Securing Herald’s future under NZME

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

Opinion

A new era for Tairāwhiti news, story-telling and business promotion is under way with the announcement yesterday that NZME has acquired the publishing and digital assets of The Gisborne Herald.

The ownership change secures the future of The Gisborne Herald and means your local newspaper and online news service joins a print, digital and radio business that reaches 3.5 million New Zealanders every week, across 50 of the country’s leading media brands.

NZ Media and Entertainment has had a 49 percent shareholding in The Gisborne Herald, initially through former New Zealand Herald publisher Wilson and Horton Ltd, since 1987. At the end of last week it acquired full ownership of the Herald’s newspaper publishing and digital assets.

This ends 140 years of ownership by members of the Muir family, across five generations.

In a challenging media landscape and tough economic environment, the decision was made that The Gisborne Herald was no longer sustainable as an independent, stand-alone publication — and that joining NZME offered the best path forward for the continuation of the newspaper in this region, and securing ongoing employment for as many of our staff as possible.

This development, alongside NZME’s purchase of Tauranga-based Sun Media’s three print publications and news website last week, confirms NZME’s backing of regional journalism across the country.

The owner of The NZ Herald has five other regional dailies — The Bay of Plenty Times, Hawke’s Bay Today, The Rotorua Daily Post, The Northern Advocate and The Whanganui Chronicle — with The Gisborne Herald now its seventh daily newspaper title.

NZME is also the country’s leading radio business, including Newstalk ZB, ZM, The Hits, Coast, Radio Hauraki, Gold, Flava and Hokonui. Its digital brands include OneRoof, iHeartRadio, BusinessDesk and Restaurant Hub.

A major benefit of NZME taking over The Gisborne Herald is that we become part of this large, diversified news and entertainment network, with the news of Tairāwhiti and the work of our journalists amplified through its media channels and especially its key digital presence, www.nzherald.co.nz. Advertisers will also see benefits from having a one-stop shop for access to all these media brands as well as The Gisborne Herald.

There are some significant changes for the team here as we move to the NZME model for regional news services, and there will also be some changes to our products. One thing you can be sure of is that The Gisborne Herald will continue to tell the stories of Tairāwhiti, and connect our communities and businesses, for many years to come.