The life and death of Wellington’s SXSW

Summer reissue: The $800 per ticket, council-funded festival of ‘creative collisions’ has been cancelled and the company behind it has gone bust. Alex Casey reports. This story was first published on 17 June, 2019. The first problem was that nobody knew how to say it. Without any discernible vowels, pronouncing WLG-X, the name of a … Read more

The Bulletin: Key rolls back the years with presser performance

Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Sir John Key fronts up over bank boss departure, social workers defend Oranga Tamariki actions, and major proposed Wellington festival falls over. Anyone who watched politics over the last decade will have got used to press conferences fronted by Sir John Key. The blithe reassurances, repeated use … Read more

The life and death of Wellington’s SXSW

The $800 per ticket, council-funded festival of ‘creative collisions’ has been cancelled and the company behind it has gone bust. Alex Casey reports. The first problem was that nobody knew how to say it. Without any discernible vowels, pronouncing WLG-X, the name of a five day festival of “creative collisions” planned for September of this … Read more