The Fold - podcast cover

The Fold

The Spinoffwww.thespinoff.co.nz
Conversations about the intersections of media, culture and technology in New Zealand, hosted by Duncan Greive, founder of The Spinoff.
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Episodes

Creator Series: The reinvention of Metro magazine

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 title. The team just released the third and best issue since its independent revival after the dramatic collapse of Bauer. They talk about the extraordinary new design scheme, reimagining the tense school rankings, how Auckland's cafe scene is changing and a pleasingly buoyant ad market. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoic...

Jun 20, 202134 min

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

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 journalists go to sleep dreaming of politics, Derek Cheng has another true love – climbing. Duncan first met him at a press gallery party, where he was barefoot, cooking up sausages on a barbecue, and since learning of the journalist’s intense passion for climbing, has been intrigued to find out more. In this episode Derek talks about his climbing, a s...

Jun 13, 202130 min

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

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 standpoint. Today we're changing the scope with the launch of our Creator series, featuring conversations with the people on the ground, the ones actually making the media we all consume. First up, Duncan talks to Kirsty Johnston, senior writer at Stuff. Kirsty is known for her investigative journalism, writing in-depth about domestic violence, abuse...

May 30, 202148 min

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

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 premium Miriyana Alexander has learnt a lot about what New Zealanders want from their news, and she joins Duncan Greive to talk about it on this episode of The Fold. They also discuss why The Herald chose their particular hard paywall model and whether that's something they've ever considered changing, the end of the front page, how social media is chang...

May 16, 202155 min

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

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 merger, and Kenrick hints at a paid subscription offering for the TVNZ OnDemand service that could be hitting the market soon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 09, 202155 min

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

Rachel Zhou and Angelina Del Favero were just 14 when they started publishing imPower magazine. The first two editions – focusing on family harm and modern slavery – were sent to every secondary school in the country. Now 17, they're working on a third all about body image. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 02, 202124 min

Broadcasting minister Kris Faafoi on funding NZ journalism

This week on The Fold, Duncan Greive talks to broadcasting and media minister Kris Faafoi about funding journalism, putting the audience first and a public media merger. We get to talk with a lot of people in the centre of New Zealand's media industry on this podcast, now we speak to the man representing the media in the Beehive. Kris Faafoi took over the broadcasting and media portfolio after the resignation of Claire Curran in 2018. Duncan Greive talks with the minister on this episode of The ...

Apr 11, 202148 min

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

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' racist comments airing, Vodafone developed an entire policy for ethical advertising. Their CEO Jason Paris tells Duncan Greive about that decision and how it happened so quickly, as well as their new-ish policy on honouring the Treaty. He and Duncan also talk about the 5G rollout and what it will actually mean for most people, and how Vodafone TV i...

Apr 05, 202137 min

Cam Wallace on his first three months as MediaWorks CEO

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 future of commercial radio. Cam Wallace worked at Air New Zealand for almost two decades before he left last year amid the turmoil of Covid and all it brought upon the travel industry. Just months later as ex-MediaWorks CEO Michael Anderson announced his departure from the role, Wallace was revealed to be the next-in-line. Just three months into his new ...

Mar 28, 202137 min

Hal Crawford on reviewing the NZ Media Fund

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 review into the NZ Media Fund. The NZ Media Fund was introduced by New Zealand On Air in 2017 to cover television, radio, music and online media, in hopes that it would more successfully represent the growing diversity of media than past funds. Now, three years later, former Mediaworks head of news Hal Crawford has conducted an independent review int...

Mar 18, 202154 min

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

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 passion for reporting stories from his home in South Auckland. He chats to Duncan about where that passion came from, why his role is so important and whether the media has been fair on South Auckland communities in the past. Justin also ponders whether the Local Democracy reporters' scheme will make a difference to regions with low media coverage an...

Mar 11, 202136 min

Facebook just blocked all news in Australia

Today on The Fold, Duncan Greive analyses a shocking development in the global pushback against big tech. Facebook has made the monumental decision to block all people and publications in Australia from posting news content, after a long battle between the Australian government and the social media giant. The implications of this action are already being felt as many Australian-based Facebook pages are shut down, and the potential implications could change how people around the world access news...

