The Taranaki Daily News is a daily morning newspaper published in New Plymouth, New Zealand.

Taranaki Daily News
TypeDaily newspaper
FormatTabloid
Owner(s)Stuff Ltd
EditorMatt Rilkoff
Founded1857
HeadquartersNew Plymouth
Websitehttps://www.thepost.co.nz/taranaki

History

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The paper was founded as the Taranaki News on 14 May 1857, by friends of former Taranaki Province Superintendent Charles Brown.[1] Brown was the first proprietor of the newspaper and he appointed his political supporter and former Taranaki Herald editor Richard Pheney as its editor. The paper, initially housed in a small wooden building on the east side of Brougham Street opposite the present library, became a strident critic of the Herald and the provincial government.[1] The paper began publishing on Saturdays and in 1885 changed its name to the Taranaki Daily News when it began publishing daily.

The word "Taranaki" was dropped from the masthead about 1962 when the paper's ownership was merged with that of the Herald to become Taranaki Newspapers Ltd, and reinstated in 2004.[2] As of December 2008, the circulation was 25,578.[3]

Taranaki Newspapers Ltd was bought by Independent Newspapers Ltd in 1989 and was then part of Fairfax Media. An electronic version of the paper is available on the Stuff website.[4] The editions from 1900 to 1920 have been digitised by the National Library and are available via Papers Past.[5]

TNL also published two free weekly newspapers in the Taranaki region: The North Taranaki Midweek (Wednesdays) and the South Taranaki Star (Thursdays). In June 2024, Stuff closed the North Taranaki Midweek, which had been Taranaki’s single biggest free community paper. [6]

Now, the Taranaki Daily News is printed in Petone, Wellington and moved premises in New Plymouth, downsizing and selling its previous building. It's limited in what it publishes, with deadlines now earlier with the printing done out of the region. Local sports reporters were made redundant from provincial newspapers and now rely on contributors to carry local coverage.[citation needed]

Its circulation is now around 13,000.[citation needed]

Awards

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In 2019, Taranaki Daily News journalist Andy Jackson won News Media Awards' Portrait, Feature or Lifestyle Photography (Regional Category) Award from News Media Works.[7]

References

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  1. ^ a b J.S. Tullett, The Industrious Heart: A History of New Plymouth, New Plymouth City Council, 1981.
  2. ^ Bartle, Rhonda (8 February 2005). "Bringing out the Taranaki Daily News". Puke Ariki. Archived from the original on 13 October 2008.
  3. ^ "Fairfax Media:Publications". Archived from the original on 14 October 2008. Retrieved 26 July 2009.
  4. ^ "The Digital Edition". 25 June 2007. Retrieved 26 July 2009.
  5. ^ "Taranaki Daily News". Papers Past. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
  6. ^ "The Post". www.thepost.co.nz. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
  7. ^ "2019 News Media Awards" (PDF). News Media Works. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
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