Duncan Greive (born 1979) is the founder and managing editor of ''

The Spinoff ''The Spinoff'' is a New Zealand online magazine and news website that was founded in 2014. It is known for current affairs coverage, political and social analysis, and cultural commentary. It earns money through commercial sponsorship and su ...

'', a subscriber- and sponsor-funded online magazine based in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

, New Zealand.

Life and career

Greive was born in Auckland in 1979, then spent the first 10 years of his life in

South London South London is the southern part of Greater London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, Lon ...

. His English mother worked as a social worker, and his New Zealand-born father initially had trouble getting work, until he got a job at the Top Deck bus tour company. After a Top Deck owner founded the

Flight Centre Flight Centre Travel Group (FCTG) is an Australian travel agency. It was founded in 1982, and is headquartered in Brisbane, Australia. FCTG operates under multiple names in Australia, New Zealand, United States, Canada, United Kingdom, South ...

travel agency, Greive's family returned to New Zealand in 1990, where his father was managing director of Flight Centre in New Zealand. His parents later became major shareholders in the Barkers fashion label. Greive attended

Auckland Grammar Auckland Grammar School (often simplified to Auckland Grammar, or Grammar), established in 1869, is a state, day and boarding secondary school for boys in Auckland, New Zealand. The school has produced more national rugby team members than a ...

and the

University of Auckland The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loc ...

, where he studied history. Greive left university at 21 before graduating to take up a job as a postie, as he was about to become a father. He went on to finish his history degree part-time. While delivering mail he found work as a reviewer for the Auckland music magazine '' Real Groove''. When editor John Russell resigned in 2004, Greive was turned down as his replacement, as he did not have a journalism qualification. So he enrolled in the

Auckland University of Technology Auckland University of Technology ( AUT; ) is a university in New Zealand, formed on 1 January 2000 when a former technical college (originally established in 1895) was granted university status. AUT is New Zealand's third largest university i ...

postgraduate journalism course. Three months after graduating he became the ''Real Groove'' editor. By 2009, Greive was working in marketing for Barkers, and working as a freelance journalist. Since 2012 he has written for ''

New Zealand Geographic ''New Zealand Geographic'' is a bi-monthly magazine founded in 1989 and published by Kōwhai Media of Auckland, New Zealand. In the format popularised by ''National Geographic,'' it focuses on the biodiversity, geography, and culture of New Zea ...

'', ''Metro'', ''North & South'', ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', '' Pantograph Punch'', ''The Listener'', ''Faster Louder'' and ''Sky Sport Magazine'', the ''New Zealand Herald'', ''Stuff'', ''

Newshub ''Newshub'' (stylised as Newshub.) was a New Zealand news service that operated from 1989 to 2024 and served as the local news division of Warner Bros. Discovery New Zealand until its closure. The division, known as ''3 News'' until 2016, had ...

'' and

Radio New Zealand Radio New Zealand (), commonly known as RNZ or Radio NZ, is a New Zealand public service broadcaster and Crown entity. Established under the Radio New Zealand Act 1995, it operates news and current affairs station, RNZ National, and a classi ...

. In 2015 he co-wrote ''Dan Carter: My Story'' with former

All Black The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks, is the representative men's national team in the sport of rugby union for the nation of New Zealand, which is considered the country's national sport. Famed for th ...

Dan Carter Daniel William Carter (born 5 March 1982) is a New Zealand retired rugby union player. Carter played for the Crusaders in Super Rugby and for New Zealand's national team, the All Blacks. He is the highest point scorer in test match rugby, a ...

. The autobiography, published by Auckland publisher Upstart Press, was the biggest-selling book in New Zealand in 2015 and won Best Autobiography in the 2016 Sportel Awards.

''The Spinoff''

In 2014 Greive launched ''

'', an online news site publishing breaking news, politics, pop culture, reviews and social issues across a range of platforms. The business is owned by Grieve and his wife Nicola, a lawyer at the Serious Fraud Office. It operates as a website and a copywriting agency; ''Spinoff'' staff writers are funded by subscribers and commercial sponsors. The site began as a blog about TV shows sponsored by streaming platform

Lightbox A lightbox is a translucent surface illuminated from behind, used for situations where a shape laid upon the surface needs to be seen with high contrast. Types Several varieties exist, depending on their purpose: * Various backlit viewing device ...

. ''The Spinoff'' also publishes daily newsletters and podcasts. "''The Spinoff'' was a combination of an accident and an experiment," Greive told the University of Auckland in a 2017 series on alumni titled ''40 under 40: Influencers''. "The traditional funding model for journalism is fundamentally broken and I wanted to see if I could create a new model that allowed me to grow a business that’s a combination of a media company and a creative agency."

Publications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Greive, Duncan 1979 births New Zealand music journalists New Zealand editors New Zealand magazine editors New Zealand journalists New Zealand columnists Writers from Auckland University of Auckland alumni Living people