Did Fair Go get a fair go?
What Aotearoa media has lost this week.
Kia ora and welcome to The Weekend. Following Google Maps in the autumn evening darkness this week, I ended up biking through the fields of the high school I attended 10 years ago and was astonished at the force that memories of untidy uniforms, being jealous of other people’s school lunches and buying my friend’s chocolate fundraisers came rushing back. I’ve often thought about how The Spinoff uses the same rush nostalgic pop-culture moments to think more deeply about what happens in Aotearoa, from the Ribena scandal to evenings with Rachel Hunter in a school hall. With media funding models threatened, as this week’s issue covers, future nostalgia from homegrown cultural products could be at risk.
Highlights from Fair Go’s decades of people-centred journalism
Tara Ward and Alex Casey searched the Fair Go archives for this morning’s story about the country’s consumer rights programme. Here’s an excerpt: “For nearly five decades, Fair Go has been our complaining saviour. It’s been our second longest running TV show (after Country Calendar), promising viewers that “if you've been ripped off, short-changed or given the runaround and nobody wants to know, we do!". It’s helped thousands of New Zealanders, giving a voice to victims like this water filter scam and the bloke who just wanted his landline to work. Their fearless reporters have righted consumer wrongs, confronted rascals and ratbags, and even worked out if our Weet-Bix is too soggy. While we can’t find each and every one of the Fair Go stories broadcast since 1977, we managed to unearth these memorable Fair Go factoids.”
The most baffling moments from Melissa Lee’s post-Newshub closure interviews
Right now, we need your support more than ever
The Spinoff recently estimated that the number of full-time journalists in New Zealand may have halved since 2018 Census data was published. As the media landscape continues to change, numbers continue to decrease. The Spinoff is not immune to the drastic advertising slowdown impacting the sector. That’s why we’re immensely grateful to our audience for their support. To those who already support us, thank you. If you don’t and are able, we’d be very grateful if you’d consider becoming a Spinoff member or donating today.
– Duncan Greive, founder
20 media CEOs, 2 big questions
This week, job losses at TVNZ and the closure of Newshub was confirmed, and Shortland Street’s future could also be in jeopardy. The Spinoff’s founder Duncan Greive has been writing a series all week for his Above the Fold column talking to CEOs from across New Zealand’s media industry about why there’s such a crisis in the media and what can be done about it. Each CEO had the chance to respond to two questions: What’s the biggest issue in your corner of the media industry right now? What do you think is the best idea for a durable long-term fix? Read the whole series to get a sense of the challenges, and the possibilities, facing New Zealand media right now.
How the news reported the confirmation of the end of the news, again
‘I set up two of my closest friends and bitterly regret it. Help me Hera!’
This week, Hera advises a reader who thought they were creating a beautiful thing but are now worried they have unleashed a monster. Hera responds with her characteristic compassionate advice. “Who doesn’t want their best friends to find love? You probably had visions of the three of you in an idyllic summer montage, paddling swan boats across a crystalline lake. Like Dr Frankenstein, you too had a dream of creating something powerful and beautiful. Only your plan worked a little too well. Now your creation is out of your control, lumbering across the ice towards freedom.”
The Spinoff and SparkLab proudly present: Business is Boring Live! Idea to impact: Designing waste out of the system
Hosted by Simon Pound, a panel of three leaders in circular business; Sara Smeath, Jayden Klinac and Rachel Brown will share their experiences of building better business systems. Join us at The Spinoff Chambers on the 30th of April for a live pod record with Q + A. Be part of the event, and part of the solution.
To secure your spot, please RSVP: commercial@thespinoff.co.nz by 23 April 2024
When Wellington starred in a Bollywood spy thriller
Preyanka Gothanayagi revisits her love of Bollywood movies by discovering a fever-dream remake of The Italian Job filmed in Wellington, featuring glamorous nightclubs, underground rail networks and several dramatic car chases. “I’m used to code switching between Bollywood and English language movies, thoroughly enjoying in one genre what I’d dismiss as unrealistic in the other. But you can’t operate solely in either world when Abhishek Bachchan is driving a Mini Cooper across Wellington’s City to Sea bridge. It’s like when Nick Jonas married Priyanka Chopra; these are two very separate parts of my life. And yet, somehow, when combined, neither side is done justice.” Read the entire (crack-up) piece here!
The best and worst of Wellington’s tourism ads
What we won’t know in 2034
In 10 years time, what won’t we know? The government has stopped several long term projects, like archival interviews with prime ministers, a Stats NZ study into poverty persistence and a longitudinal survey researching child health in New Zealand (explained more in The Detail). That’s not to mention the loss of archives from news programmes including Newshub; it’s not clear where the thousands of hours of journalism it produced will be kept after the programme goes off air. Anna Rawhiti-Connell imagines the way history could keep repeating without this information – and conjures the rather frightening image of Judith Collins partying on the moon. Here’s an excerpt. “The year is 2034. Global tech giant MetaByteBet has blocked all news from being published online. Plans are underway to once again try to tackle child poverty. Labour prime minister Chris Christopher is launching a new survey that will measure something. Christopher tells his confidant-bot that it’s been a tough day. One in 30 young adults in South Auckland has some form of rheumatic heart disease. Judith Collins waves from space.”
Coming soon: The last days of motorsport in Pukekohe
Watch Checkered Flag on The Spinoff from midday Tuesday. Made with support from NZ On Air.
Everything else
The NZ social enterprise sending 20,000 period undies to Gaza.
I loved this essay from David Hill about the moment he realised he could be writer.
Why living in a healthy environment should be a human right.
Chris Warner has a beard now. What’s going on?
Does Jacinda Ardern still have a job tackling extremism through the Christchurch Call?
The little-known history of solidarity between Palestinians and Mizrahi, or Arab Jews.
Who is hardest-hit by inflation?
The drug that changed cystic fibrosis from a near-certain early death to a manageable condition for many (and the patent protections that stop many outside wealthy countries accessing this treatment).
There are some excellent atmospheric autumnal recommendations in Unity’s latest children’s books list.
Will “beanless”, climate-friendly coffee ever be able to mimic the real thing?
Tax cuts won’t make up for the end of cheap public transport for lots of people – especially younger people who earn less money.
Rachael King thinks about her family history, told through different horses she’s known.
Advice from a public servant who has been on the redundancy rollercoaster – and why “getting a frontline job” isn’t an option for everyone.
