One would-be bidder who walked away was daunted by the commercial challenges they ran into, writes Pattrick Smellie for BusinessDesk. It is now getting on for three months since the German magazine publisher Bauer announced it was closing its New Zealand titles. Three months in which the company has hung onto well in excess of … Read more
One month ago Bauer closed all its New Zealand mags, including Woman’s Day. This week a new issue of Woman’s Day went on the shelves. What’s going on? After a five-week absence, a major women’s magazine produced by Bauer has returned to New Zealand supermarkets and subscribers’ letterboxes. At first glance, it appears to be … Read more
Thousands of magazine subscribers are out of pocket following the closure of the New Zealand arm of the Bauer publishing empire. Cat MacLennan is one of them, and she has a message for the company’s German chief executive and majority owner, Yvonne Bauer. Tēnā koe Ms Bauer, I am one of your magazine subscribers in … Read more
It’s a more complicated issue than simply whether one company should control the majority of the market, writes regulatory law expert Edward Willis. The closure of Bauer Media’s operations in New Zealand, along with many well-loved magazine titles, is devastating. The broad impact of the closure, coupled with the realisation that Bauer Media’s print media … Read more
The shock closure of Bauer NZ – and with it all of the country’s current affairs magazines – is a stark reminder of the fragile state of local media, writes Mel Bunce, the author of a book on the subject. It is a dark week for journalism in New Zealand, with the surprise announcement that … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Media reels after horror week, Wellington Council facing massive budget crunch, and highest single day of new Covid-19 cases. It had always been clear that this was going to be a difficult time for the media, with the Covid-19 downturn hitting already battered budgets. But could … Read more
The shockingly fast collapse of Bauer presents the government with a momentous choice, says Duncan Greive. Will it save the media industry, or concentrate on its own? This moment was always coming. The long, steady flow of advertising revenue to the tech giants has left the private sector media gaunt, much leaner than is healthy … Read more
Today came the shocking news that Bauer Media is closing its New Zealand operation, with the loss of scores of jobs. Bauer was the publisher of most of NZ’s magazines, among them Metro, Woman’s Day, North & South, Next, Home, the Listener, Kia Ora and the NZ Women’s Weekly. Here readers, writers and former staff … Read more
Bauer has announced the closure of Paperboy, its acclaimed ‘freemium’ Auckland magazine. Former Metro editor Simon Wilson laments the passing of a brave experiment and wonders why its publisher let it fold. What sad news, that Bauer Media has pulled the plug on Paperboy, and especially sad that it comes little more than a year … Read more
Today marks the publication of the third issue of Bauer Media’s new Auckland commuter-focused free magazine, Paperboy. Catherine McGregor sat down with the magazine’s editor Jeremy Hansen to discuss urbanism, optimism and why he’s glad to be a cheerleader for the new Auckland. The Spinoff: Free commuter magazines are a completely new model for Bauer, … Read more
Duncan Greive sits down with Bauer CEO Paul Dykzeul and publisher Brendon Hill to talk about the state of its business, and their double down bet on print in the digital era. Bauer, by far the country’s biggest magazine publisher, is in the midst of another of its regular spasms of change. Last month it announced … Read more