Legacy mainstream media company Stuff has announced the immediate closure of its remaining Northland community newspapers: The Northern News, The Whangārei Leader, and the weekly property lift-out Far North Real Estate.
The move follows the earlier closure of the Bay Chronicle in Kerikeri in March.
The closures mark the end of Stuff’s local print presence in the region, with all three papers previously edited from Auckland after the last of the Northland staff were laid off in 2018. Advertisers were notified of the shutdown last Thursday, signaling a shift towards digital news consumption.
The closure comes amid similar cuts by rival media company NZME, which is reducing staff at its Whangārei-based daily newspaper, The Northern Advocate, to reallocate resources to larger markets like Wellington and Christchurch.
This leaves Northland with two remaining newspapers: the biweekly Northland Age and the weekly Kaipara Lifestyler.
A Stuff spokesperson told state media the company has been reviewing its community and regional titles to align with local business needs, resulting in mergers, new acquisitions, and some closures. The final editions of the Northern News, which has a storied history dating back to 1919, will be distributed this week.
Good riddance! Stuff, are terrible, just stooges of the establishment
Don’t read any of the crap published by stuffed fake news
I was going to put the same comment. But I rolled down to see you already have. Thank you.
Ditto
It is a shame that we are losing these local papers because the owners of stuff, stuffed up so hugely.
Local papers, delivered for free, were great for keeping in the loop on local issues and news.
I guess when you pimp yourself to the government of the days narrative, you shoot yourself in the foot
Stuff themselves need to be permanently shut down for disinformation and misinformation.
Good, lets see Stuff gone…..