The Fold

The ABC’s Gaven Morris on fixing public media in New Zealand

05 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Meet the mastermind behind the ABC's astounding digital transformation. Gaven Morris oversaw the entire news division of the ABC during a transition f...

James Frankham on the evolution of NZ Geographic

26 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

How did Aotearoa's most-awarded magazine survive through some of the biggest obstacles in media history? New Zealand Geographic publisher James Frankh...

Georgia Rippin on the untapped potential of web-series

19 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

How does a young New Zealander end up amongst televisions big leagues? While production assisting on shows like Workaholics, Georgia Rippin saw the po...

Nick Vile on the legacy media form still thriving in a digital world

12 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

How can companies ensure their advertising dollar is being well spent? Ooh!media is using their fleet of digital bus stop billboards to transform the ...

Duncan Greive on stepping down as CEO of The Spinoff

05 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

For nine years he steered the ship he built, but last week Duncan Greive announced his surprise resignation as CEO of The Spinoff. He joins guest host...

Glen Kyne on Warner Bros. Discovery's future in New Zealand

29 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Meet the kiwi in charge of some of the worlds biggest brands across Japan, Australia and Aotearoa. Glen Kyne went from running the commercial team at ...

The Shit Show feat. Duncan Greive

24 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Duncan takes a break from hosting The Fold to guest star on an episode of The Shit Show. Hosted by Shit You Should Care About founder and p...

Madeline Chapman and Toby Manhire on Jacinda Ardern and the media

19 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In the wake of Thursday’s astonishing announcement, Duncan Greive sits down with Jacinda Ardern biographer Mad Chapman and Gone By Lunchtime host To...

Justin Flitter on the AI takeover

15 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What in the Terminator has been going on in the news recently? 2022 saw AI skyrocket in the public discourse, with science-fiction becoming a looming ...

Mini-pod: The danger of AI to the media industry

08 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In the second of a pair of high summer solo podcasts, Duncan Greive talks about the stunning advances in consumer AI in 2022, from Dall-E 2 and Midjou...

Mini-pod: if the RNZ-TVNZ merger gets blown up, what should Plan B be?

01 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In the first of a pair of high summer solo podcasts, Duncan Greive runs through an alternate way of achieving public media outcomes using RNZ and NZ o...

The Spinoff presents SUPERPOD 2022

25 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

SUPERPOD is back! And for 2022, we're bigger than ever! Hosted by Gone By Lunchtime's Toby Manhire and featuring Jane Yee and Alex Casey from The Real...

RNZ's Paul Thompson on the future of public media in New Zealand

18 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The country is experiencing the largest migration of audiences since the invention of the Television. As New Zealand's longest serving leader of a maj...

Mediawatch's Hayden Donnell on the biggest stories of the year

11 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Who reports on the reporters? Hayden Donnell, senior producer of RNZ’s Mediawatch and former staff writer for The Spinoff sits down to discuss the c...

Amie Mills on NZ on Air’s confronting Gen Z research and a brave new remit

05 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

She’s Tumuaki o ngā Take Pūtea at Irirangi te Motu – the head of funding at NZ on Air – but Amie Mills is also one of the most open and curiou...

Tracey Martin has the hardest job in NZ media

27 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The former NZ First MP is leading the establishment board for ANZPM – the new entity which will run RNZ and TVNZ as they re-merge into a brand new, ...

Janine Morrell-Gunn on a groundbreaking career in television

20 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

She was arrested during the 1981 Springbok tour, not long after being announced as head girl of her high school – whatever she does, Janine Morrell-...

Mister Organ has David Farrier hanging by a thread

13 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

He’s no stranger to chasing down oddballs on the internet, but Mister Organ saw David Farrier finally meet his match in his second feature length do...

Madeleine Chapman on her first year editing The Spinoff

06 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

She started her career at The Spinoff as a 22-year-old intern in 2016, and became its editor five years later. In between time she wrote two books and...

Jon Duffy on Consumer as the original member-funded media organisation

30 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Consumer has had a big year – driving the conversation around the grocery duopoly in a way which has fundamentally reframed our view of supermarkets...

