The Fold

Dylan Reeve has spent his whole career working on iconic New Zealand television shows, from Shortland Street, to Treasure Island to Outrageous Fortune. But after listening to last week’s episode of The Fold, he wonders whether we’re even asking the right questions. He sent a provocative note which questions whose interests are being served by incremental reforms to NZ On Air or the screen production rebate (or SPR), and joins Duncan Greive to discuss whether the current institutions can or should be saved – and what an alternate plan might look like. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The media has always been largely funded by advertising – but that's unlikely to be the case in future. Two stories over the past week addressed different aspects of what might step into the void it creates. Duncan Greive returns alongside Glen Kyne for an episode which explores how media was, is and might be funded in future – taking the NZ on Air system, the screen production rebate, tech funding, audience revenue and private funders, addressing requests to expand each, and the challenges they bring. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The job of chief news and content officer at TVNZ has been one of the most talked-about leadership roles in New Zealand media. Last week, it was announced that Nadia Tolich will leave her position as managing director of Stuff Digital to take up the role. Glen Kyne joins Anna Rawhiti-Connell to discuss the enormity of the task ahead for Tolich and why high profile exits mightn’t be as scandalous as you think. They also analyse the case laid out by Philip Crump on Monday for a Jim Grenon-led board at NZME and reflect on the slivers of hope that recent anti-trust ruling in the US offer those wanting to see big tech reined in. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s been five years since Bauer exited New Zealand, devastating the magazine industry and heralding an era of enormous disruption for media in this country. Iconic Auckland title, Metro Magazine, was a casualty of that closure. The publication has found its feet again and is flourishing under independent ownership. As Auckland evolves, so too does Metro.Henry Oliver has been the editor of Metro for over six years now. He joins Anna Rawhiti-Connell to discuss magazine life five years after the Bauer exit, the growing buzz about the revival of print magazines, the impact of social media on criticism, reviews, social satire, and gossip, and how Metro stays relevant as a tastemaker in a constantly changing city.They discuss what Oliver is most proud of, his editorial approach, and why magazines should deliver the expected and the unexpected. Oliver describes where the fun and reward lie for him as a magazine editor in a vastly changed industry and mulls whether a Felicity Ferret-esque figure (RIP to the queen of social satire and local snark), could ever make a comeback. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last week, NZME’s board laid out its case against Jim Grenon’s attempt to take control of the board, introducing previously unspoken concerns about editorial influence to the fight. It prompted a new round of reactions and letters and the introduction of a few new players. Following Donald Trump’s tariff announcement, $6.6 trillion was wiped off the value of US stocks in 48 hours, creating fresh concern about a global economic downturn. While the tariffs don’t yet extend to services, lobbying efforts by tech companies and streamers to stop countries from forcing them to pay levies, invest in local content production, or meet quotas will be boosted by Trump’s war against the “overseas exploitation” of American companies, putting a potential dampener on New Zealand’s freshly minted media reform proposals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's been a rough PR month for Meta, with two of the most-discussed cultural artefacts of the year both directly concerning their two biggest products. Duncan Greive is joined by Anna Rawhiti-Connell to discuss Careless People, the explosive memoir by New Zealand diplomat Sarah Wynn-Williams about her time at Facebook; and Adolescence, the extraordinary Netflix series about a murder which occurs after radicalisation and bullying on Instagram. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Glen Kyne joins Duncan Greive on the Fold to discuss a torrid few weeks in media ownership, with billionaire Jim Grenon's attempt to install a new board at NZME and revelations that both parts of Stuff are potentially in play. Kyne and Greive discuss both of Grenon's letters, both the business analysis and the vision for news, while also looking at what Stuff could do if it was part of Trade Me's empire. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Love Song is a piece of research that Live Nation has been running for six years. It targets Gen Z and its relationship with music and culture, and – they don’t just do it for fun – about how brands can fit into all that. Duncan Greive is joined by his colleagues Gabi Lardies and Lyric Waiwiri-Smith to talk about that research, using it as a jumping off point to have a wider conversation about generations. Together they talk about the truths, the myths, the tensions and the weirdness of all this endless generational discourse. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kevin Chesters has 30 years of experience leading strategy on both agency and client sides, serving as CSO at W+K London, Dentsu, and Ogilvy, as well as Head of Strategy at BT, the UK’s equivalent of Spark.He joins Duncan Greive on The Fold as part of The Spinoff’s 2025 partnership with the Comms Council. The pair cover off Chesters' career, what drew him to advertising, dig into the challenge of creativity after the death of the monoculture, and, inevitably, about what AI will do to creativity.Get your tickets now to hear Kevin at AXIS Speaks on Thursday 27 March. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The second Trump administration has blown apart a multi-decade long rules based order for trade. The White House has put the whole world on notice that it will use tariffs against any perceived slight against its companies. What does that mean for our media reforms? How are we hamstrung by our trade agreements? Do we even have sovereignty on the internet? Duncan Greive is joined by trade specialist Charles Finny and Brainbox's tech regulation expert Tom Barraclough to dive deep into the theoretical and the practical of media regulation in the new era. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices