Newspapers

AdMedia,  Sep 17, 2003  

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It's out with the old and in with the new, as APN amalgamates its suburban newspapers.

Say goodbye to your dowdy old suburban papers says APN, there's a new kid in town - combining both newspaper and magazine formats in one publication. The first issue of The Aucklander is set to appear sometime in September and will be a combination of gloss and newsprint, stitched and trimmed in the same way as a magazine.

Aside from Sunday readership, the community papers are one market sector in Auckland where APN faces significant competition from Fairfax, which currently publishes an array of community papers including the Auckland City Harbour News, Manukau Courier, North Harbour News, North Shore Times Advertiser, East and Bays Courier, Eastern Courier, Papakura Courier, Nor'West News Brief, Central Leader and the Western Leader.

By combining its papers, however, APN will build something of a 'super brand' in the suburban sector, as The Aucklander will immediately become New Zealand's largest circulating single weekly newspaper. Delivered free to over 300,000 Auckland homes from the Whangaparaoa Peninsula to Papakura, the paper will have six editions - Shore, West, City, Central, East and South - with editorial and advertising content tailored to each area. Though the paper amalgamates the Shore News, West Weekly, Manurewa Week, Papatoetoe & Otahuhu Week and Our Town Papakura, APN Craig Marsh says The Aucklander's editorial will still reflect the concerns of the individual communities it serves. "We are a collection of many diverse communities," he says. "In each there is a level of pride in being an Aucklander, and that emotion is most strongly expressed at a local level - neighbourhood, school, sports club, community group or shopping mall."

For advertisers, Marsh says the new title will deliver a better advertising environment - particularly for clients looking for higher reproduction values. "The gloss and enhanced newsprint will allow advertisers to reach the key demographics across Auckland to drive property, motoring and retail sales, backed up with quality editorial content. "The publication will offer very competitive rates for the quality gloss, full colour product that is being offered."

APN has set up a new division, New Zealand Herald Community Publications, to produce The Aucklander, employing approximately 70 people. Marsh says current suburban staff will be absorbed into the new company. The publisher of the new title is John Wood, formerly general manager of APN's Bay of Plenty and Northland operations.

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