The digital wave continues to wash through the New Zealand publishing sector, with a number of well-known newspapers set to close over the next month.
Publisher Stuff is closing around 15 community newspapers - including its stable of long-running Auckland free titles - with the likely loss of just under 15 jobs.
The media company dropped the news on its own website yesterday, with the headline that “several” newspapers were closing - on closer inspection, the list of casualties extends beyond a dozen.
The titles are Cambridge Edition, Feilding Rangitīkei Herald, Franklin County News, Hutt News, Kapi Mana News, Nelson Tasman Leader, Northern Outlook, South Taranaki Star, Southern Outlook and Auckland Community Newspapers.
The three-times-a-week Marlborough Express newspaper - which had been a daily newspaper up until 2017 - would move to digital only, the company said.
Stuff did not specifically name the Auckland titles but under the Auckland Community Newspapers umbrella sit at least half a dozen mastheads: Rodney Times, Central Leader, Eastern Bays Courier, Manukau/Papakura Courier, North Shore Times and the Western Leader.
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These titles, in one form or another, have been around for many decades; the Rodney Times’ history stretches back to 1901, while the North Shore Times was first published in 1949.
Their readerships have steadily fallen over time - according to Nielsen data, in 2024, the Rodney Times recorded 33,000 readers; the Central Leader 48,000, the Eastern Bays Courier 62,000; the Manukau/Papakura Courier 106,000; the North Shore Times 59,000 and the Western Leader 66,000.
There will be some sadness within the communities and the journalism sector - many reporters learned their craft at mastheads such as the North Shore Times and Central Leader - but there was an air of inevitability about Stuff’s announcement.
The company has closed a number of other community newspapers over the past seven years, while rival publisher NZME - owner of the NZ Herald - has been in the same boat.
NZME announced the closure of 14 community titles late last year.
Independent owners have picked up several former NZME titles in some regions, and Stuff Masthead Publishing managing director Joanna Norris said last night her company was open to a similar discussion.
“There might be people in the community with an interest in continuing these newspapers, and we are happy to discuss this with them,” said Norris.
While it has been tough for the main commercial media companies to sustain their community newspaper titles, there has been slightly more success for smaller operators who have fewer overheads and a laser-like focus on their communities.
Norris indicated there would be some, but not many, job losses at Stuff.
“We’re still working through proposals with affected staff and will be able to confirm numbers once consultation is complete. There are fewer than 15 roles overall affected by the decision to stop printing these titles.”
The company, in its own news story, talked up the success of its digital strategy, and this was reiterated by Norris.
“Since the launch of our digital subscription sites two years ago, Stuff Masthead Publishing has grown its national and regional audiences, now reaching 1.5 million New Zealanders across digital and our premium print products,” she said.
“The cost of an average community newspaper has risen about 46% in this period; these factors mean this is the right time to make this decision.”
Without the support of local councils and community businesses, the newspapers were simply unsustainable, Norris said in the Stuff article.
“We will continue to prioritise our premium print products in daily and weekend newspapers and magazines, while accelerating our shift into digital news,” she said.
“We will continue to have our people in all of these communities - the delivery mechanisms may be changing, but the important local storytelling remains.”
The Wairarapa Midweek, Waikato Local and Weekly Express community titles would continue to be published.
Stuff’s daily newspapers - including The Post, The Press, Timaru Herald, Southland Times, Nelson Mail, Taranaki Daily News, Manawatu Evening Standard, and Wairarapa Times-Age - would also continue.
The closure of the community titles comes after Stuff withdrew from discussions in March for a potential deal to sell its masthead division - including The Press and The Post newspapers and websites - to NZME.
NZME said that it had been in discussions with Stuff to buy the Stuff Masthead Publishing division but that Stuff had paused talks while it awaited the outcome of NZME’s board vote.
In its own statement, Stuff said it had withdrawn from the talks and had “no intention of resuming discussions at this stage”. That comment has been reiterated more recently by Stuff owner Sinead Boucher.
The masthead division includes the paywalled Post and Press websites but not the overall mass-market and free Stuff website.
Stuff this week confirmed its new deal with Trade Me was in place - Trade Me has bought 50% of Stuff Digital.
Editor-at-Large Shayne Currie is one of New Zealand’s most experienced senior journalists and media leaders. He has held executive and senior editorial roles at NZME including Managing Editor, NZ Herald Editor and Herald on Sunday Editor and has a small shareholding in NZME.
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