Editor's blog: Your daily paper is changing

28/02/2013

Dear readers,

There are just four days to go until your morning compact weekday Bay of Plenty Times arrives.

It's been a busy few months planning and working on the new paper and the team behind it is excited.

We'll be bringing you unique local content, more local business and local sport, as well as other special content such as rural and country lifestyle.

We have two new liftouts - a food liftout titled flavours on Wednesday and a motoring liftout titled Driven on Fridays. Your Thursday entertainment guide vibe will receive a facelift.

There will be two puzzle pages, weather and television, and family notices all at the back of the paper where you can easily find them each weekday.

The type size in your new paper will remain the same.

There are 24 changes to the paper. Your local news will be more timely and the compact format easier to read.

The Bay of Plenty Times Weekend, already delivered and on sale Saturday mornings, will remain a broadsheet paper.

If you have any questions in the countdown to Monday, please send them to feedback@bayofplentytimes.co.nz. -

Scott Inglis

27/02/2013

Dear readers,

We are launching a high-octane motoring liftout with your new-look morning compact Bay of Plenty Times every Friday.

Local motoring enthusiast and writer Colin Smith will be covering new car reviews, model launches, local Speedway and events, classic cars, and deliver up-to-date news from the motoring world and industry.

Driven will deliver quality editorial content and pride itself on being lively, engaging and informative, and provide a fantastic platform for local car advertisers to reach their target audience.

Your new-look Bay of Plenty Times launches on March 4, and the first edition of Driven will appear inside the paper on Friday, March 8.

- Scott Inglis

26/02/2013

Dear readers,

Your TV guide is one of the most important parts of the paper.

And in your new-look morning compact paper, we will be giving it a fresh look.

The weather guide has also been overhauled, and we will be providing two puzzle pages each weekday.

TV, weather and puzzles will be grouped at the back of the paper, along with classified advertising.

On the inside back page, you will find the family notices and local cinema listings.

Together, these pages provide you with important information.

I hope you find them easy to access each weekday.

Tomorrow, I will tell you about the new Friday liftout we are introducing.

Your new-look weekday newspaper launches on Monday next week and will be more timely and convenient to read wherever you are.

- Scott Inglis

25/02/2013

Dear readers,

There are seven days until the launch of your new morning compact paper, and one of the changes will be a revamp of your Thursday entertainment liftout, vibe.

The liftout will be your one-stop local entertainment guide, for you to plan what to watch, listen to, see, play and do in the Bay and surrounding areas.

It will give you the best opportunity to plan your weekend and the week ahead.

The liftout will include seven-day television listings, which you can keep all week, including a preview of upcoming programmes and best of what is on the box during the week. We are also introducing a new television columnist, Roger Moroney.

There will be a page dedicated to movies, including reviews of latest releases and a guide to what is showing in your local cinemas during the week.

It also includes a detailed events section to help you get out and about. Music coverage will include a local gig guide.

After listening to feedback, we will also introduce a new Arts page dedicated to the thriving local arts scene.

Tracey Rudduck-Gudsell's popular column will be included, as will previews of exhibitions, and artist interviews and profiles.

The page will also include contributions from local arts organisations, and the arts diary for you to plan your culture fix.

We will be moving clubs and community listings to Bay News on March 7.

Your new-look weekday paper launches on March 4, and your revamped vibe will appear inside the paper on Thursday, March 7.

- Scott Inglis

23/02/2013

Dear readers,

We are launching an exciting new food liftout with your new-look morning compact Bay of Plenty Times.

Dedicated to local food, wine and drinks, and the thriving Bay cafe scene, flavours will be included in Wednesday's edition.

It will be written and designed for people who love food, and will be crammed with ideas, recipes, tips and tricks.

The liftout will be a celebration of the Bay's unique local flavours and fresh produce.

Our region is rapidly becoming recognised as a foodie destination. We have fabulous local produce from sea and land, and we are home to several top New Zealand wine producers.

The Bay's cafe scene is buzzing, whether it is a leisurely latte in the Mount, or a quick downtown flat white, our local cafes each have individual characters and our writers will be exploring them.

The Bay is also home to a variety of foodies and flavours will include columns and recipes from top Bay chefs such as Peter Blakeway and Belinda Lombard.

Jo Blennerhassett from the popular foodie destination Nosh will also be writing a regular column. Local Mount baker Danielle Cubis, who many of you may recognise from her stall at the Little Big Markets, will be sharing her Spongedrop secret recipes for everything from everyday lunchbox treats, to cakes that will impress your friends.

