How you can support our team in the next 16 days.
No one knows what the next government will look like yet, but one thing is certain – there are fewer working journalists than previous elections. In 2024, The Spinoff estimated that local journalism roles had dropped from 3,381 in 2018 to just 1,439. After another round of cost cutting across the industry, that figure is likely to shrink further.
Our small team has been working flat-out to deliver rigorous and balanced election coverage – from in-depth leader profiles and candidate interviews to policy explainers and reports from the campaign trail. We’ve been extensively covering the debates – liveblogging the events and delivering analysis the morning after. We even hosted a live debate about our own electorate of Mt Albert.
We’re proud of what we’ve produced so far and don’t plan on slowing down in the next 16 days. But covering an election is a massive undertaking for a team our size – especially given the wider challenges we face as an industry.
As AI models scrape our original reporting to provide quick summaries, search traffic to news sites has plummeted, with some international reports showing a 33% drop in referral traffic. The content we generate is being used to train the very tools that threaten our livelihood.
In August, we set a goal of 1,000 new donations before the election. We still need 425 new donations before the election to help cover the cost of our coverage.
If you’re able, please consider making a donation today. We know that many of our donations come from people who are already Spinoff Members. If that's you, thank you. We don't take your support for granted.
Amber Easby
Amber Easby is the CEO at The Spinoff. She was previously head of video, executive producing more than 30 documentary series for the website. Before that, she worked for a band, wrote a book, owned a bar and produced the music video for Lorde’s Royals.
