The Spinoff has just launched a brand new series called Behind the Story, where site editor Madeleine Chapman sits down with a staff writer or contributor to gain more insight about a big story on The Spinoff from the week. We thought you might like to check out the first episode, and if you enjoy it please follow it wherever you get your podcasts!

On Friday, Bulletin editor Anna Rawhiti-Connell sent her final newsletter, and took the opportunity to share what she’s learned about the news over two years of curating it for thousands of New Zealanders. Earlier in the week, she’d seen reports of Auckland dog owners discarding their pets’ turds on the ground after Auckland Council removed bins across the city.

And so, the column “If you love a dog, you must also love disposing of its shit” was born. Anna joins Madeleine Chapman to talk about the power journalists have when framing a story and how to find the middle ground between boring and sensational.

For The Spinoff editor’s thoughts on the week that was, as well as a handpicked collection of the week’s best reads, subscribe to The Weekend with Madeleine Chapman newsletter at thespinoff.co.nz/newsletters 

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After a series of scattered media appearances, and a concerning lack of any real plan to respond to the collapses in news media, Melissa Lee has been ousted in favour of a more senior and more wonkish minister in Paul Goldsmith. The Spinoff’s editor-at-large Toby Manhire joins Duncan Greive on The Fold to talk about the shock firing, and what it might portend for the small but fairly explosive media portfolio.

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Just six days after WBD confirmed the end of Newshub, news broke that Stuff would take over delivery of the 6pm bulletin from July 6th. It's a huge deal, which could vault Stuff to video stardom, or become a huge pain and distraction. Duncan Greive analyses the spiralling implications of what will prove a major sliding doors moment in New Zealand's recent news media history.

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It's been a bleak start to the year for journalism – but it's worth dwelling on where growth and innovation is still happening. Madison Reidy is just 28, but has already worked at three news organisations and an investment bank. She joins Duncan Greive on The Fold to talk about 100 episodes of Markets with Madison – and one very challenging and viral interview with Reserve Bank governor Adrian Orr.

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Over the last 30 hours TVNZ and Warner Bros. Discovery have confirmed the closure of some of our most significant news and current affairs programming including Sunday, two 1News bulletins and the total loss of Newshub. Hundreds of journalists will be out of jobs and with nowhere to go, it will be increasingly difficult for New Zealanders to access quality news and the ripples of these closures mean there are more dark days to come. Duncan Greive reacts to the week's devastating closures, asking how is it we are all just sitting here letting this pillar of democracy cave in?

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There's an idea so pervasive that it almost doesn't get questioned in media: that media agencies – the people who place ads on behalf of most big advertisers – are largely staffed by 25-year-olds who only consume social media. There is some truth to that – but it's more complicated than it appears. Alex Radford and Richard Thompson run an independent media agency named D3, and join Duncan Greive to break down how media buying works, and the ways the search and social giants' products eat budgets – including a revealing view into the black box that is the Google ad tech stack.

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Rachel House might be just shy of a household name, but is definitely one of our most acclaimed and accomplished actresses, with key roles on what amounts to a role call of New Zealand's greatest films: Whale Rider, Boy, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, Cousins and more. She's just directed her debut feature in The Mountain, and joins Duncan Greive on The Fold at the very end of a lengthy promotional tour for a very funny and very exhausted conversation about the experience.

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Jane Ormsby's Scroll Media is a technology and sales solution for smaller publishers which often miss out on the huge advertising spends which go mainly to Google, Meta and a few large local entities. She joins Duncan Greive on The Fold to talk about Scroll Media's plan to get the likes of Rolling Stone NZ and Newsroom on more radars.

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The creative relationship between director Lee Tamahori and producer Robin Scholes spans 30 years, including heavyweight features such as Once Were Warriors, Mahana and now critically acclaimed new release The Convert. They join Duncan Greive to discuss the unintentional political resonance of their new film and the financial challenges facing film productions in NZ.

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David Owen, Research and Insights director at nationwide out-of-home media group oOh!media and Tori Colebourne, CMO at Black Pearl Group, an NZX listed SAAS / cloud business join Duncan Greive on The Fold to talk about the role of data in media and communications decision-making in 2024 and beyond.

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Duncan addresses the shock news out of TVNZ, that current affairs powerhouse Sunday, Fair Go and two news bulletins are ending, with grave fears for Re: News.

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