You may have seen the announcement from Stuff last week that it is closing 15 community newspapers across the country, including the Nelson Tasman Leader.
Stuff says they are focused on digital news and that the increase in costs to print newspapers is becoming too much. In our opinion, their papers have closed because they stopped caring about their papers years ago.
Publishing a newspaper – like running any business – can be tough, but newspapers are still the most effective way to connect communities and for local businesses to advertise.
This is because newspapers are trustworthy – there is no AI bot tracing your every move. Community newspapers – like Nelson Weekly, Waimea Weekly and Motueka Golden Bay Guardian – reach every home and they are filled with content relevant to our area and with adverts that are helpful, not annoying.
If newspapers stay focused on what they’re meant to be good at – delivering engaging, entertaining, and relevant stories to readers – then they will continue to be the most effective way for businesses to advertise. And that is the foundation of a sustainable model.
The Leader was once an effective community newspaper. I worked on it myself and it had talented reporters, good salespeople and they were engaged with their communities. But, sadly, it hasn't been that for more than a decade. Over time, Stuff cut journalists, cut sales staff, and cut delivery reach – then wondered why people stopped reading, and why advertisers stopped advertising.
We have seen examples all over the country that show the best run community newspapers are those owned by people in the communities they report on.
It’s too easy for corporates to cut costs on a spreadsheet without knowing the impact it will have on the community the paper serves. Newspapers need owners who care, and teams that are passionate about local stories, local people, and the local economy.
Since the Guardian launched in 1993, Waimea Weekly in 2005 and Nelson Weekly in 2010, they have been the only locally owned and operated newspapers servicing their areas. We believe that has made a real difference.
We work hard to tell local stories, to build trust, and to ensure our delivery network is strong – because when readers are engaged and businesses see results, the model works.
It’s my belief that every town in New Zealand will have one newspaper representing its region – but instead of the daily papers of 30 years ago, they’ll be weekly, community-driven publications.
When the Leader and the Nelson Mail were at their peak, they were owned locally by the Lucas family. Their strength came from their deep connection to the region.
That formula remains true today: for local newspapers to succeed, they need to be locally owned. We are proud of the fact that the Nelson Tasman region has one of the most robust and respected newspaper companies in the country, employing more than 40 people and another 160 contractors every week.
Our future looks bright because we work at it.
