The Fold

Glenn McDonald spent over a decade with a very mysterious and specific job title: data alchemist at Spotify. It's possible – even likely – that no one on earth knows as much about music streaming. He is in New Zealand for the Going Global music industry conference, and joins Duncan Greive to talk about how Spotify does and doesn't work for artists, why Spotify doesn't stretch your listening habits...

The 2024 edition of NZ on Air's Where are the Audiences is a bombshell - largely because so little has changed. The past decade has been characterised by a sharp and consistent rise in UGC, social and SVOD platforms, while local media has slid precipitously. This year that slide has arrested – and in some cases reversed. Duncan Greive is joined by The Spinoff's Ātea editor Liam Rātana, dissecting...

The All Blacks were early on the sports doc series train – but the result was widely panned, due to a sense the subjects weren't willing to really open up for it. Robyn Paterson has directed a new series for Sky on the Wheel Blacks, a team she says has far more candour than their more famous counterparts. She joins Duncan Greive to discuss the changing shape of disability storytelling, and the pot...

Duncan Greive and Glen Kyne discuss the bombshell announcement that Laura Maxwell is leaving Stuff, with owner Sinead Boucher to take over in the interim. What does it say about Stuff's strategy, and who might replace her? Plus signals suggest TVNZ is making a big play into sports and a paywall – what does that mean for the state broadcaster, and for Sky? And finally, a look at the rise of the new...

Glen Kyne joins Duncan Greive to discuss the appointment of Graeme Mason to chair the NZ Film Commission board. The former Screen Australia boss seems the strongest signal yet that the NZFC and NZ on Air are coming together. We run through some worrying signs out of US cable – and ask what they mean for the potential sale of Foxtel, Sky's Australian equivalent. We also look at NZME making a revive...

Ant Timpson has spent much of his life at war with the establishment. With ventures like the Incredibly Strange Film Festival and 48 Hours, he courted controversy and made a home for misfits of film. Now he's a veteran of governance and has directed a family film – albeit one with a killer psychedelic mushrooms sequence. He joins Duncan Greive on The Fold to explain what came over him. Learn more...

Glen Kyne joins Duncan Greive to discuss earnings season in big tech media, with particularly noteworthy results for Meta and Netflix. Locally 1News has opened up a big 25-54 lead over Stuff's ThreeNews – partly using overwhelming force at the Olympics, the NZ Herald debuts an instructive piece of data journalism, and Ant Timpson's Bookworm lends itself to a discussion of the local box office. Lea...

Duncan Greive is joined by recently-departed WBD leader Glen Kyne to pilot a brand new format for The Fold. It features Duncan and Glen analysing new strands in local and international media, along with regular deep dives into different aspects of the business. The first episode features reflections an explainer on why TV advertising fell off a cliff, a look at the upcoming NZ Rugby rights deal an...

Jenn Cheuk is the founder and editor-in-chief of Rat World, "a magazine for the underground" she publishes in Tāmaki Makaurau. Now up to issue seven, it radiates the specific energy of driven, fragile yet urgent creativity across forms ranging from lengthy interviews to comics to photography, covering art, theatre music and more. She joins Duncan Greive on The Fold to discuss the state of the arts...

Spinoff founder Duncan Greive has been writing regularly this year on business, politics and pop culture. But his slightly more niche area of interest is the media itself. This week was a big week for the media with AM and Newshub airing their final episodes and a new lease on life for the Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill. If you don’t know what that bill is, check out Duncan’s author page on the...

Today marks the end of Newshub, an organisation which has been around for 35 years, and has a strong case as the most original and idiosyncratic newsroom this country has ever known. Sam Hayes and Mike McRoberts have more than 40 years combined experience at Three, and join Duncan Greive on The Fold to look back across the history of 3 News, assess its singular culture and some crucial moments alo...

Hal Crawford ran Newshub through a crucial era – but has traveled a strange path since. He joins Duncan Greive to discuss the unique personality of Three News, the prospects of Stuff at 6pm – and his very different career since he returned to Australia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As founder of South Pacific Pictures, John Barnett has played a crucial role in the development of screen productions as varied as Shortland St, Whale Rider, Sione's Wedding and Outrageous Fortune. Now operating independently, he remains one of the most powerful – and critical – voices in New Zealand culture. He joins Duncan Greive to assess the current state of the industry and explain why he bel...

Duncan Greive hosts his friend and colleague Toby Manhire on The Fold, to discuss the back-breaking process of making Juggernaut, his new podcast covering the tumultuous years of the fourth Labour government. Then they switch gears to discuss Goldsmith's first weeks as media minister, the post-Newshub recruiting efforts of major media companies, and early signals about Stuff's Three News. Click he...

We thought you might like a wee taster of our brand new #1 series, Juggernaut: The Story of the Fourth Labour Government, hosted by Toby Manhire. Click here to follow Juggernaut so you get every episode as soon as it's released! 1. I love you, Mr Lange Fuelled by brandy and fury, Sir Rob Muldoon calls a snap election, sparking a 1984 campaign of contrasts – the menacing, protectionist National PM...

William Terite has been fascinated by the news since Barbara Dreaver showed up at his primary school. He started working at Newstalk ZB at 17, and got his dream job at Newshub at just 20. Now a veteran of 23, he has a new role at the revitalised Pacific Media Network, hosting its flagship Pacific Mornings show. He joins Duncan Greive to talk about all he's been through in a short span. Learn more...

Chris Henry founded 818 publicity a couple of months before The Spinoff, in June of 2014. He joins Duncan Greive on The Fold to reflect on a radically changed environment for entertainment PR – and the sometimes tense role of pitching stories to editorial outlets when all the ad spend goes to social media. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

SYSCA founder Lucy Blakiston returns to the Fold for the first time in a while to talk through a truly singular year. Her business pivoted to being what it was perhaps always meant to be – her, as a solo news-explaining creator, working for her audience primarily. That meant saying goodbye to her two co-founders and taking on the whole load herself. But it also saw her sign a huge global book deal...

Lewis Tennant is an energetic guy – an ex-radio presenter who got curious about podcasting about the same time we all did. But instead of stopping at listening or even creating, he turned it into an area of academic teaching and research. He joins Duncan Greive on The Fold to discuss what his research has unearthed, which New Zealand podcasts are driving the form forward, and the takeaways from hi...

There's a brand new media minister confronting a longstanding problem: how to handle the relationship between big tech and local media. Former NZ Herald editor Gavin Ellis and SPADA president Irene Gardiner join Duncan Greive on The Fold to discuss a bold new idea: a joint levy to fund journalism and culture. We'd love it if you're able to take a few minutes to fill out this short survey about The...

Sam Koslowski has news in his blood – his father was a senior journalist and he's been in the business for 12 years despite not yet hitting 30. He co-founded The Daily Aus with a bold goal – to create a news brand for young Australians which met them where they lived: on Instagram. Now Meta is threatening to turn off news across all its platforms, threatening the viability of his business – a situ...

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 s...

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 med...

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. Learn more about your...

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...