Feb 18, 202120 min

Substack's Hamish McKenzie on a new era of publishing

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 landscape has been filled with publications making money by filling up ad space. While an effective mode of funding for the already underfunded sector, Hamish McKenzie saw an alternative. Alongside co-founders Chris Best and Jairaj Sethi, McKenzie developed Substack, an online platform for writers to send newsletters directly to paying subscribers. In ...

Feb 14, 202152 min

Ali Mau on #MeTooNZ, talkback radio and the New Zealand music industry's reckoning

In this edition of The Spinoff’s media podcast The Fold, Duncan Greive is joined by Ali Mau, Stuff senior journalist and creator of New Zealand's own MeToo movement. In 2017, the MeToo movement brought some of Hollywood's elite crashing down under allegations of serious sexual abuse and misconduct. One year later, journalist Ali Mau brought the movement to New Zealand when she launched #MeTooNZ with a team at Stuff. Her goal was to bring to light stories of misconduct and abuse within our own bo...

Feb 08, 202151 min

Summer reissue: Media, money and the government, with Bernard Hickey

The Fold is taking a break over the summer. We'll be back with new episodes soon, but until then we're republishing some of our favourite interviews of 2020. This week: Duncan talks with Bernard Hickey. Working at the intersection of politics and economics, Bernard Hickey is one of the most interesting and unique journalists in New Zealand today. As you’ll hear in this episode, he possesses a rare ability to make even the most mysterious or boring-sounding topics within these areas feel urgent, ...

Jan 28, 20211 hr 6 min

Summer reissue: Sinead Boucher on buying Stuff for $1

The Fold is taking a break over the summer. We'll be back with new episodes soon, but until then we're republishing some of our favourite interviews of 2020. This week: Duncan talks with Stuff CEO Sinead Boucher after she bought the company for $1 back in May. First published June 24, 2020. The chaotic couple of weeks which finally saw the end of the Stuff-NZME saga were riveting and strange, replete with stock exchange announcements, legal challenges and finally the acquisition of New Zealand’s...

Jan 21, 20211 hr 5 min

Summer reissue: Gaurav Sharma, The Indian Times

The Fold is taking a break over the summer holidays. We'll be back in the new year, but until then we're republishing some of our favourite interviews of 2020. This week: Duncan talks with Gaurav Sharma from The Indian Times about the communities NZ's media doesn't serve. First released July 7, 2020. I first met Gaurav Sharma in the aftermath of March 15. New Zealand and the world has gone through so much trauma since then that it feels much further away than the 15 months which have elapsed sin...

Jan 07, 202148 min

The wildfire that was 2020 for NZ media, reviewed

The pandemic put unbearable pressure on New Zealand’s media this year, but also saw it gain larger and more engaged audiences than ever before. In a year-ending monopod, Duncan Greive wraps his head around what it all means. I've tried to capture the sweep of this incredible year by drilling into the news organisations, journalists and other players in the ecosystem. Broadly it felt like a year in which, under some of the most extreme duress imaginable, journalism rediscovered its purpose, and b...

Dec 23, 202047 min

The Spinoff presents SUPERPOD 2020

Pour yourself some eggnog and join the hosts of The Spinoff’s podcast network for our annual Superpod round up of the year that was. Representing Gone By Lunchtime, Dietary Requirements, The Real Pod, Papercuts, The Fold and On The Rag our hosts dive into the key events, issues, heroes and villains of 2020. From National’s botched election campaign to Ben Thomas’ take on TikTok, via the collapse of Bauer, the rise of oat milk, with a detour through controversial frozen grapes and Simon’s Sausage...

Dec 21, 20201 hr 8 min

Turning words into action, with Laura O’Connell Rapira

The outgoing director of grassroots community campaigning organisation ActionStation joins Duncan Greive to talk about a busy few years in the job. ActionStation was formed in 2014, but it feels like they’ve been around much longer than that. The independent, crowdfunded community organisation has led a number of highly visible and successful campaigns across a wide range of issues during the last six years, thanks in no small part to the energy and forward thinking of its outgoing director Laur...

Dec 03, 202041 min

Introducing Coming Home: Like nothing we've ever seen before

This is episode one of Coming Home, a new five-part podcast series from The Spinoff podcast network, in partnership with Kiwibank. We're sharing it with you here because we think if you like The Fold you might find this interesting too. Have a listen and subscribe on your platform of choice to hear the rest of the series. New episodes arriving weekly. Coming Home delves into the phenomenon of high achieving New Zealanders returning to Aotearoa in the era of Covid-19. Join hosts Duncan Greive and...

