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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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.