Fourteen free community newspapers being shut down
It’s very disappointing to read that the media company NZME is closing its 14 local newspapers in the North Island, with a loss of around 30 jobs.
According to NZME, these papers are no longer profitable. However, they are often the only source communities have of local news. I’ve worked for the local council and our local community paper (Kapi-Mana News) was often the only paper we could get interested in local news and events. The papers are delivered free to everyone in the community, and the majority of people will read them, as opposed to the daily papers, which aren’t free and not as widely read.
I’m not convinced they aren’t profitable. They are often chockfull of real estate adverts, and it will be a real blow to them. Not everyone likes the real estate ads, but if they pay for the publishing, I’m happy to flick past them.
I know the news media aren’t charities, but if their values include helping to create an informed citizenry, closing these papers is not the best way of doing it.