Nov 22, 202028 min

The boss of all rugby, with Mark Robinson

NZ Rugby is in a fascinating situation at the moment, with some big calls to be made over the coming years. The man in charge of making them joins Duncan Greive on this week’s episode of The Fold. Mark Robinson probably has one of the most complex jobs in the country. As CEO of NZ Rugby he’s effectively the boss of everything from the All Blacks and Black Ferns to the clubs, the head of an organisation that has many, many different stakeholders. He only came into the job about nine months ago, w...

Nov 20, 202027 min

Media, money and the government, with Bernard Hickey

This week on The Fold, journalist Bernard Hickey joins host Duncan Greive for a wide-ranging chat about the challenges faced by New Zealand media and why he’s launched a new subscription-only daily email. Working at the intersection of politics and economics, Bernard Hickey is one of the most interesting and unique journalists in New Zealand today. As you’ll hear in this episode, he possesses a rare ability to make even the most mysterious or boring-sounding topics within these areas feel urgent...

Nov 05, 20201 hr 5 min

Melodie Robinson on the future of NZ sports broadcasting

From winning two world cups with the Black Ferns to heading up TVNZ’s sports and events department, Melodie Robinson’s career has been one full of remarkable firsts. She joins host Duncan Greive to talk about it on this week’s episode of The Fold. When the Ministry of Education decided to start a children’s educational channel during the first lockdown earlier this year, the job fell to the TVNZ department that had just found itself with not a lot of work on – sports and events. General manager ...

Oct 22, 202050 min

A newcomer’s view from the press gallery, with Justin Giovannetti

The Spinoff’s new(ish) political editor Justin Giovannetti joins Duncan Greive to share his impressions from a hectic first six months on the job – and in New Zealand. When Justin Giovannetti interviewed for the job of political editor at The Spinoff, from Canada, the world was quite a different place. In the time it took for him to work out his notice with national newspaper The Globe and Mail, a global pandemic shut borders, grounded flights and threw everyone’s plans for the year into disarra...

Oct 16, 202038 min

Sido Kitchin is launching four new magazine titles this year

Former NZ Women’s Weekly editor Sido Kitchin joins The Fold’s Duncan Greive to talk about starting School Road Publishing and launching a whole new stable of magazines following the collapse of Bauer Media. Sido Kitchin loves telling New Zealand women’s stories. An important figure in the magazine industry, she edited the New Zealand Women’s Weekly until earlier this year, when the collapse of Bauer Media brought it and a lot of other popular titles to an abrupt end. The six months since have be...

Oct 08, 202053 min

Where are the Audiences? with NZ On Air's Cameron Harland

The Fold host Duncan Greive speaks to NZ On Air’s new chief executive Cameron Harland about his first six months in the job and the findings of the recent Where Are the Audiences? report. Cameron Harland started his new job as the chief executive of NZ On Air in March, the week before the country went into level four lockdown. Duncan has wanted to get him on The Fold to pick his brain about the ins and outs of NZ On Air’s unique funding model ever since. In a follow-up to the previous episode of...

Sep 18, 20201 hr

The most eye-opening bits from NZ On Air’s new Where are the Audiences? report

Christmas has arrived early for The Fold host Duncan Greive – this week NZ On Air released Where are the Audiences?, a biannual survey of audience behaviour in New Zealand media. The report is unique in the way it attempts to measure the behaviour of such a diverse set of audiences across all media consumption. This year’s edition shows New Zealand at a crossroads, with digital media overtaking traditional media in largest daily audiences for the first time. It goes without saying that Duncan ha...

Sep 03, 202045 min

How The Bulletin gets made, with Alex Braae

One of New Zealand’s most voracious consumers of local news media joins Duncan Greive to reveal the secrets behind his popular daily newsletter. Most days Alex Braae starts work at approximately the same time as a dairy farmer. But instead of hopping on a quad bike to go and milk a shed full of cows, he sits down at his computer to read a figurative shed full of news. The end product is just as important to a lot of people’s morning routines as a cold bottle of blue top milk – it’s The Spinoff’s...

Aug 26, 202039 min
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