Chris Parker is at his peak but still pining

23 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

One of the most talented creatives working in Aotearoa today, Chris Parker seems to never have met a medium he can’t master. He joins The Fold to ta...

Rewind | Viva La Dirt League on building a YouTube empire from West Auckland

16 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

10 years ago, Viva La Dirt League started doing musical parodies of gaming logic. Now, three friends have built out a truly unique YouTube channel wit...

Rewind | Joe Daymond is building a comedy empire

09 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In a few short years Joe Daymond went from sleeping on a mate’s couch to selling out Sky City Theatre with his stand-up show, all driven by a very s...

Tova O’Brien on the Three news political dynasty and going up against Hosking

02 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

After an extraordinary decade with Three, during which she became the zeitgeist face of the press gallery, Tova O’Brien abruptly resigned late last ...

The murk around the merger, Facebook in war mode and media after the monoculture

25 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

There is a lot going on in New Zealand’s media at the moment, so Duncan Greive takes the mic alone to deliver a solo podcast on the three issues whi...

TVNZ CEO Simon Power has some notes for the government on its merger

18 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Former National cabinet minister Simon Power was a surprise appointment to lead TVNZ, but his skills as a politician have come in handy with the bigge...

Alice Snedden has bad news for people who love Bad News

11 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The third season of Alice Snedden’s Bad News will be the last – and that’s fine, its creator tells Duncan Greive. Alice Snedden joins The Fold t...

Finlay Macdonald on what powers The Conversation and the golden age of NZ magazines

04 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Founded in 2011, The Conversation has risen from Melbourne to become one of the most influential platforms for academic publishing in the world. Its N...

Elise Sterback has a radical plan for arts funding

28 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The former ED of Tāmaki Makaurau’s trailblazing venue The Basement, Elise Sterback is currently partway through a PhD on the subject of arts fundin...

Michelle Ang on being a child star, then growing up in film and TV

21 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

She’s objectively one of the most successful actors this country has produced, in terms of the scale of her roles, yet Michelle Ang is not in it for...

Rex Woodbury on all the ways Gen Z is changing the world

14 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We say it a lot, but this really is a must-listen for anyone hoping to reach the new wave of risk takers and decision makers. Gen Z is making and cons...

John Tapu is building a Pacific media powerhouse in his Māngere garage

07 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

After two decades working as an exec at Sky, John Tapu resigned to start Kava Bowl Media. He's already made a rugby league show which has sold into Au...

Willie Jackson on the RNZ-TVNZ merger and his one big regret

31 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Freshly-minted media minister Willie Jackson joins Duncan Greive to explain the government’s plans for its merged media platforms – and what that ...

How Brodie Kane became a podcast powerhouse

24 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

After being let go from her radio job in 2020, Brodie Kane made the brave decision to build her own podcast company just as the pandemic hit. Now Brod...

Jack Tame and Alex Braae on the remaking of Q+A

17 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Alex Braae was the founding editor of The Bulletin before joining TVNZ's flagship politics show Q+A as executive producer. He and its host Jack Tame h...

Anna Rawhiti-Connell on the newsletter boom and the evolution of social media

10 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

She started a Twitter account for the Auckland Theatre Company, and within a few years was running social for one of New Zealand’s biggest banks; th...

Te Papa's Courtney Johnston on museums as slow journalism

03 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The relationship between media and museums is stronger than you might expect. Courtney Johnston is the youngest Tumu Whakarae / chief executive in Te ...

The digital media startup bringing hard news to Queenstown

26 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Peter Newport founded Crux to address the fact that the big west coast towns of Te Waipounamu had no major newspaper serving them. Four years on, Crux...

Leigh Hart is super funny - he’s also a business genius

19 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Known for weird and highly original TV shows, Leigh Hart is also a wildly innovative business person. In a rare earnest and out-of-character interview...

Henry Cooke was born to be in the press gallery

29 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Sometimes I just get to indulge in pure fandom on this show, and this is one of those times. Henry Cooke has been in the press gallery for just five y...

