In a few short years Joe Daymond went from sleeping on a mate’s couch to selling out Sky City Theatre with his stand-up show, all driven by a very smart and analytical use of social media. But the plan was always to build a TV empire – and with production company West Park, he’s already well on his way. [First released February 2022.]<br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

After an extraordinary decade with Three, during which she became the zeitgeist face of the press gallery, Tova O’Brien abruptly resigned late last year. After an ugly and public employment relations authority case, she finally got to start a new gig in a new medium with a new station at Today FM. Despite all that, she is crackling with energy as she joins Duncan Greive on The Fold.<br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

There is a lot going on in New Zealand’s media at the moment, so Duncan Greive takes the mic alone to deliver a solo podcast on the three issues which feel most pressing, including the freaky state of the TVNZ-RNZ merger, an increasingly isolated and aggressive Facebook and how the Queen’s death marked the end of a media era.<br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

Former National cabinet minister Simon Power was a surprise appointment to lead TVNZ, but his skills as a politician have come in handy with the biggest change at the state broadcaster in decades fast approaching. He joins Duncan Greive on The Fold to discuss the merger – why he believes in the concept but not the current bill, and his vision for ANZPM should he be appointed to lead it.<br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

The third season of Alice Snedden’s Bad News will be the last – and that’s fine, its creator tells Duncan Greive. Alice Snedden joins The Fold to explain why the show’s over, and how it and her have changed in the five years since it debuted.<br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

Founded in 2011, The Conversation has risen from Melbourne to become one of the most influential platforms for academic publishing in the world. Its New Zealand editor Finlay Macdonald explains the two crucial innovations which have driven its success, and reflects on his career writing and editing at The Listener when it was in the prime of its societal influence.<br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

The former ED of Tāmaki Makaurau’s trailblazing venue The Basement, Elise Sterback is currently partway through a PhD on the subject of arts funding. She thinks a lottery would produce more equitable results, and maps the current system and her proposed solutions on The Fold.<br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

She’s objectively one of the most successful actors this country has produced, in terms of the scale of her roles, yet Michelle Ang is not in it for the fame (she’s currently employed as the Spinoff’s finance person). What she is about is the brilliant tension between the creative and the disciplined, manifest in her wildly varied career, which spans Neighbours, Fear the Walking Dead, McDonald’s Young Entertainers as well four different more intimate productions released this year alone. Most notably Hair Now, an outstanding docu-series dropping weekly on The Spinoff.<br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>We say it a lot, but this<em> really</em> is a must-listen for anyone hoping to reach the new wave of risk takers and decision makers. Gen Z is making and consuming media in ways and at a pace that can be difficult for older generations to understand. They've never known a world without digital connection at its core and we're on the precipice of massive societal change as a result. New York-based Rex Woodbury writes a tech-meets-culture Substack called <a href="https://digitalnative.substack.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Digital Native</a>, and Duncan is obsessed. Also obsessed is Duncan's friend, and real life Gen Z legend, Lucy Blakiston (<a href="https://shityoushouldcareabout.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Shit You Should Care About</a>). This week the pair team up to interview Rex about why we're in the early stages of multiple major shifts and what it all means for media and society as a whole from this very moment on.</p><br><p><br></p><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

After two decades working as an exec at Sky, John Tapu resigned to start Kava Bowl Media. He's already made a rugby league show which has sold into Australia and the islands, with a special eye for talent and distinctive humour. He joins Duncan Greive on The Fold to explain how he did it.&nbsp;<br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

Freshly-minted media minister Willie Jackson joins Duncan Greive to explain the government’s plans for its merged media platforms – and what that means for NZ on Air. He talks about the Public Interest Journalism Fund and why he believes settlements with Google and Facebook are the right approach to replacing it. In addition, he reminisces on his trailblazing time in the music industry, and reflects on his one big regret.<br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

After being let go from her radio job in 2020, Brodie Kane made the brave decision to build her own podcast company just as the pandemic hit. Now Brodie Kane Media has a smash hit on her hands in The Girls Uninterrupted, and a growing stable of related podcasts that marks her as a media entrepreneur to watch. She joins Duncan Greive to talk about her new business, her career in broadcasting and her inspirational run on Dancing With the Stars.<br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>Alex Braae was the founding editor of The Bulletin before joining TVNZ's flagship politics show Q+A as executive producer. He and its host Jack Tame have embarked on a thoughtful reimagining of the show and its role this year, largely doing away with panels and heading out into the field more. They join Duncan Greive on The Fold to discuss the role of political current affairs shows, and how to capture younger audiences in the Tiktok era.</p><p><br></p><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

