Locally owned and operated Mainland Press has become Christchurch’s largest circulating free newspaper, having increased its circulation to 75,000 copies every Thursday.
Pier Smulders, managing director of the paper’s publisher Mainland Media, says the announcement reflects the company’s on-going commitment to the city. He says, “As Christchurch’s only locally owned media group, we are committed to our city and our communities, and we are excited that Mainland Press will take the lead and be able to reach more readers and provide a distinctive local voice in a city where the other media is dominated by multinational groups."
The company has completed a full integration of its newsroom with CTV, with reporters now working across TV and print under the direction of managing editor Jo Kane. The company says that combining the two newsrooms into one team, with 10 editorial staff focused exclusively on local news and stories, allows it to provide more in depth coverage of the stories that matter to the local community and to lead the way in local content. Mulders adds, The integration of our newsroom with CTV is a really exciting and bold step and enables us to provide even better coverage of all the important local stories.”
Employing 50 staff, Mainland Press has six community newspapers throughout the greater Christchurch area; three lifestyle magazines including two nationally distributed titles; three motoring and trading titles; and New Zealand’s largest media Facebook community, Rise Up Christchurch.
Mulders concludes, “As a locally owned media business, we find it makes sense to work closer with our market and understand what it needs.’’
