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The Spinoff issues plea for 5000 new members
The Spinoff is asking its audience and the wider public to back its push for 5,000 new members by the end of the year.
In a letter addressed to readers, CEO Amber Easby detailed the dual pressures of generative AI and the continued flight of advertising revenue to offshore tech giants.
While a 2024 funding drive successfully saved the newsroom – growing membership from 9,000 to 13,000 – Easby warns that the external challenges facing New Zealand journalism have only intensified in 2026.
A volatile digital landscape
The Spinoff reports that the rise of generative AI has fundamentally altered how audiences find news. As AI models scrape original reporting to provide instant summaries, referral traffic from search engines to local news sites has plummeted. International data cited by the outlet shows a decline in referral traffic as high as 33%.
“The content we generate is now being used to train the very tools that threaten our livelihood,” says Easby.
“Despite our market-leading engagement, the commercial landscape remains incredibly volatile. The vast majority of digital advertising spend is disappearing offshore to big tech companies who remain largely untaxed on their New Zealand profits.”
Critical milestone
To remain sustainable and keep its journalism free of a paywall, The Spinoff has set a goal to increase its membership by 38% before the end of 2026.
“We have proven there is a deep, enduring desire for independent media in Aotearoa,” says Easby.
“Our surge in membership in late 2024 nurtured a newsroom of talented journalists and allowed us to appoint Veronica Schmidt as editor. However, to ensure we are still here in the years to come, we need to reach this new milestone.”
