North & South – June 2019

NORTH & SOUTH| JUNE 2019| 53

year.“Workingona communitypaper

feltlikeputtingonanoldpairofshoes,”

hesays.“Therewasa lotofknockingon

doors,goingtoA&Pshowsandstanding

onthesideatrugbygames.Itwaslike

beinganamateurhistorian,recording

eventsastheyhappenedinthetown.”He

broughtbackcourtreportingandattend-

edcommunityboardmeetings.

Hedecidedtolaunchhisownpaper

aftertakingtimeoutofpaidworktobe

primarycarerforhisthreechildren,one

ofwhomisdisabled.“Whenthecredit

cardbillcreptup,I thoughtI’dbetterdo

something.”Washejustbuyinghimself

a job?“Ittookmesixweekstogetthe

paperoffthegroundandmakea profit.

I don’tcold-calltosellads.Advertisers

cometome.”

Hewon’trevealhisprofitmargin,but

haspaidoffhisdebtsandboughta new

eight-seatercar.Hebelieveslocalnews-

papersarethegluethatbindscommuni-

ties– andtheirtimehascomeagain.“It’s

goingbacktothewayit wasintheold

dayswhenfamily-ownednewspapers

wererunbypeoplewithinkintheir

veins, not dollar signs in their eyes.” +

longblackandlooksprettychipper.He

launchedhismonthlypaperLizard

News(thetranslationofŌmokoroais

“placeofthelonglizard”)twoyearsago

andisabouttodoubleitsdistribution.

Ōmokoroaisa fast-growingWestern

BayofPlentyseasidesuburb,butFarrell

believeshispaperhasrelevanceasfar

afieldasWaihīBeach,41kmnorth.His

newdistributionplanwillexpandthe

printrunfrom 5400 to10,500copies.

Farrellisanold-school,British-born

editorwitha viewoneverythingfrom

pokies(“noneedforthemhere”)tothe

dangerskidsfacewhentheytravelbybus

tothenearestsecondaryschoolmorethan

anhouraway.He’sa spokespersonforthe

group“FixtheBloodyRoad”.Hebelieves

editorsshouldbethevoiceoftheircom-

munitiesand,attimes,shouldspeakloud-

ly.Hemayonedaystandformayor.

Hebeganhiscareerasa journalistin

theUK,whereheworkedforSky.When

heandhiswifeLizimmigratedtoNew

Zealand,heworkedforradiostationsin

AucklandandlaterRNZastheirBayof

Plentycorrespondent.Healsoeditedthe

Stuff-ownedMatamata Chronicle for a

whenheboughttheFlagstaffin1997,
butthetimingwasn’tright.Lastyear,
Fairfaxlaidoff 16 journalistsontheir
Aucklandcommunities,providingthe
impetusheneeded.Hethinkscorporate
ownershavelosttheplot.
Hewritesforbothpapers,covering
localboardmeetingsandsport.Aswell,
hehasonefulltimejournalistandisre-
cruitingformore.Bothnewspapersare
online,butprintserveshisneedsbest.
“Manypeoplegetverylittleintheirlet-
terboxesnow.Readerslikethatit’sde-
livered.Advertiserslikethat, too.”

MATTHEWFARRELL
LIZARDNEWS
OnabalmyMarchmorning,the
BeachedonBlueCafeatŌmokoroais a
suntrap,filledwithlocalsandholiday-
makersenjoyinggoodcoffeeand
thumbingthroughthelocalpaper.The
editor,MatthewFarrell,isoneofthem,
dressedinappropriatelyfortheheatin
motorcycleleathers.Heandhiswife
havejustboughtbikesandareaboutto
jointheUlyssesClub;there’sanL plate
on his rear fender. Farrell is enjoying a

Matthew Farrell, editor of Ōmokoroa’sLizard News. “It took me six weeks to get the paper off the ground and make a profit.”