4 days Ago
Community newspapers facing closure across the motu are asking Tātau Tātau O Te Wairoa for help. The Wairoa iwi's post-settlement trust revived the 103-year-old Wairoa Star earlier this year , after it was closed in May . Kaihautū (chief executive) of Tātau Tātau Commercial Aayden Clarke said the trust had received inquiries from several of the 14 community papers that NZME has proposed to cut .
Read more: He told Midday Report that it was a challenge, but it was important for his community to be able to receive news across the rohe. "I guess we've just found a way and come up with a new model to ensure it's sustainable." Midday Report host Charlotte Cook asked if they would be able to cover the newspaper's costs and still turn a profit? "We're aiming to make a profit - but like any business we're looking to invest in, we had to look at where we could make improvements.
" Tātau Tātau had looked to reduce overheads, such as outsourcing printing to Whakatāne, and cutting the number of full-time roles. "We've got a paper going out every week, so we're pretty proud of where we've got to at this stage, but it's still challenging." Cook asked if the trust was able to help any of the newspapers on NZME's potential closure list that had reached out? Tātau Tātau O Te Wairoa had tried to share insights with them, Clarke said.
"Our advice is to look at the [business] model, how to do it differently. "We are always very aware of the pressures coming on print media and the digital opportunities that are out there. "So to take on [a local newspaper] and make it sustainable, you really have to have a different lens than what you've had in the past, and [this] possibly requires new blood, new views and a different approach.
" The trust would not be looking to buy any of the other publications, he said. The Wairoa Star was a "very important taonga specific to us, and understanding our people, so that's why we did it". Clarke said he had encouraged some of those newspapers to contact their local iwi, or post-settlement groups, "and see if they've got the same appetite".
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