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It’s a bittersweet time to be in the media. The support we’ve received from the Franklin
community has been phenomenal at a time when other community newspapers are closing down.
Despite being competitors, the Franklin Country News and Papakura Courier (later Manukau Papakura Courier) have been a weekly part of life in our community. As a journalist, it’s hard to see newspapers that have served our communities for many years close their doors.
It hits home for me personally, as my own newspaper was closed by Stuff back in 2018.
This was after merging two newspapers together to form the Selwyn & Ashburton Outlook, before that merged paper was closed along with all but one of the Press Communities’ newspapers.
It also hits budding journalists hard, as starting out at a community publication is an excellent launching pad for any newly qualified reporter. Community journalism may not be glamorous, but it’s an important part of our media landscape, reporting news and events, and tackling the issues that matter to our communities, from the community.
On that note, thank you for supporting the Franklin Times, from advertising to news tips and featuring on our pages, along with liking and sharing our stories on social media. To keep our paper growing, please subscribe to our digital edition through our website, like us on Facebook, and share our online articles so we can keep serving you, our wider Franklin community.
And if you know of any experienced journalists looking to work in an amazing community, send them our way so we can get even more Franklin stories out there.