One of New Zealand’s most successful media start-ups of the past decade is cutting several roles, amid a new wave of industry job losses.
A source told Media Insider that four roles at The Spinoff were affected - it is understood that three roles have been dis-established while one part-timerole has been created.
The Spinoff, which confirmed it was making changes, has 31 permanent staff including those affected by the proposed job cuts.
“[It’s an] extremely grim atmosphere,” the source said.
The Spinoff is cutting several roles amid a challenging time for New Zealand media.
The Spinoff, which in September celebrated its 10th birthday, has built a loyal following - and a unique audience of 412,000 in October, according to Nielsen - on the back of indepth feature writing, investigative reporting and social analysis.
It is widely considered “left of centre” with much of its opinion writing.
Its business model - based around membership donations, content sponsorship and other commercial partnerships - has appeared until now to be withstanding the ill winds sweeping through the media industry.
A new wave of cost-cutting has been under way at TVNZ, Stuff, NZME and MediaWorks following other industry cuts earlier this year including the biggest of all - the axing by Warner Bros Discovery of its Newshub newsroom and brand.
“The Spinoff, like other local media companies, faces significant commercial challenges in the current environment,” chief executive Amber Easby told Media Insider in a statement.
“There has been a significant decline in advertising spend with local media, which has been well documented.
“This is the first time we’ve made changes at this scale – an incredibly difficult decision, felt deeply across our small organisation and most importantly, by the people who have been directly impacted.”
The Spinoff founder Duncan Greive.
The Spinoff was founded by Duncan Greive in 2014, primarily as an entertainment website - specialising in TV blogs and reviews - but it quickly evolved.
“New Zealand’s news space felt loaded already, with the Herald and Stuff. But beyond a vibrant but largely unpaid blog scene, there was nothing that approximated what magazines did. I knew we had incredible writers, and was confident we could build an audience,” Greive wrote in a feature to mark The Spinoff’s 10th birthday two months ago.
As well as Greive, other notable writers and contributors (both present and past) include Toby Manhire, Alex Casey, Toby Morris and current editor Madeleine Chapman.
Greive stepped away from his own role as chief executive in early 2023; in the same feature in September he praised Easby and the other Spinoff leaders, writing that the company felt “in better shape than at any point before as it turns 10″.
However, in recent weeks, it’s not just been the bigger media companies feeling big cost pressures.
Only a month ago, NZ Geographic editor James Frankham appealed to readers for support, through buying a print and/or digital subscription, and was widely praised for his transparency in promising to open the books to highlight the 35-year-old magazine’s plight.
The magazine is published six times a year.
Frankham wrote in an editorial that print costs were challenging but digital media was “even harder”, despite almost one million website visitors a year and the Ministry of Education subscribing on behalf of every student in school.
Global digital media giants such as Meta and Facebook had not made things easy with algorithmic and other tech changes.
“For the first time, I’m looking at the future with genuine concern,” he wrote.
He said: “Over the next few weeks I will be taking the unusual step of opening our finances and forward plans so that readers can be involved in the future shape of New Zealand Geographic and the role our journalism plays in the public conversation. I hope this paints a picture of where we’re at, where we’re going, and how you can help.”
Rebecca Wadey and Zoe Walker Ahwa.
Meanwhile, as reported on Friday, publishing company Stuff was proposing to close its Ensemble website and brand, and to disestablish the role of one of its founders, before agreeing to hand it back to the former owners.
It is understood Stuff had been proposing to disestablish editor Zoe Walker Ahwa’s role and close Ensemble, the fashion, beauty and culture website it bought with much fanfare in 2021.
Last week, Walker Ahwa and co-founder Rebecca Wadey, announced they were taking back ownership and control of the website they founded in August 2020.
Editor-at-Large Shayne Currie is one of New Zealand’s most experienced senior journalists and media leaders. He has held executive and senior editorial roles at NZME including Managing Editor, NZ Herald Editor and Herald on Sunday Editor and has a small shareholding in NZME.
