An email can change your life

The Spinoff's big birthday, plus bike lanes and bills

Kia ora and welcome to The Weekend with Madeleine Chapman

A lot of big things have happened in my life thanks to my motto of "just do one thing". As a teenager, I was perfectly content at the high school all my older sisters went to, but my mum had bigger ambitions for me. She wanted me to go to private school, something we definitely couldn't afford. There was one scholarship on offer for year 12 and 13 and Mum pushed me to apply. "Just fill out one application," I thought, "then never think about it again." I got the scholarship and four months later was dropped into an entirely foreign schooling environment.

The next year, I had every intention of going to university in Wellington, living at home for as long as I could and becoming a teacher. But there was one full-ride Māori-Pacific scholarship on offer in the whole country and it was offered by the University of Auckland. I didn't want to move to Auckland and I hadn't done any research into other scholarships or opportunities closer to home, but this one had a straightforward application process and seemed a long shot. I would be happy to not get it but not happy to have not given myself the chance. "Just fill out one application," I thought, "then never think about it again." I got the scholarship and four months later was dropped into an entirely foreign schooling environment.

The biggest thing to happen from "just doing one thing" was this job I have right now. As a 21-year-old graduate in 2015, I knew I wanted to write but I didn't know how to get paid for it. The newspapers, even the community ones, required journalism qualifications to even get a look in. I wasn't opposed to the idea but I'd just managed to get a degree with no student loan and had no interest in picking one up for a second go at it. I couldn't write fiction so trying to write a book felt ridiculous and self indulgent. So what was left? Well, this funny website I'd started reading that published lots of funny writing and memes about local TV shows. Was it journalism? I honestly didn't know. But I knew I could do it.

I found the editor Duncan Greive's email on the site and drafted up a request for work, paid or otherwise. "Just send one email," I thought, "then never think about it again." Luckily for me, Duncan is a very prompt email responder and he replied within hours, offering me a six-week internship back in Auckland. There was no promise of work beyond that, and no promise of support beyond the internship itself. I figured I'd crash on my aunty's couch for six weeks and if nothing else, it would be a Thing To Do, interning at this buzzy new media outlet.

Instead, I did the internship, accepted a job as an "editorial assistant", moved to staff writer then senior writer, left for a year and returned as editor. Such a progression in six years would be impossible anywhere else but seems a given at The Spinoff. It's a strange feeling to literally grow up within a workplace (I'm certainly not a believer in the "work is like family" ethos) and to grow up somewhat in the public eye. There are Spinoff readers who have read my very first pieces of writing and stuck with it as I've ventured into new topics, formats and opinions. If nothing else, my writing and intellectual growth can be clearly tracked in the 500 articles I've written for The Spinoff.

Whether I like it or not (and it's a healthy dose of both), that one email in 2015 changed my life completely. This week, as The Spinoff turns 10, I can't help but remember that email and wonder what the next 10 years will bring.

This week on Behind the Story

This week 10 years ago, a website was launched. It was a TV blog, dedicated to the most prestige and the most comforting of shows, and it had two writers on staff, founder Duncan Greive and film critic Alex Casey. The first article ever published by thespinoff.co.nz was about the return of Full House. Today, that editorial has an editorial team of 20, with writers and editors in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin. We have podcasts, like this one, video series and live events. The Spinoff 10 years on looks very different to the little TV blog that launched in September 2014. But some names persist.

Duncan Greive, Toby Manhire and Alex Casey joined me this week to take a brisk walk through a decade of The Spinoff.

Freya Finch has found the time to dream

“I used to have a 40-to-50 hour a week hospo job while also making art. But now I have so much more time to give. It means that the work gets deepened because I can afford to sit with it for longer. I’m coming to it with more energy.”
Freya Silas Finch is a multidisciplinary queer and trans artist working across theatre, film and performance art. Ahead of their solo show A Slow Burlesque, opening soon in Auckland, Finch tells us about their creative process – and balancing art and money – for the new instalment of Art Work. Read it here.

Revealed: What The Spinoff looked like the day it launched

For our birthday, founder Duncan Greive wrote his epic, thrilling, ridiculous story of The Spinoff’s first 10 years, but the very first staff writer, Alex Casey has her own enthralling account of the first day. What Duncan failed to mention is that, on the day The Spinoff launched, he was on a plane to Spain for a bizarrely timed family holiday. And Alex? She was in the exact opposite situation – hunched over a laptop in a cold, damp flat, panicking in her pyjamas. There were emails, Vines, features, word salads, many many recaps and a future husband. 

Anyone but Duncan thinks 10 years is too much to cover one story, so we’ve also put together pieces on the stories that defined The Spinoff, the stories we regret writing, a ranking of all our 85 rankings and incredible data journalism on what you made of our ranking ranking.

