Future Bright in Print

The future of New Zealand’s 23 daily newspapers is bright and not likely to follow international trends of downsizing. Wairarapa-based publisher and writer Ian Grant said the country’s small regionally-based newspaper market continued to make papers relevant and the most cost effective way to reach consumers. “You can’t obviously look out into the far distance. But I would think that in the foreseeable future it is strong here,” Grant said. He said newspaper revenue was still higher than any other mediums and very few had closed in recent years. Grant’s findings are part of a book he is writing, which looks into the history of New Zealand newspapers from 1840 to the present.