Glen Kyne joins Duncan Greive on The Fold to recap a significantly smaller but somehow considerably better Voyager Media Awards. (Apologies to Gulf News and NZ Geographic, each of which had notable wins which didn't get mentioned). Next they discuss the latest, potential the final developments in the NZME board coup saga, before addressing a big financial boost to inbound movie subsidies – and The Spinoff's own major editorial news.

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For a long time New Zealand's country music audience was presumed to be the town of Gore and its immediate surrounds. Few albums got released, and major artists almost never toured. That all changed in the past few years, with streaming both proving and generating a huge global audience for country – and artists like Luke Combs and Morgan Wallen playing shows to massive local crowds. That has prompted two separate radio stations to launch, the first an independent led by veteran broadcaster Mike Puru, with a second launched by NZME just last week. Puru and NZME chief audio officer Jason Winstanley join Duncan Greive on The Fold to talk about the rise of country, why it requires its own stations and give a view on the current state of digital audio in Aotearoa.

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Yesterday US president Donald Trump announced 100% tariffs on all foreign-made movies. It was an extraordinary and potentially hugely destructive piece of news for the mighty but embattled film industry. It was also extremely unclear exactly what it meant. Glen Kyne joins Duncan Greive on an emergency edition of The Fold to discuss the news and try and game out its impact both globally and locally. They also dig into the latest beats of the ongoing NZME board takeover saga – with big changes to the exec and the potential arrival of Steven Joyce as chair.

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Dylan Reeve has spent his whole career working on iconic New Zealand television shows, from Shortland Street, to Treasure Island to Outrageous Fortune. But after listening to last week’s episode of The Fold, he wonders whether we’re even asking the right questions. He sent a provocative note which questions whose interests are being served by incremental reforms to NZ On Air or the screen production rebate (or SPR), and joins Duncan Greive to discuss whether the current institutions can or should be saved – and what an alternate plan might look like.

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The media has always been largely funded by advertising – but that's unlikely to be the case in future. Two stories over the past week addressed different aspects of what might step into the void it creates. Duncan Greive returns alongside Glen Kyne for an episode which explores how media was, is and might be funded in future – taking the NZ on Air system, the screen production rebate, tech funding, audience revenue and private funders, addressing requests to expand each, and the challenges they bring.

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The job of chief news and content officer at TVNZ has been one of the most talked-about leadership roles in New Zealand media. Last week, it was announced that Nadia Tolich will leave her position as managing director of Stuff Digital to take up the role.

Glen Kyne joins Anna Rawhiti-Connell to discuss the enormity of the task ahead for Tolich and why high profile exits mightn’t be as scandalous as you think. They also analyse the case laid out by Philip Crump on Monday for a Jim Grenon-led board at NZME and reflect on the slivers of hope that recent anti-trust ruling in the US offer those wanting to see big tech reined in.

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It’s been five years since Bauer exited New Zealand, devastating the magazine industry and heralding an era of enormous disruption for media in this country. Iconic Auckland title, Metro Magazine, was a casualty of that closure. The publication has found its feet again and is flourishing under independent ownership. As Auckland evolves, so too does Metro.

Henry Oliver has been the editor of Metro for over six years now. He joins Anna Rawhiti-Connell to discuss magazine life five years after the Bauer exit, the growing buzz about the revival of print magazines, the impact of social media on criticism, reviews, social satire, and gossip, and how Metro stays relevant as a tastemaker in a constantly changing city.

They discuss what Oliver is most proud of, his editorial approach, and why magazines should deliver the expected and the unexpected. Oliver describes where the fun and reward lie for him as a magazine editor in a vastly changed industry and mulls whether a Felicity Ferret-esque figure (RIP to the queen of social satire and local snark), could ever make a comeback.

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Last week, NZME’s board laid out its case against Jim Grenon’s attempt to take control of the board, introducing previously unspoken concerns about editorial influence to the fight. It prompted a new round of reactions and letters and the introduction of a few new players.

Following Donald Trump’s tariff announcement, $6.6 trillion was wiped off the value of US stocks in 48 hours, creating fresh concern about a global economic downturn. While the tariffs don’t yet extend to services, lobbying efforts by tech companies and streamers to stop countries from forcing them to pay levies, invest in local content production, or meet quotas will be boosted by Trump’s war against the “overseas exploitation” of American companies, putting a potential dampener on New Zealand’s freshly minted media reform proposals.

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It's been a rough PR month for Meta, with two of the most-discussed cultural artefacts of the year both directly concerning their two biggest products. Duncan Greive is joined by Anna Rawhiti-Connell to discuss Careless People, the explosive memoir by New Zealand diplomat Sarah Wynn-Williams about her time at Facebook; and Adolescence, the extraordinary Netflix series about a murder which occurs after radicalisation and bullying on Instagram.

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Glen Kyne joins Duncan Greive on the Fold to discuss a torrid few weeks in media ownership, with billionaire Jim Grenon's attempt to install a new board at NZME and revelations that both parts of Stuff are potentially in play. Kyne and Greive discuss both of Grenon's letters, both the business analysis and the vision for news, while also looking at what Stuff could do if it was part of Trade Me's empire.

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