The One Good Thing Left In Journalism

Spoiler alert: It's Uranus.

Hi,

It’s almost Christmas Day which means it is almost my birthday, where you will find me whimpering in the corner clutching a warm bottle of Baileys.

If you’re out of ideas for presents (and truly desperate) then it is possible to gift a full Webworm subscription to a friend (or enemy) using this link: webworm.substack.com/gift.

You truly don’t know how hard that was to type — as New Zealanders we are taught that self promotion is one of the worst things a human can do.

And with that — a gift for you.

A beacon of hope in a horrific year for journalism. A beacon that beckons from a truly surprising place: Inside the mind of Hayden Donnell.

This all sounds heavily sarcastic, but Hayden is consistently one of my favourite writers. He was in the background of all my Arise church coverage, co-writing many pieces that led to Webworm winning “Best Team Investigation” at Voyager media awards last year. He can write a nuanced, in-depth piece for Webworm on a new court system one month, and a bonkers piece on humankind’s eternal quest for immortality the next.

As a paying member — you get all his stuff, and you allow me to pay him for doing it. That’s what I love about how Webworm works: No ads, no bs, just direct reader-supported creation.

And his last essay for 2024 is a fucking delight.

David.