Oliver Driver and the quietly revolutionary Shortland Street

22 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

It’s 30 years since Shortland Street debuted on our screens, and in that time Aotearoa has transformed. The daily soap opera is a maligned format, b...

Wendy Youens wants to make NZ’s media accessible to all

15 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Able is the home of the captioning and audio description services which make television accessible to hearing and vision impaired New Zealanders – a...

Irene Gardiner on the screen industry in the time of streaming

08 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

She has produced television for decades, from every conceivable angle. Now, Irene Gardiner has taken on the presidency of producers’ guild, Spada, a...

Bernard Hickey has charged enough for The Kākā. Now, he wants to give it away.

01 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

A second conversation with press gallery wonk, Bernard Hickey, about his newsletter / podcast product, The Kākā. It’s just 18 months old and only ...

Netflix’s chilling numbers, and Elon’s new toy

27 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Duncan Greive tackles two huge media stories of the past week. This week: Netflix’s big miss and Elon Musk taking Twitter private. Learn more abou...

Nathan Rarere's broadcasting path to First Up

24 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

From a piqued interest in high school leading him hustling into radio work, Nathan Rarere's journey in broadcasting began doing the overnight shift. M...

Don Mann on the spectrum of community serving

17 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

At the height of a global pandemic (thus in an amplified and tense state), being new to the media world is no easy task. However, taking it in his str...

Olivia Carville on covering big tech at one of the world’s greatest magazines

11 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

She started her career in journalism in her hometown of Ōtautahi, three months before the quakes. Four years later she left and effectively restarted...

Viva La Dirt League on building a YouTube empire from West Auckland

05 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

10 years ago, Viva La Dirt League started doing musical parodies of gaming logic. Now, three friends have built out a truly unique YouTube channel wit...

Tim Harper on how NFTs can build a better future for artists

27 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Crypto, NFTs and web3 have an impressive ability to prompt one of four core reactions: fury, greed, idealism or "????" Glorious is a web3 company from...

Anna Fifield vs the public service comms machine

20 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

After two decades overseas in major roles at the Financial Times and Washington Post, Anna Fifield returned home in 2020 to edit the Dominion Post. On...

How the ACC became a sports entertainment juggernaut

13 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

It started as just this side of a joke, in a caravan, calling what was one of the worst ever Black Caps sides. Just eight years later the Black Caps a...

Sanjana Hattotuwa’s month watching the parliament protest

06 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

A research fellow with Te Pūnaha Matatini, Sanjana Hattotuwa has been studying information disorder for two decades. He’s spent the last month watc...

Emily Writes on the year that changed her life

27 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

One year on from taking on a Substack Pro deal, Emily Writes finds herself able to live as a full-time writer for the first time. She joins Duncan Gre...

Julie Zhu is telling everyday immigrant stories

20 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

New observational documentary series Takeout Kids (watch now on The Spinoff) follows the day-to-day lives of four young people growing up in takeaway ...

Joe Daymond is building a comedy empire

13 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In a few short years Joe Daymond went from sleeping on a mate’s couch to selling out Sky City Theatre with his stand-up show, all driven by a very s...

Sean Plunket is platforming himself

07 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

After abruptly leaving Magic Talk last year, veteran broadcaster Sean Plunket did something unusual: he started his own radio station. The Platform wi...

Dallas Gurney on how Today FM will be different

30 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

As the director of news and talk at MediaWorks, Dallas Gurney is responsible for overseeing the launch of Today FM, the company’s new talk radio bra...

Summer reissue: Emma Espiner on Getting Better

23 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The Fold is taking a short break over summer. We'll be back with new episodes soon, but until then here's one of our favourites from 2021. Emma Espine...

Summer reissue: Lucy Blakiston on building SYSCA

09 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The Fold is taking a short break over summer. We'll be back with new episodes soon, but until then here's one of our favourites from 2021. Lucy Blakis...

Summer reissue: Derek Cheng would rather be climbing

26 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The Fold is taking a short break over summer. We'll be back with new episodes soon, but until then here's one of our favourites from 2021. While most ...

