Welcome return of old friends

It is only natural, when you see old friends after a disturbing absence, that you give them a quick once-over to satisfy yourself they are okay.

Last week I cast a concerned eye over the New Zealand Listener and the New Zealand Woman’s Weekly – having seen neither since April – and was mightily relieved to find that they are, indeed, okay.

The new owner, Mercury Capital [which this week renamed Bauer Media Australasia as Are Media], had announced they would appear again in September but, as the month slid by, I was beginning to wonder not only when but whether they would re-publish.

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There’s life in them yet

Bauer’s most significant New Zealand magazines have been saved from the mortuary slab, but they will need more time in the intensive care unit.

And, like the Covid-19 virus erroneously blamed for their near-death experience, there may be as-yet-unknown side-effects from their period out of circulation. Continue reading “There’s life in them yet” →

NZ media in a Covid world

Magazine closures and mass redundancies threw the New Zealand industry into a state of shock and uncertainty. From it could emerge a new media landscape. New Zealand can be a model for vibrant sustainable titles if it capitalises on the qualities that already drive our media entrepreneurs. I took part in a FIPP Insider webinar discussion of the possibilities with Magazine Publishers Association executive director Sally Duggan and, from London, the CEO of the periodical publishers international body (FIPP), James Hewes.