Wine connoisseur Yvonne Lorkin will be sharing her expansive knowledge of the grape, and Bay of Plenty Times favourite, Jan Bilton, will continue her much loved food page.

Bay of Plenty Times deputy editor Dylan Thorne will be musing about the latest beers, spirits and other drinks in a weekly drinks review.

Your new-look Bay of Plenty Times launches on March 4, and the first edition of flavours will appear inside the paper on Wednesday, March 6.

- Scott Inglis

22/02/2012

Dear readers,

Our second new columnist for the new-look morning compact Bay of Plenty Times is Marcel Currin.

Currin is a 38-year-old poet and writer.

He grew up in Taupo and has since lived in Auckland, Christchurch and also Invercargill where he worked behind the camera at Southland's regional television station, known back then as Mercury TV.

He moved to Tauranga in 2002 and is settled here with his wife and their three lively boys aged between 4 and 8.

A member of the Tauranga Writers group, his poetry lurks in literary journals and he has been published in several New Zealand anthologies.

The nation's NCEA students got to analyse one of his poems (called Shoved at Memorial Park) as part of their 2010 English exam.

Currin is the author of Ministry of Ideas, an off-beat collection of short stories.

Also an accomplished musician, Currin had three minutes of fame in 2012 when his YouTube song Rena versus the Ukulele made it on to breakfast television.

Those who have encountered Currin's writing will know him as someone who usually brings a new twist to any subject, most often with a cheeky grin.

His corner of the online universe is www.marcelcurrin.webs.com.

Currin's column will appear on Fridays.

The new paper launches March 4. Check out bayofplentytimes.co.nz/newlook/ for more details.

- Scott Inglis

21/02/2012

Dear readers,

We're introducing two new local columnists as part of your new-look morning compact newspaper.

The first is Tommy Kapai Wilson, who used to write for the paper and is back by popular demand.

Wilson is one of 11 in his family, born in Tauranga of Ngati Ranginui/Ngaiterangi/Pirirakau descent and now living in Te Puna where his mother's Borrel family first settled 150 years ago.

After leaving school, Wilson at the age of 16 left New Zealand to travel. For most of the next 25 years he worked and lived in a variety of countries.

Once employed as an aide-de-camp (butler), he looked after George Harrison, Jimmy Barnes, John Denver, Jimmy Buffett, His Royal Highness The Agha Khan, and The King and Queen of Nepal.

On returning home to New Zealand, Wilson began his writing career.

This has so far resulted in 35 publications in South Africa, Australia, China and New Zealand. These include Kapai The Kiwi, Cuzzies, Catseye Magazine and a weekly column in the Bay of Plenty Times for almost seven years.

The Scoop and Scribe series, in partnership with APN Newspapers, was one of his more recent publications.

Wilson is co-owner of A2Z New Zealand Limited, a company established in 2011 to write and publish a series of books aimed at improving literacy around the world.

The first of these, M is for Mauao was published in late 2011 with the most recent, T is for Tauranga (incorporating quick reader codes) being published in May 2012.

Wilson is executive director of Te Tuinga Whanau Support Services.

His column will appear in Monday's edition in the local opinion section.

Tomorrow, I will tell you about our other new columnist, Marcel Currin.

The new paper launches March 4.

- Scott Inglis

20/02/2013

Dear readers,

If you play sport or support a local team or club, there's no reason why you can't get publicity in the new-look weekday morning compact Bay of Plenty Times.

We will be placing more emphasis on local sport as part of the dramatic changes to the paper from March 4.

This means sports teams and clubs can easily send in their sports news, results and photos - and we'll publish them.

Whether it's senior team results or junior player of the day, if you take the time to let us know about it, we undertake to put it in the paper.

Schools will have their own special section on Thursdays. Sports co-ordinators, teachers and coaches simply have to send in their news items and photos by 5pm Tuesday.

It's that easy.

We look forward to working with the Western Bay sports community and schools and giving local players and codes the publicity and recognition they deserve.

If you have a story you think is worthy of being in your new-look paper, you can email me at editor@bayofplentytimes.co.nz.

- Scott Inglis

19/02/2013

 

Dear readers,

Sport is undergoing a makeover as part of the new-look weekday morning compact Bay of Plenty Times.

The sports section will be divided into local sport, national sport and world sport - with an emphasis on the local, of course.

Our sports writers will bring you the latest previews and reviews of sports events, news, human interest profiles and opinion. And we'll make sure there is plenty of room for local results.

We'll also provide you with strong coverage of the key sporting codes and cover minority sports too.

Thousands of people play sport and belong to clubs across the Western Bay.

Tomorrow, I will write about how sports clubs, officials and members, and schools can work with us to ensure they get the profile they deserve.

