Marlborough Express cut to three days

The Marlborough Express newspaper will soon be published just three days a week, Fairfax Media announced today. Photo/File

The Marlborough Express newspaper will soon be published just three days a week, Fairfax Media announced today.

The Blenheim-based newspaper, which was first printed in 1866, will also shift from an evening to a morning newspaper when the changes are implemented from May 17.

The paper will be published on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings instead of every weekday evening.

Fairfax said that local news and information from Marlborough would also be published by the local team of journalists all day, every day on Stuff and its subsidiary site Neighbourly.

Fairfax group executive editor Sinead Boucher said changing audience and advertiser habits from print to digital required a rethink of the approach in the region.

The challenges faced by the Express were not unique to Marlborough, or to New Zealand.

"Media organisations the world over are having to rethink the sustainability of their local newspaper models. The reality is we can't continue with a daily newspaper in Marlborough for much longer, but we have been an integral part of the community for 150 years and we want to stay that way.

"Making changes to the newspaper when we've been around for so long is not something we treat lightly, so we wanted the decision to be a collaborative one that encompassed the views and ideas from across our communities. This is why we asked the people of Marlborough, advertisers, the local council, our staff and others for their input."

Boucher said he hoped it would prove to be a more sustainable model for Fairfax's local journalism in Marlborough.

"By shifting the Marlborough Express to a morning publication and reducing the number of days we print we will be making significant savings in distribution and production.

"Most important though is that we're giving Marlborough options for receiving their local news in the ways that suit them best, with little compromise to our journalism representation in the region."

The newspaper will be complemented by the introduction of a five-day per week e-newsletter, the Marlborough Express Daily, and the continued presence of the Marlborough Midweek community newspaper on Thursdays as well as the Saturday Express community newspaper.

Fairfax Marlborough regional editor Nicola Coburn said one of the ideas to be harnessed involved working with senior citizen groups to train "citizen journalists".

"We're excited to be able to try new ways of doing things and new ways of collaborating and engaging with readers. This also presents a good opportunity to take stock and draw on the Express' own heritage and archives to better connect our community," she said.