom and gloom around linear television, almost three-quarters of respondents … Read more
While researching NZ on Air for a recent history, Duncan Greive noticed a shocking 30 year trend. News broke over the weekend that Love Island NZ, Three’s biggest announcement of the year, will now not screen in 2019, and realistically is unlikely to be made at all now. The fall of a much-discussed, much-critiqued reality TV … Read more