The new morning compact paper launches on March 4.

If you have a story you think is worthy of being in your new-look paper, you can email me at

editor@bayofplentytimes.co.nz.

- Scott Inglis

 

18/02/2013

 

Dear readers,

Your new-look weekday morning compact Bay of Plenty Times will provide a robust platform for opinion and debate.

Each publishing day, we will bring you two local opinion pages, with an editorial, letters, a column, online comments from bayofplentytimes.co.nz, and a daily opinion panel featuring the views of people on the streets.

There will also be a cartoon.

This section is an important part of the paper and is open to people wanting to express their views.

The page immediately following Opinion will be a special page devoted to news and photos supplied by readers and the best of what's happening online. It will be titled Hot Topics.

These will be your pages and I hope you find them useful.

The new morning compact paper launches on March 4.

If you have a story you think is worthy of being in your new-look paper, you can email me at editor@bayofplentytimes.co.nz.

- Scott Inglis

15/02/2013

Dear readers,

Local business is an important part of the Bay of Plenty Times - and it's an area we're going to dramatically improve.

Feedback from readers and the Bay's business leaders is they want more local business news more regularly and a fresh approach.

Our response has been to appoint a new dedicated business writer, Joseph Aldridge, so we can deliver local business content from Tuesdays to Saturdays.

Our refreshed business coverage will bring readers important business and money-related stories, and update you on what's happening in the local business community.

Like the general section of the paper, there will be an emphasis on more, shorter stories, with more in-depth pieces when warranted.

The section will provide a platform for businesses to let readers know about their key staff appointments. And we will let you know about which new businesses are setting up in the region.

We will continue to publish a full sharetable and include national business items.

On Tuesdays, we will include two extra pages of consumer money content.

So make sure you get your copy of the new-look weekday morning compact Bay of Plenty Times from March 4.

Tomorrow, I will provide an insight into our new-look farming and country lifestyle coverage.

If you have a story you think is worthy of being in your new-look paper, you can email me at editor@bayofplentytimes.co.nz.

- Scott Inglis

14/02/2013

Dear readers,

Local news lies at the very heart of the Bay of Plenty Times.

When we decided to transform the paper from an afternoon broadsheet to a morning compact from March 4, we also decided to make sure there was plenty of emphasis on local content.

The news pages at the front of the paper will be dedicated to local content and clearly labelled to reflect this.

We will deliver hard-hitting news that informs you about what's happening in the Bay. And we will bring you the compelling, human-interest stories that you love.

We also listened to feedback that readers wanted more, shorter stories, but also more in-depth articles on the major issues that deserve it.

So, we will deliver on that too.

We will provide more, shorter stories and briefly items - and we will also publish regular special reports on local issues and local angles on the big national stories.

On Friday, we will pose 10 questions to someone who's been in the news, and launch a new, light-hearted satirical column titled Bay Watch.

Tomorrow, I will talk more about some of the changes we're planning in our local business section.

And if you have a story you think is worthy of being in your new-look paper, you can email me at editor@bayofplentytimes.co.nz.

- Scott Inglis

13/02/2013

Dear readers,

Your new-look weekday Bay of Plenty Times will feature a new masthead, front-page design and undergo major structural changes for its March 4 morning compact launch.

The change from afternoon broadsheet to morning compact means your local news will be more timely and relevant, and your paper more convenient to read wherever you are.

But we're also giving the paper a makeover.

The new weekday masthead retains some of its current heritage - but is dramatically different. It incorporates a modern look that matches the switch to compact size.

The front page will be fresh and bold, and will tell readers what the important and interesting stories are.

The page flow will also change. There will be an emphasis on local news, business, rural content, and opinion. Local sport will also be emphasised with separate local, national and world sport pages.

Tomorrow, I will talk more about some of the changes we're planning in our local news section.

- Scott Inglis

Find out more: bayofplentytimes.co.nz/newlook/

12/02/2013

Dear readers,

As you may know, the Bay of Plenty Times is transforming its weekday paper into a morning compact edition on March 4.

This means the paper will be delivered and on sale in the morning, bringing you timely, relevant news. The convenient compact format also means you can more easily read your paper wherever you are.

We're also taking this opportunity to overhaul the paper's content. We'll be delivering more local content and introducing two new weekly liftouts, while ensuring there's still plenty of national and world news.

Your paper will also receive a makeover, with a fresh new design and page flow.

In total, we're making 24 major changes, making this the biggest change in the paper's proud 140-year history.

During the next three weeks, I will reveal in more detail what some of these new features will be.

See the videos here for more information.

- Scott Inglis