Cracking the code: making news work for Gen Z with Now You Know
The media industry is obsessed with how to reach young people, often concluding that Gen Z is "fickle" and unreachable. But The Spinoff's social first explainer series, Now You Know, is proving otherwise.
01 Oct 2025
More about the episode
On this week's episode of The Fold, Duncan Greive sits down with The Spinoff's head of audience Anna Rawhiti-Connell and Now You Know host Robbie Nicol to break down the highly successful strategy behind the new social-first news explainer series.
With over 2.5 million views in just 10 weeks, Now You Know has won the attention of the 18-24 year-olds. Anna and Robbie discuss the philosophy of treating young people as worthy news consumers (not "exotic zoo animals"), the intentional craft used to blend serious journalism with platform-native comedy, and the differences in distributing content across TikTok, Instagram and YouTube Shorts. A must-listen for anyone looking for a blueprint on genuinely connecting with the next generation.