The Spinoff presents SUPERPOD 2021

21 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Hosted by Gone By Lunchtime’s Toby Manhire and featuring representatives from The Real Pod, The Fold, Nē? and Dietary Requirements, SUPERPOD 2021 i...

2021 in review: the year in Aotearoa media

12 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In the final episode for 2021, The Fold enters monopod formation as Duncan Greive attempts to summarise the last 12 months in the New Zealand media in...

Guy Williams on making New Zealand Today into a podcast

05 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Comedian Guy Williams became a household name in New Zealand off the back of his regular appearances on Jono and Ben, and has remained on television i...

Dan Buckingham on the ‘forgotten diversity’ of disability

28 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Former Wheel Blacks captain Dan Buckingham started out as a researcher and presenter for TVNZ’s long-running disability docuseries Attitude in 2008....

TVNZ's Cate Slater on what's coming in 2022

21 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Cate Slater is the director of content at TVNZ, which last week held its upfronts announcing what’s in store for next year. She joined Duncan Greive...

Discovery’s Glen Kyne on the future of Three

14 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Glen Kyne is the SVP and general manager of Discovery ANZ, the new owners of Three. Last week the company had their first ever upfronts revealing what...

Bonus chat: What’s going on at Three?

09 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In a very special The Fold / The Real Pod crossover episode, Duncan is joined by Jane Yee to delve into the first ever Discovery upfronts, in which Th...

Ahmed Osman on representation on NZ screens

07 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Though he's lived in New Zealand for more than two decades, Ahmed Osman (Third Culture Minds) struggles to remember ever seeing anybody who looked lik...

Everybody loves Coffee News

31 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Rudy Kokx is the director of Coffee News New Zealand. In this episode he joins Duncan for a chat about how this ubiquitous publication gets made, and ...

Bailey Mackey on making the Vaxathon

22 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Bailey Mackey is the CEO of Pango Productions, the production company behind last Saturday’s eight-hour live Vaxathon. He joins The Fold to tell the...

Hal Crawford on the Facebook Files

17 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Returning guest Hal Crawford (Crawford Media) joins The Fold for a discussion about Facebook in light of the Wall Street Journal’s recent Facebook F...

Head High and the future of locally made TV drama

13 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Tim Worrall and Miriama McDowell are two of the key creatives behind Head High, a critically acclaimed and pioneering drama which just wrapped its sec...

Toby Morris on Dad Man Walking and comics journalism

03 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Toby Morris’s comics (The Side Eye, The Pencilsword) have been making an impact in New Zealand for some time, but his collaborations with Dr Siouxsi...

Samson Samasoni on reaching Pasifika audiences

19 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Samson Samasoni started his career as a journalist in the 1980s, went to work for the Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs, then had a long and fascinat...

Janet Wilson on Judith Collins’ National Party

14 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Janet Wilson is an experienced journalist and public relations consultant who last year took on the role of chief press secretary for the National Par...

Big shocks in 2021's 'Where are the Audiences?' research

08 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

MONOPOD! An in-depth look into some shocking new audience data – and what it means for all of us. Duncan Greive goes solo this week, taking a deep b...

Dylan Cleaver on the changing shape of sports journalism

05 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Dylan Cleaver is one of New Zealand’s most acclaimed sports writers, with over 25 years experience at the NZ Herald. A couple of months ago he left ...

Danyl Mclauchlan on postjournalism

29 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Danyl Mclauchlan is a Wellington based writer. He wrote politics blog The Dim Post back in the blogging era and now writes regularly for The Spinoff, ...

Creator Series: Jon Wild on making NZ's best reality TV

08 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Jon Wild was the series producer and director of The Apprentice Aotearoa – an old-fashioned one-night-a-week series in the era of multi night realit...

Creator Series: Emma Espiner on Getting Better

01 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Emma Espiner is a writer, commentator, podcaster and doctor. She won Opinion Writer of the Year at the Voyager Media Awards in 2020, the same year she...

