Newspaper industry leader dies

Pioneering newspaper industry leader Ray Smith died last night in Rotorua at the age of 85.

Mr Smith was president of the Newspaper Publishers' Association for 11 years and served on the board of the New Zealand Press Association (NZPA) for 15 years, in latter years as its chairman. He was at the forefront of introducing new technology to the newspaper industry.

In 1964, Mr Smith's Rotorua Daily Post and Nelson publisher Rex Lucas introduced web-offset printing to New Zealand newspapers, enabling them upgrade design. The same two publishers were also the first to import type-setting equipment known as "justowriters", which replaced metal-setting linotype machines and were the forerunner of photo typesetting.

Mr Smith chaired a committee that oversaw computerisation at NZPA in 1978, when the national news agency was first in the country to replace typewriters with computer screens.

When he retired in 1994, NZPA described him as a "legendary figure", with a "steely-eyed, no-nonsense approach that has overseen change and forged co-operation amid highly competitive opposing companies in a career which spans over 50 years".

- NZPA