It's been three years since premium was launched. Photo / Maryana Garcia
It's been three years since premium was launched. Photo / Maryana Garcia
To mark the third birthday of our digital subscription service, we're offering a special deal for potential new members.
It's been three years since NZME, publisher of the Rotorua Daily Post and NZ Herald, took the ambitious step of asking readers to pay for access to our best journalism by buying a Herald Premium digital subscription.
Today, as we celebrate the third anniversary, NZ Herald premium continues to grow beyond expectations - thanks to the support of you, our audience.
More than 140,000 people are now paying to read our expert reporting and commentary on national, business, sport and political issues, along with engaging and informative entertainment and lifestyle features, and stories from leading global publishers such as the New York Times and Financial Times.
To mark Premium's third birthday, we're offering new members $3 subscriptions for three months, or $99 for the first year. Click here for more details.
Five-, six- or seven-day subscribers to the Rotorua Daily Post and NZ Herald print editions are entitled to full digital access; go to nzherald.co.nz/activate to activate your Premium subscriptions.
For our loyal readers who already have subscriptions, you can help us celebrate by going in the draw to win one of three prizes of $3000 cash. See all the details here.
A Premium subscription helps Kiwis make sense of the fast-paced, ever-changing news cycle, from analysis of current events to in-depth investigations and absorbing features, to opinion pieces you won't find anywhere else - on any device. Plus, gold-standard stories from international publishers such as the New York Times and the Financial Times to broaden your perspective even further.
Our award-winning newsroom continues to produce some of the biggest and most important stories from around Aoteaora.
Among the exclusive Premium stories we've published recently was the inspirational story of Fa'atoaga Pelulale, a 64 year old who secured a job after 11 months and more than 100 job applications. Pelulale lost his job when Covid-19 sent the country into level 4 lockdown in March 2020 about a year after he was hailed as a hero for saving three people from a car seconds before it went up in flames after a crash on State Highway 33.
For two years New Zealanders have been navigating through the fog of a global pandemic that's been affecting our lives personally as well as professionally. During this time the number of Kiwis struggling with poor mental wellbeing has risen sharply, leading NZME to launch Great Minds, a major editorial project examining the state of our mental health. The series features in-depth investigations as well as personal stories such as that of Sharon Grinter. The single mum and Pak'nSave merchandiser shared how Covid-19 created a perfect storm but love for her family kept her going and the past two years taught her to keep moving forward.
Sharon Grinter shared her story as part of the Great Minds project. Photo / Andrew Warner
Earlier this month we told the story of teenager OJ Daniels' fight for a "miracle drug" to ease the symptoms of cystic fibrosis - a life-threatening, debilitating genetic condition. OJ's sister Santana Daniels died from cystic fibrosis in 2017 when she was 21. His mother Trish worried her son faced the same fate. Trish and OJ are "desperate" to get Trikafta - a "miracle drug" which is not publicly funded in New Zealand and costs about $330,000 per year.
OJ Daniels who is battling Cystic Fibrosis with a photo of his sister Santana Daniels who died from the disease. Photo / Andrew Warner
We took readers behind the scenes of court cases with exclusive interviews with victims such as with three victims of a Mongrel Mob member's violent rampage. They shared insight into the moments Te Kuti Tahana jumped out of a car at a busy Rotorua intersection with a large gun and opened fire on a police officer, carjacked a woman at gunpoint and demanded a second vehicle from a mum who was in the front yard of her Te Ngae Rd home with her young daughter.
And it's not just first-class journalism that Herald Premium delivers.
A Premium subscription also lets you have your say by commenting on selected articles and participating in live Q&As with experts on the hottest topics of the day, whether that's about skills shortages or the reputation of Rotorua's CBD.
Join gang experts, Herald journalist Jared Savage and sociologist Jarrod Gilbert, when they host a Q&A about gangs and crime on Monday, May 2.
