APN Community Magazines Shake Up Wellington

June 20, 2006

APN Community Magazines Shake Up Wellington

The Wellington free community newspaper market is set for a shake-up with the launch of a sophisticated new weekly publication.

Media giant APN has launched CityLife, a new format community magazine on higher grade paper with stitched and trimmed finish, to 91,000 Wellington homes.

APN launched a similar publication in the Auckland market two and a half years ago, and shook up the established titles with its sophisticated look and feel.

"There is a world-wide trend for metropolitan free titles to move up-market as readers and advertisers demand better products, and APN is leading that trend in New Zealand," said APN's General Manager in Wellington, Rosie Harrington.

CityLife debuts this week, delivered to homes in Wellington City, Porirua City, and Wainuiomata. It will be published in five geographic titles, and replace titles readers will have been familiar with for decades: Wainuiomata News, Cook Strait News, Western News, Independent Herald, and Porirua News.

Ms Harrington said those titles had been a familiar part of Wellington households for many years, but it was time to move with the times and take the new product to a higher level of publishing.

Because CityLife would be published on higher grade paper than standard newsprint, advertisers would get more brilliant and readable results, Ms Harrington said.

CityLife Editor Bernie Whelan said the content included bright and readable stories on local issues, people, school and sports.

"Local people want to know what's coming up locally so we've added listings of local events, sport and entertainment.”

There is also the added value of TV listings for the week ahead, Sudoku, horoscopes, local chefs’ recipe tips for trying at home, gardening advice from the respected Mary Robertson, Keith Quinn's look back at Wellington's sporting history, opinion from columnists such as Mark Blumsky and stockbroker Chris Lee and local computer advice.

"We're putting Readers First with this ground-breaking new publication," he said. "We will unashamedly support Greater Wellington."

APN is Australasia's largest multi-media publisher, whose New Zealand publications include The New Zealand Herald, Bay of Plenty Times, Hawke's Bay Today, seven other daily newspapers and more than 50 community titles. Other divisions include outdoor, radio, on-line, magazines (Woman"s Weekly and Listener), and specialist publications.

ENDS

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