Creator Series: Dan Ahwa on Viva’s unique place in NZ media

25 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Dan Ahwa is the creative director at Viva magazine, the NZ Herald’s fashion, beauty, food and wellbeing publication. The title has been running sinc...

Creator Series: Troy Kingi’s 10 10 10 project

18 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Musician and actor Troy Kingi is half way through an ambitious mission to release 10 albums in 10 different genres over 10 years. He joins Duncan Grei...

Creator Series: Lucy Blakiston from Shit You Should Care About

11 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Lucy Blakiston is one of three young New Zealand women behind Shit You Should Care About, a media company built around an Instagram account which was ...

Creator Series: Qiane Matata-Sipu on Nuku Women and protecting Ihumātao

04 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Qiane Matata-Sipu is a journalist, photographer, podcaster, entrepreneur and activist. In 2019 she launched Nuku Women, a multimedia project with the ...

Creator Series: James Roque on selling his comedy special

27 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Duncan Greive speaks to comedian James Roque about filming his hugely ambitious crowdfunded stand-up hour Boy Mestizo. He is unashamedly trying to sel...

Creator Series: The reinvention of Metro magazine

20 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Duncan Greive sits down with Metro editor Henry Oliver, art director Kelvin Soh and food editor Jean Teng to discuss the resurrection of the legendary...

Creator Series: Derek Cheng on balancing a press gallery job with a climbing obsession

13 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

On this week’s episode of The Fold, Duncan Greive talks to the New Zealand Herald’s deputy political editor Derek Cheng. While most press gallery...

Creator Series: Kirsty Johnston on impact journalism and the difference between the Herald and Stuff

30 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

So far this year on The Fold, Duncan Greive has spoken to a number of the media's top dogs, gaining insight into how the media runs from a business st...

Miriyana Alexander on two years of NZ Herald's online subscription model

16 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

It's been two years since the NZ Herald website launched its premium offering, the first New Zealand media brand to do so. In that time head of premiu...

TVNZ CEO Kevin Kenrick on the media merger and the future of OnDemand

09 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this week's episode of The Spinoff's media podcast The Fold, Duncan Greive talks to TVNZ CEO Kevin Kenrick about the much talked-about RNZ/TVNZ mer...

The 17-year-old magazine publishers making social change in youth circles

02 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Rachel Zhou and Angelina Del Favero were just 14 when they started publishing imPower magazine. The first two editions – focusing on family harm ...

Special Group founder Tony Bradbourne on the rapidly changing world of advertising

18 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this week's episode of The Spinoff's media podcast The Fold, Duncan Greive talks to Special Group founder and CEO Tony Bradbourne about the changin...

Broadcasting minister Kris Faafoi on funding NZ journalism

11 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This week on The Fold, Duncan Greive talks to broadcasting and media minister Kris Faafoi about funding journalism, putting the audience first and a p...

Vodafone CEO Jason Paris on ethical advertising and the Magic Talk saga

05 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This week on The Fold, Duncan Greive talks to Jason Paris, Vodafone's CEO. After pulling their advertising from Magic Talk in the wake of John Banks'...

Cam Wallace on his first three months as MediaWorks CEO

28 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this edition of The Spinoff’s media podcast The Fold, Duncan Greive talks to Cam Wallace, MediaWorks' CEO about Magic Talk, The Rock and the futu...

Hal Crawford on reviewing the NZ Media Fund

18 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of The Spinoff’s media podcast The Fold, Duncan Greive talks to ex-head of news at Mediaworks, Hal Crawford, who's just completed a ...

Local Democracy reporter Justin Latif on telling the stories of South Auckland

11 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Today on The Fold, Duncan Greive talks to The Spinoff's Justin Latif about reporting from South Auckland. Through his career Justin has developed a p...

Facebook just blocked all news in Australia

18 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Today on The Fold, Duncan Greive analyses a shocking development in the global pushback against big tech. Facebook has made the monumental decision t...

Substack's Hamish McKenzie on a new era of publishing

14 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of The Spinoff’s media podcast The Fold, Duncan Greive is joined by Hamish McKenzie, co-founder of Substack. For years, the media l...