Behind the Story The Spinoff

Spinoff staff writer Gabi Lardies recently had a big win at the Voyager Media Awards, for best junior feature writer. Gabi first worked at the Spinoff in 2022 so is categorically a junior writer, but as she confesses, she’s secretly 33 years old and has had a colourful work history prior to becoming a journalist.
Her recognised work focuses on observational feature writing, stepping into a very specific scene and painting a picture of it for the reader. And this week, Gabi painted a picture of a hunger strike, particularly Will Alexander’s, who announced a strike for Palestine on May 18 and called it off after 19 days at the request of Palestinians. Gabi joins Madeleine Chapman on Behind the Story to talk switching careers, the importance of mentoring and what happens when your story is overtaken by events.Stories discussed:
An interview with Will Alexander, who was willing to die for the people of Palestine
A morning at the death cafe
Where did the age of consent come from, and how does it work today?

The Spinoff’s new Ātea editor Liam Rātana started in his role on Monday. On Thursday there were nationwide protests against government policies affecting Māori, as well as the release of the coalition government’s first budget. Rātana jumped straight in, writing a number of stories including a feature on the protests that looked more broadly at Māori activism and asked: Is protesting still the most effective way to bring about lasting change?
It’s a compelling read, presenting the views of those who favour different methods of lobbying, and is a strong indication of how Liam approaches his work – with a curious mind and an interest in hearing out all perspectives. Liam joins Madeleine Chapman on Behind the Story to talk te ao Māori reporting and his quest to develop more Māori print journalists.

Wellington editor Joel MacManus appreciates that those we might not agree with can still make for an interesting and worthy story. Last weekend, he attended an anti-trans conference to hear speakers like Brian Tamaki, Posie Parker and NZ First MP Tanya Unkovich speak about the “dangers” of gender ideology. Joel’s feature was a chance to report on a culture war, rather than react to it, and prompted an intense response from the speakers themselves. Joel joins Madeleine Chapman on Behind the Story to talk about reporting in hostile environments and how to deal with feedback when it becomes abusive and personal.

For The Spinoff editor’s thoughts on the week that was, as well as a handpicked collection of the week’s best reads, subscribe to The Weekend with Madeleine Chapman newsletter at thespinoff.co.nz/newsletters

Spinoff senior writer Alex Casey is arguably the best journalist in New Zealand when it comes to telling stories of where we are at as a society, through the (often traumatic) experience of one person. This week, we published the story of Adam*, a trans Corrections officer bringing an unprecedented case to the Human Rights Review Tribunal after his experience of bullying and discrimination at work. Alex joins Madeleine Chapman on Behind the Story to talk about the unique process and care involved in taking a cold email and turning it into a longform feature.

For The Spinoff editor’s thoughts on the week that was, as well as a handpicked collection of the week’s best reads, subscribe to The Weekend with Madeleine Chapman newsletter at thespinoff.co.nz/newsletters

Spinoff staff writer Shanti Mathias loves to go deep on topics, in a way few people would ever consider. This week, we published her data work on food imports and exports in Aotearoa, finding out where exactly we get such everyday items as wheat, rice and bananas. Who knew Australia grew so much of our food? Shanti joins Madeleine Chapman on Behind the Story to talk about the extensive process of parsing massive datasets and research in order to make these stories accessible.

For The Spinoff editor’s thoughts on the week that was, as well as a handpicked collection of the week’s best reads, subscribe to The Weekend with Madeleine Chapman newsletter at thespinoff.co.nz/newsletters

On Friday, Bulletin editor Anna Rawhiti-Connell sent her final newsletter, and took the opportunity to share what she’s learned about the news over two years of curating it for thousands of New Zealanders. Earlier in the week, she’d seen reports of Auckland dog owners discarding their pets’ turds on the ground after Auckland Council removed bins across the city.

And so, the column “If you love a dog, you must also love disposing of its shit” was born. Anna joins Madeleine Chapman to talk about the power journalists have when framing a story and how to find the middle ground between boring and sensational.

For The Spinoff editor’s thoughts on the week that was, as well as a handpicked collection of the week’s best reads, subscribe to The Weekend with Madeleine Chapman newsletter at thespinoff.co.nz/newsletters