The Stratford Press was first published in 1960.
THREE KEY FACTS
- NZ Herald publisher NZME is proposing to close 14 community newspapers, with the loss of about 30 jobs
- The Stratford Press began life as the Mountain Town News in 1958
- The first edition of the Stratford Press was published on February 11, 1960
Neil Volzke is the mayor of the Stratford District
OPINION
By chance, I was attending a local government meeting with colleagues from across the lower North Island when we were given the news that NZME proposed to close down the Stratford Press, alongside 13 other community newspapers across New Zealand. There was a clear sense of surprise and disbelief among us and plenty of speculation about what the future without our respective local papers would look like.
Many people in our community will have strong links to the paper, links formed over many years of reading about their clubs and organisations and great stories about local people and events. For me personally, the nostalgia trip goes back to my high school days when I earned pocket money delivering the Stratford Press once a week.
At last week’s Stratford District Council (SDC) policy and services committee meeting, concerns were expressed about the recent announcement. Elected members all agreed that the proposal could have major implications for the residents of the Stratford district, as well as those in Eltham and Inglewood, if it was confirmed.
The Stratford Press has been part of this community since 1960, sharing relevant and timely news, stories about our local people, organisations and business, and valuable information that helps our community stay connected. It reflects the communities it’s delivered in, highlighting local achievements, giving a voice to real people, and providing a platform that shares the issues that you won’t find in other news outlets.
Community support is what papers such as the Stratford Press are all about. Informing locals about events and activities relevant to them, celebrating the unsung heroes and providing a space where community members can feel at home. It’s deeply saddening that this might all be lost in a matter of weeks.
I have conveyed our concerns to NZME. I hope it can explore alternative options that would retain local news coverage for central Taranaki and find a way to uphold the importance of local storytelling and journalism. If this proposal goes ahead, there’s a real risk our communities will become more disconnected and ill-informed than ever before.
Many readers hold the Stratford Press in high regard and as a reliable source of information on council-related matters. Closure would leave a huge chasm in that information trail and it is very unlikely that the regional paper will look to fill the gap.
Because of our small population base, in my view the regional paper seems to have little interest in reporting on community happenings and following cutbacks of their own, has limited capacity to venture beyond the boundaries of New Plymouth.
The potential information vacuum offers great potential for our favourite keyboard warriors to play havoc and no doubt they will.
Already we so often see uninformed, inaccurate, uncensored and speculative comments that make the heart miss a beat, but in the future if the Stratford Press closure is confirmed, those social media comments will be unchallenged and even more unbalanced. Let’s hope a change can be made and the Stratford Press continues to be printed.