Episodes

  • The deals that defined the year in local media – plus predictions for 2026

    The deals that defined the year in local media – plus predictions for 2026
    Nov 24 2025
    Last week we kicked off a new partnership with New Zealand's leading media agency, PHD, which will partner with The Spinoff and The Fold on a series of podcasts on the increasingly complex intersection of media, advertising and technology. We held a live event at The Spinoff in front of a room full of senior marketers, featuring Helen Brown (PHD Chief Investment Officer) and Rachel Bayfield (PHD Chief Technology & Innovation Officer), along with James Davidson, (PHD Chief Strategy and Planning Officer). We reviewed the year in local media, highlighted by a pair of major deals at Stuff and Sky, while surveying big changes in search and the continued strength of OOH and radio. Finally we cast ahead with some predictions for 2026. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    55 mins
  • Monopod: some stray takes on the 2025 NZ Screen Awards

    Monopod: some stray takes on the 2025 NZ Screen Awards
    Nov 24 2025
    Duncan Greive goes solo to deliver a quick response to the NZ Screen Awards, which fused film with television in a way which showed a lot of promise while also needing some serious tightening. There were big wins for The Convert, and a big beautiful crowd, but Tinā felt neglected and the randomised nature of the awards meant that energy came and went. The highlights more than justified the exercise – but a more streamlined and sequenced show should be the aim for 2026. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    19 mins
  • An explosive media week: scandals at the BBC and Meta – and Australia takes on big tech (again)

    An explosive media week: scandals at the BBC and Meta – and Australia takes on big tech (again)
    Nov 17 2025
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    53 mins
  • The story of a long, strange decade in media + has the BSA fixed trust in news?

    The story of a long, strange decade in media + has the BSA fixed trust in news?
    Nov 10 2025
    2025 sees the release of the latest in The Fold’s obsession: NZ on Air’s Where Are the Audiences research. This time the focus is on children’s media – the third time this subject has been assessed, following work in 2015 and 2020. It tells a story even more stark and challenging than that which comes out of the bigger grown-ups survey. The Spinoff’s head of audience Anna Rawhiti-Connell has dug into the report, and talks with Duncan Greive about its most interesting insights. Then they dig into a fascinating new piece of research from the Broadcasting Standards Authority on the often vexed issue of trust in news media – one which has fresh detail both on types of media consumed, and how trust actually works in this context. https://www.nzonair.govt.nz/news/where-are-the-audiences-childrens-media-use-report-2025/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    52 mins
  • Notes on an epic journalistic blunder – and succession planning at RNZ and TVNZ

    Notes on an epic journalistic blunder – and succession planning at RNZ and TVNZ
    Nov 3 2025
    The Spinoff editor-at-large Toby Manhire joins Duncan Greive this week to discuss a very unfortunate case of journalistic mistaken identity. Former Herald reporter Bevan Hurley had an explosive exclusive with former Bill de Blasio, in which the former New York mayor critiqued Zohran Mamdani, the current mayoral candidate he had previously strongly endorsed. Or so Hurley thought – he had in fact been talking to a wine importer by the name of Bill DeBlasio, who holds very different views to his near-namesake. It blew up into an international media storm, which the pair break down, along with a confession from Toby's past at the Guardian. Also, the succession situations at Morning Report and TVNZ’s 6pm bulletin – what are the risks and opportunities for those two big dogs of our news media? And finally, a word on Juggernaut II – the sequel to our hit 2024 podcast which launches next week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    51 mins
  • What’s going on with Māori news media?

    What’s going on with Māori news media?
    Oct 27 2025
    Liam Rātana, editor of The Spinoff Ātea, joins Duncan Greive on The Fold to discuss a piece he wrote last week, about some seismic changes to the Māori media landscape. Two iconic shows, Te Karere and The Hui, one of which has been on the air for more than 40 years, were turned down for funding in the most recent Te Māngai Pāho round. The decision was in part financially driven – there’s a fiscal cliff coming – but also a recognition that these shows, which have their origins in linear and still feel built around that medium’s preferences, are not necessarily where the majority of Māori find their news. Rātana explains the background, and where Māori media is going – potentially presaging moves mainstream news funders will have to make in years to come. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    41 mins
  • The BSA vs The Platform: why this shapes as a generationally important battle

    The BSA vs The Platform: why this shapes as a generationally important battle
    Oct 21 2025
    Glen Kyne returns to The Fold to discuss the background, stakes and possible outcome of a small battle that sets up a much larger question: how do we regulate the internet? It's one successive governments have thought about then studiously avoided. The BSA might just have forced them to confront it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    38 mins
  • Has The Life of a Showgirl finally broken Taylor’s spell?

    Has The Life of a Showgirl finally broken Taylor’s spell?
    Oct 10 2025
    The biggest phenomenon in pop culture released her latest album a week ago. Taylor Swift’s The Life of a Showgirl smashed records wherever it went, but was also greeted by an unfamiliar reaction: indifference. Not just by critics, but by her fans too. Duncan Greive is joined by The Spinoff’s Alex Casey and Lyric Waiwiri-Smith – two lifelong Swift fans who also felt the bubble pop this week – to discuss an album that promised much but felt like a letdown to many. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    48 mins