What does this have to do with the fact my team and I are all about to made redundant? Quite a bit actually, if you ask me.
NZME’s decision to close the majority of its community titles wasn’t an easy one for the company I would guess. Given there was plenty of feedback from mayors, MPs, community leaders and readers, all supporting their local papers and appealing for the company to reconsider, it certainly wasn’t made because the company thought people didn’t want local news.
The reality is, that while people like, or even love, their local community papers, packed with local news and events, NZME is a business, and it can’t keep providing something it can’t afford. It costs money to print a paper (not to mention the staffing cost), and that cost is covered by advertisers. The local businesses who pay for advertising in your local paper are the ones helping bring you a paper each week.
So take a look through this week’s papers and the ones preceding it as well as next week’s final edition - and appreciate those advertisers. Please support them because they have been doing more than simply advertising their goods and services with us, they have been supporting the community by ensuring it has access to a free local paper.
Sadly, just as Temu and other online operators have taken business away from local shops, print media companies are facing a similar struggle. Not only are some advertisers moving to online advertising more than print, but also when businesses are struggling themselves, or facing a drop in customer revenue as online retailers step into the market, they often have to make cuts, including to their advertising spend.
People are also looking online for their news, and not just from media company websites. Facebook, X, the website formally known as Twitter, Instagram ... people are taking their news from a variety of sources now. While I enjoy a scroll on social media as much as the next person, I also know its failings - this morning my social media feed offered me three bits of clearly fake news, two potential scams and a “fun quiz” that was actually more interested in finding out my password than really caring what my first pet was called ...
Just as we should be careful when buying online - we should also be careful when getting our news there.
Buying from an overseas online marketplace over a local shop might save you a few cents, but as recent events have proven, it comes with a risk. The risk of a product that isn’t as good quality and has the potential to cause harm, but also the risk of losing your local shop in the long term.
An overseas outlet might save you a dollar or five on your phone charger, but they won’t donate a prize for your school PTA raffle. An online retailer might sell you the latest bestseller, but it won’t let you exchange it when you realise you already have that book in your ever-growing to-read pile.
If we don’t change how we shop, we risk losing our local shops, just as we are now losing our community paper.
Many in our communities rely on free papers for more than just firelighters in winter - they are a source of relevant local news. We report on things that matter to those who live here - from potential rates rises to the (ever-increasing and ridiculous) number of potholes on our highways. We cover student successes across academics, sporting and arts. We go to Christmas parades, A&P shows, community fundraisers, the list goes on. We run articles on sports clubs, print sports reports and write about upcoming events from car shows to street food festivals. In local government election years, we host meet the candidate events and run a series of articles putting questions to the candidates and recording their answers.
So after December 18, when our final edition is printed, will you find those things at that online marketplace?
I can’t stop our paper closing, but I can appeal to you to let this be the last loss for the town when it comes to businesses and services. Please, keep shopping locally and supporting the people making our community one to be proud of.
Ilona Hanne is a Taranaki-based journalist and news director who covers breaking and community news from across the lower North Island. She has worked for NZME since 2011.