Seymour is digging his own political grave

Liam Rātana succinctly argues that David Seymour has miscalculated how deeply divisive the Treaty Principles Bill could be. What was supposed to be a strategic move has backfired, putting Act on a path that could seriously harm both their party and Māori-Crown relations, he says. The simplification of Treaty principles into an “equal rights for all” framework misreads a wider sentiment that values the Māori partnership and ongoing reconciliation. Now, Act has to choose whether to push forward with a bill that no one supports or backtrack and risk alienating its voter base. Is Seymour a gambler who has stayed at the table too long?

Dane and Stacey on making travel a business, owning half a dog, and finding balance

Earning money while you travel sounds like a dream to many of us – so how hard is it to make the dream a reality? Travel content creators Dane and Stacey joined Kiwibank’s This is Kiwi podcast to talk about documenting their adventures online, and remembering to sometimes put the camera down and take it all in. Read an excerpt from the interview on The Spinoff now.

Sending money overseas can be expensive. Who does it hurt the most?

Pacific Island countries that have high numbers of people living overseas are among the most reliant on money being sent from other places. With hundreds of thousands of Pacific New Zealanders, lots of that money comes from Aotearoa in remittances. In 2022, more than $NZ1.44bn worth of remittances left New Zealand – and that didn’t leave for free. For everyone transferring money overseas, the reality of repeated fees is a regular reminder that the costs of supporting family don’t fall evenly, writes Shanti Mathias, and big finance businesses keep making a profit. 

The stories Spinoff readers spent the most time with this week

• Joel MacManus goes hunting for the cycleways being blamed for the closure of three cafes in Wellington.

• Duncan Greive pours his heart and soul into this long read about the epic, thrilling, ridiculous story of The Spinoff’s first 10 years. If you haven’t yet read, make a brew, settle in and enjoy.

• Hera Lindsay Bird ranks all 85 of The Spinoff’s rankings, from worst to best

• Liam Rātana argues that David Seymour is digging his own political grave

• More David Seymour as Hayden Donnell reflects on the Act leader’s response to church leaders this week

Recommended reads for your weekend

• A pink cowgirl hat accompanied Gabi Lardies to her first-ever hoedown

• Our indie darling Molly Payton shares her perfect weekend playlist, including Big Thief, Aretha Franklin and Alex G

• The real NZ Fashion Week ran out of cash – so Lyric Waiwiri-Smith attended Te Wiki Āhua o Aotearoa, the rangatahi-led, do-it-yourself fashion week

• Hayden Donnell takes a look back at The Herald on Sunday’s most defining moment – a story about a man with an eel in his bum

• Please don’t make someone cry in a small restaurant, instead read The Spinoff guide to life on how to break up with them.

• The numbers have been crunched on climate financing – and they don’t make Aotearoa look good, says Shanti Mathias

• Liam Rātana explains what supplier diversity is, why it matters and why you should care

• Remember the song ‘Lydia’? Gabi Lardies saw it live last weekend, almost 25 years after it topped the charts

• Tara Ward travelled to the Coromandel to watch Celebrity Treasure Island’s first day of filming

Party like a 10-year-old

You have till Sunday to get in the draw to win a mega hamper of goods ranked by The Spinoff. All you have to do is have your say on Hera Lindsay Bird’s ranking of our rankings. If you’re a member, you can get an extra entry by logging in and collecting the treasure hidden amongst stories posted this week. Find out more here.

Not a member? Now is a great time to show your support. We cannot overstate how vital support from our readers is, so thanks for being part of our story. Ten years, 29,000 articles published, all free to read, we wouldn’t have made it to this mighty milestone without you.

Reader feedback of the week

• On The epic, thrilling, ridiculous story of The Spinoff’s first 10 years

“Thank you for this lovely peek behind the curtain at one of Aotearoa’s treasures. I was recently overseas and tried to explain The Spinoff to a colleague from the UK - it defies explanation and continues to surprise and delight me, an immigrant from the U.S.  I am continually amazed by your collective brilliance, risk-taking, and dedication to continual evolution. To all the spinnies past, present, and future: thanks for the memories and keep giving us new and interesting ways to look at our world (high and low)! Congratulations.”

— Neera

We have loved reading your comments on our birthday coverage. Thank you.

• On Seymour is digging his own political grave

“The goal here and all over the world has to be "Unity within Diversity", but I fear that Act and NZ First want us to like 'Uniformity'.  The beauty of the world and everything within it comes from the multi-faceted differences.  In the last two years we have seen the death of a Monarch and the crowning of a new one under the auspices of two different cultures that both call  NZ home.  Did the pomp and glory of one seem more noble than the other.  Each day I live in NZ my English birth seems less and less relevant.  I have traced my family tree back to the 1600's but it doesn't translate into true heritage, nor does it bestow guiding principles on my life.  We all have much to learn from indigenous people the world over.  Hopefully we will move away from all that divides us.”

— Richard

Thanks for reading.

— Madeleine Chapman