Defunct paper’s staff may try salvage job

Press, 23 November 1988, Page 3

Defunct paper’s staff may try salvage job

PA Hokitika Former staff of the defunct “West Coast Times” could band together to salvage a newspaper for Hokitika, says the former editor, Mr Brian Towers. The 124-year-old paper) was closed on Friday by the receivers of the Guardian and Times Company, 95 per cent owned by a subsidiary of Como Holdings, Ltd, also in receivership. Mr Towers said the closing had come as a shock to the 21 employees, even though it had been half-expected. Staff had informally discussed the possibility on Friday night of pooling

funds to somehow keep the paper going, but he said that seemed a bit of a long shot. “Some of the staff are going to have a meeting to look at what the options ■ ard before .everything .is sold out of the building.” The biggest hurdle to resurrecting the paper would be the cost, which was likely to hit the $1 million mark because of the expensive, “state-of-the-art” equipment installed last year, he said. Mr Towers said if there was to be any chance of saving the paper — possibly as a bi-weekly or weekly publication — staff would have to move

swiftly. The receivers have already said the newspaper’s plant will have’to be sold to pay debts. There had been some interest expressed , fromp., the .wider, community in holding a public meeting’! to look at raising money for the purchase, and several local people had offered to put up "a few thousand dollars,” Mr Towers said.

The best option would be to look at reverting to the “Hokitika Guardian,” reduce staff and the scale of operations and possibly to have the paper printed elsewhere to cut costs, he said.