Madeleine Chapman reflects on the week (and 10 years) that was.
A lot of big things have happened in my life thanks to my motto of “just do one thing”. As a teenager, I was perfectly content at the high school all my older sisters went to, but my mum had bigger ambitions for me. She wanted me to go to private school, something we definitely couldn’t afford. There was one scholarship on offer for year 12 and 13 and Mum pushed me to apply. “Just fill out one application,” I thought, “then never think about it again.” I got the scholarship and four months later was dropped into an entirely foreign schooling environment.
The next year, I had every intention of going to university in Wellington, living at home for as long as I could and becoming a teacher. But there was one full-ride Māori-Pacific scholarship on offer in the whole country and it was offered by the University of Auckland. I didn’t want to move to Auckland and I hadn’t done any research into other scholarships or opportunities closer to home, but this one had a straightforward application process and seemed a long shot. I would be happy to not get it but not happy to have not given myself the chance. “Just fill out one application,” I thought, “then never think about it again.” I got the scholarship and four months later was dropped into an entirely foreign schooling environment.
The biggest thing to happen from “just doing one thing” was this job I have right now. As a 21-year-old graduate in 2015, I knew I wanted to write but I didn’t know how to get paid for it. The newspapers, even the community ones, required journalism qualifications to even get a look in. I wasn’t opposed to the idea but I’d just managed to get a degree with no student loan and had no interest in picking one up for a second go at it. I couldn’t write fiction so trying to write a book felt ridiculous and self indulgent. So what was left? Well, this funny website I’d started reading that published lots of funny writing and memes about local TV shows. Was it journalism? I honestly didn’t know. But I knew I could do it.
I found the editor Duncan Greive’s email on the site and drafted up a request for work, paid or otherwise. “Just send one email,” I thought, “then never think about it again.” Luckily for me, Duncan is a very prompt email responder and he replied within hours, offering me a six-week internship back in Auckland. There was no promise of work beyond that, and no promise of support beyond the internship itself. I figured I’d crash on my aunty’s couch for six weeks and if nothing else, it would be a Thing To Do, interning at this buzzy new media outlet.
Instead, I did the internship, accepted a job as an “editorial assistant”, moved to staff writer then senior writer, left for a year and returned as editor. Such a progression in six years would be impossible anywhere else but seems a given at The Spinoff. It’s a strange feeling to literally grow up within a workplace (I’m certainly not a believer in the “work is like family” ethos) and to grow up somewhat in the public eye. There are Spinoff readers who have read my very first pieces of writing and stuck with it as I’ve ventured into new topics, formats and opinions. If nothing else, my writing and intellectual growth can be clearly tracked in the 500 articles I’ve written for The Spinoff.
Whether I like it or not (and it’s a healthy dose of both), that one email in 2015 changed my life completely. This week, as The Spinoff turns 10, I can’t help but remember that email and wonder what the next 10 years will bring.
This week’s episode of Behind the Story
This week 10 years ago, a website was launched. It was a TV blog, dedicated to the most prestige and the most comforting of shows, and it had two writers on staff, founder Duncan Greive and film critic Alex Casey. The first article ever published by thespinoff.co.nz was about the return of Full House. Today, that editorial has an editorial team of 20, with writers and editors in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin. We have podcasts, like this one, video series and live events. The Spinoff 10 years on looks very different to the little TV blog that launched in September 2014. But some names persist.
Duncan Greive, Toby Manhire and Alex Casey joined me this week to take a brisk walk through a decade of The Spinoff.
So what have readers spent the most time reading this week?
- Joel MacManus goes hunting for the cycleways being blamed for the closure of three cafes in Wellington.
- Duncan Greive pours his heart and soul into this long read about the epic, thrilling, ridiculous story of The Spinoff’s first 10 years. If you haven’t yet read, make a brew, settle in and enjoy.
- Hera Lindsay Bird ranks all 85 of The Spinoff’s rankings, from worst to best
- Liam Rātana argues that David Seymour is digging his own political grave
- More David Seymour as Hayden Donnell reflects on the Act leader’s response to church leaders this week
Comments of the week
“Thank you for this lovely peek behind the curtain at one of Aotearoa’s treasures. I was recently overseas and tried to explain The Spinoff to a colleague from the UK – it defies explanation and continues to surprise and delight me, an immigrant from the U.S. I am continually amazed by your collective brilliance, risk-taking, and dedication to continual evolution. To all the spinnies past, present, and future: thanks for the memories and keep giving us new and interesting ways to look at our world (high and low)! Congratulations.”
— Neera
We have loved reading your comments on our birthday coverage. Thank you.
“The goal here and all over the world has to be “Unity within Diversity”, but I fear that Act and NZ First want us to like ‘Uniformity’. The beauty of the world and everything within it comes from the multi-faceted differences. In the last two years we have seen the death of a Monarch and the crowning of a new one under the auspices of two different cultures that both call NZ home. Did the pomp and glory of one seem more noble than the other. Each day I live in NZ my English birth seems less and less relevant. I have traced my family tree back to the 1600’s but it doesn’t translate into true heritage, nor does it bestow guiding principles on my life. We all have much to learn from indigenous people the world over. Hopefully we will move away from all that divides us.”
— Richard
Pick up where this leaves off
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