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Home / Gisborne Herald / Opinion

Not so old, for a press

Gisborne Herald
29 Sep, 2023 10:29 PMQuick Read

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A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

Opinion

It used to be that newspaper presses were built like battleships and lasted forever. They were reminders of an age gone by when they were huge mechanical monsters, served by ink- and oil-smeared men in overalls.

I know all things change, as is the nature of time, and so I understand the Gisborne Herald’s Goss press is now being dismantled, ready to be shipped to a buyer — overseas, I gather.

It wasn’t that old as presses go — maybe not the very latest thing — but it will be a sad loss for Gisborne, and the end of an era.

Another sign of the digital times, as many smaller centres have lost their newspapers totally in the face of competition from overseas-owned giants like Google and the social media.

I feel for those in industries that are disrupted by “progress” — inevitably people lose their jobs; others have the stress of adapting to big changes.

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In my career as a journalist I have gone through such changes — from linotype machines and hand-set pages; clunky typewriters and steam radio; as well as the upheavals such as those enforced by politicians on Radio New Zealand.

Whatever happens, Gisborne-East Coast residents need to fight to keep their own news media — it is a key component of a healthy democracy, and New Zealanders should never underestimate the role of the media as a protection for our freedoms and rights.

Roger Handford

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