The 103-year-old Wairoa Star – which closed in early May – will be rolling off the presses again by late October, restoring a vital news and communication lifeline for locals.
The Star has been bought bylocal iwi and kāhui representative group Tātau Tātau o Te Wairoa through its commercial entity.
Tātau Tātau Commercial chief executive Aayden Clarke told Media Insider the closure of the Star in May “came as a bit of a shock to the community, for Tātau Tātau and even personally for me – I used to be a paper boy when I think I was 11 years old”.
“It’s a huge pillar of our communications across the region.
“There would have been some hell of a tough times for this newspaper over the past century – people coming back from war, tough economic times and things like that. Why would we let it fold on our watch? We’ve got to do the very best we can to make it survive, but also so we can get our communications out.”
He said he had earlier discussed the newspaper’s closure with Wairoa Mayor Craig Little and members.
“We have a big drive in our communications for our iwi members and making sure that we’re updating them on all of our activity and transparency,” said Clarke.
“We really saw this as an opportunity to keep this historical taonga alive in our community, and then also to provide a platform where we could still have some of our news shared out to our newspaper readers.”
The new business would be lean, with about three fulltime staff plus contractors, compared with the 11 staff previously. The smaller operation was critical for its viability as a self-sustaining and profitable business.
“We’re bringing some people home and starting to put together both the reporting team and our sales and advertising team, which is critical,” said Clarke.
“It’s quite exciting. We are looking forward to a new chapter and hopefully, a community newspaper that’s around for another 100 years.”
The newspaper is expected to be printed once a week, on Thursdays, with a cover price of $2. A paywalled website – with a weekly digital subscription of $1.50, or an annual subscription of $78 – would help build digital reader revenue.
Clarke said the paper needed the support of local businesses.
“This is not only about preserving a 103-year-old asset, crucial to informing the community about what’s happening in the district but also a strategic business decision, but for it to survive we need strong advertising and subscriber support.”
The paper would be printed by Whakatane-based Beacon Media.
Many assumed this would be the last edition of The Wairoa Star – but it's now been saved.
“This is not something that we want to be propping up through our commercial activity [more broadly across Tātau Tātau],” said Clarke. “It does have a great opportunity to be self-sustainable.
“Probably the big push for us is having the Wairoa community behind it in terms of buying papers, but also the wider whānau around not just New Zealand, but the world to buy our online digital subscriptions.
“That, and a bit more spend from our local businesses in advertising, is really going to help us make sure it survives.”
Little said he was “absolutely thrilled” the newspaper had been saved.
“I know that the few months that we haven’t had the Wairoa Star around have been difficult, especially for those who are not active on social media.”
While Clarke said he was “fully aware” of the role that digital and social media played in reactive news, he believed there was still room for a paper in a region like Wairoa.
“In our small community, people still want to pick up the paper. We’re missing things like classifieds and tangihanga notices and, you know, Māori Land Authority notices and all of that that usually come through the local paper. And make me know there’s just something about, you know, kids wanting to pick up the paper on early in the week, which will be a Thursday, and see if their face was in it from, you know, Saturday morning sport and those sorts of things, which is different to online. So it’s a key part that we want to keep going.”
He did not wish to disclose the purchase price.
Chairman of Tātau Tātau o Te Wairoa Leon Symes with former Prime Minister Chris Hipkins in Wairoa. Photo / Wairoa Star
Tātau Tātau o Te Wairoa Trust chair Leon Symes was also excited about the paper being saved.
“Tātau Tātau is thrilled to take on the iconic Wairoa Star. This is a significant pillar of our community and one that we are looking forward to carrying forward with the support of the entire Wairoa rohe.”
Clarke expressed gratitude to the paper’s former shareholders – NZ Herald publisher NZME, the Gisborne Herald and local investors.
The Wairoa Star board chairman Matt Wilson said: “The board and shareholders of The Wairoa Star are delighted the paper will continue to be published in Wairoa for the people of Wairoa, sharing important local news, written locally.
“Tātau Tātau has excellent resources, local connections, and infrastructure to support them to succeed. This is a new and exciting chapter for the Wairoa community, and we are pleased to have sold the newspaper and website to a group so passionate and intrinsic to their local community.”
Tātau Tātau Commercial arm – also known as E Tipu – was established to protect and grow the commercial assets on behalf of its shareholder, Tātau Tātau o Te Wairoa Trust and the seven kāhui.
Editor-at-Large Shayne Currie is one of New Zealand’s most experienced senior journalists and media leaders. He has held executive and senior editorial roles at NZME including Managing Editor, NZ Herald Editor and Herald on Sunday Editor and has a small shareholding in NZME.