She started a Twitter account for the Auckland Theatre Company, and within a few years was running social for one of New Zealand’s biggest banks; thus becoming one of the first wave of social media experts in Aotearoa. Now she’s largely abandoned the platforms in taking a new role as the author of the Bulletin – and now head of newsletters for The Spinoff. Anna Rawhiti-Connell explains her fascinating professional journey to Duncan Greive.<br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

The relationship between media and museums is stronger than you might expect. Courtney Johnston is the youngest Tumu Whakarae / chief executive in Te Papa’s history. She oversees a staff of 600 and an institution with an unresolvable complex mission: one national museum to serve all our peoples. Yet Johnston gets a massive kick out of her big, unruly and fascinating job, and agrees with the thesis that museums were the original media.<br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

Peter Newport founded Crux to address the fact that the big west coast towns of Te Waipounamu had no major newspaper serving them. Four years on, Crux has endured the usual startup travails, but also become a key voice in the region’s journalism. He joins The Fold to tell Duncan Greive why and how he did it.<br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

Known for weird and highly original TV shows, Leigh Hart is also a wildly innovative business person. In a rare earnest and out-of-character interview, he explains how he has built the singular Moon TV universe, and the way beer and chips have naturally grown out of his approach to funding his escapades.<br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

Sometimes I just get to indulge in pure fandom on this show, and this is one of those times. Henry Cooke has been in the press gallery for just five years, but had a lightning fast rise to the role of chief political reporter. He writes brilliantly about all aspects of our politics with verve and a sense of the institution that belies his years (he’s 29). As he leaves on his OE, I got to ask him about one of the most fascinating jobs in journalism.<br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

It’s 30 years since Shortland Street debuted on our screens, and in that time Aotearoa has transformed. The daily soap opera is a maligned format, but the way Shortland Street does it, it really shouldn’t be. Where many soaps are fundamentally conservative, Shortland Street has been consistently and impressively progressive. The show’s producer, and one-time star, Oliver Driver, comes on The Fold to explain how they get it done.<br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>Able is the home of the captioning and audio description services which make television accessible to hearing and vision impaired New Zealanders – and it’s about to lose the only leader it's ever had. Outgoing chief executive Wendy Youens tells The Fold about her haerenga, the importance of Able’s work – and why the same services barely exist on New Zealand’s streaming services.</p><p>Read the full transcript: <a href="https://able.co.nz/news/the-fold-duncan-grieve-wendy-youens/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://able.co.nz/news/the-fold-duncan-grieve-wendy-youens/</a></p><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

She has produced television for decades, from every conceivable angle. Now, Irene Gardiner has taken on the presidency of producers’ guild, Spada, at the most fascinating and complex time in the sector’s history.<br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

A second conversation with press gallery wonk, Bernard Hickey, about his newsletter / podcast product, The Kākā. It’s just 18 months old and only six months into its paywall, but already has become financially sustainable. Now he’s landed on a quixotic plan to grow it – make it free, to hundreds of thousands more people.<br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

Duncan Greive tackles two huge media stories of the past week. This week: Netflix’s big miss and Elon Musk taking Twitter private.

<p>From a piqued interest in high school leading him hustling into radio work, Nathan Rarere's journey in broadcasting began doing the overnight shift. Most recently finding himself as the host of First Up on RNZ, over his history as a broadcaster, Nathan has been a part of many cultural pinpoints across the spectrum. Nathan joins the pod to chat his extensive path to First Up, how an early gig became a TV pinnacle of alt youth culture, and how to make good media.</p><p><br></p><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

At the height of a global pandemic (thus in an amplified and tense state), being new to the media world is no easy task. However, taking it in his stride and coming from a large breadth of diversified roles, his decades of experience elsewhere have lead Don Mann to his current position as CEO of the Pacific Media Network. Although each pinpoint in his working career are seemingly different, Don sees and implements their core similarity as a driving force: serving community. Today, he joins The Fold to speak on representation in the media of Aotearoa, diversity development, and the complexities of his role in its relationships to both the media, and community.<br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>