THE SPINOFF
As much as digital is often blamed for decimating the revenue stream of traditional media channels, it’s also spawned interesting products that offer users more choice than they’ve ever had in history. In the last few years, we’ve had The Spinoff, The Wireless, Noted, NZ Herald Focus and Newsroom all added to a digital news menu that already includes established players, such as
Stuff and Vice. And of those, it’s The Spinoff that stands out as best of the bunch.
The Spinoff ’s TV- themed content was originally proposed to be housed in Lightbox’s website, however, with the potential of contravening the SVOD’S contracts, a dedicated standalone website was created. Lightbox is one of a number of sponsors of
The Spinoff, and the types of content it offers and the senior writers it’s attracted have grown just as rapidly, with stories, videos and podcasts now available through the site and its app.
The Spinoff App launched earlier this year as another means by which to engage audiences. Founder and editor Duncan Greive told Stoppress the changes to Facebook newsfeed algorithms got the team thinking about how those accessing it via social media were possibly missing stories that would have real resonance with them.
That strategy surrounding social media is a characteristic of all the nominees and the
NZ Herald Focus is careful not to post all of its content on Facebook. Instead, managing editor Shayne Currie told Stoppress it uses Facebook as a fishing pond for audiences as it posts only a selection of its videos and sometimes only partial videos in order to pull the audience back to its own site where NZME knows the engagement metrics and who the audience is. Continuing the news trend,
The Wireless, Noted, and Tim Murphy and Mark Jennings’
Newsroom are also performing well in the digital media brand category despite being new to the scene and their momentum may one day see them reach the same popularity of established players Stuff and Vice.
But it isn’t just about news in this category. Digital media brands also provide utility. Whether it’s Neighbourly connecting communities, Metservice keeping New Zealanders up to date on approaching cyclonesor Concrete Playground recommending the best things to do, digital media brands have burrowed their way into all the nooks and crannies of our lives.
The winner, The Spinoff, has just done that particularly well – especially with its humorous commentary on The Bachelor New Zealand.
One thing that’s certain is the news isn’t dead at all. It’s just morphing into a newfangled beast with tentacles stretching into every digital direction.