New Zealand Listener

The New Zealand Listener is a weekly New Zealand magazine that covers the political, cultural and literary life of New Zealand by featuring a variety of topics, including current events, politics, social issues, health, technology, arts, food, culture and entertainment. The Bauer Media Group closed The Listener in April 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand. In June 2020, Mercury Capital acquired the magazine as part of its purchase of Bauer Media's former Australia and New Zealand assets.

New Zealand Listener
EditorPamela Stirling
CategoriesCurrent events
FrequencyWeekly
Circulation45,262 (April 2017 – March 2018)
Year foundedJune 1939 (1939-06)
Final issueApril 2020 (2020-04)
CompanyAre Media[1]
CountryNew Zealand
Based inAuckland
Websitewww.noted.co.nz/brands/the-listener
ISSN0110-5787

History

The Listener was first published in June 1939 as a weekly broadcasting guide for radio listeners, and the first issue was distributed free to 380,000 households.[2] First edited by Oliver Duff[3] then from June 1949 M. H. Holcroft, it originally had a monopoly on the publication of upcoming television and radio programmes.[4] In the 1980s it lost that monopoly, but despite the increase in competition since that time, it was still one of the top selling magazines in the country. It was privatised in 1990 and was published by Bauer Media Group until the magazine's closure in early 2020.

Pamela Stirling was the editor since 2004,[5] and by 2018 readership was 197,000 with a circulation of 45,262.[6]

From 2004 to 2009, the Listener produced an annual New Zealand Listener Power List of the 50 most powerful people in New Zealand. It also published the Best 100 Books, Best 50 Kids Books, and Best Cookbooks, every November/December.

Notable writers to have had their work published in the Listener include James K. Baxter, Janet Frame and Maurice Shadbolt.[4]

Closure and reboot, 2020

On 2 April 2020, the Bauer Media Group announced the closing of many of its New Zealand and Australian publications including The Listener due to the continued loss of advertising revenue, hastened by the COVID-19 pandemic.[7][8][9][10] Prior to that, the weekly current affairs printed magazine was billed as 'New Zealand's best-selling current affairs magazine with a per capita circulation higher than Time, the New Yorker and Spectator'.[11][12]

On 17 June 2020, Australian investment company Mercury Capital purchased The Listener as part of its acquisition of Bauer Media's Australia and New Zealand assets.[13][14] On 17 July, Mercury Capital announced that it would resume publishing The Listener and other former Bauer publications, but as of mid-August none had eventuated.[15][16]

In late September 2020, Mercury Capital rebranded Bauer Media as Are Media, which took over publication of The Listener.[17][1]

Editors

Regular writers/journalists

See also

References
  1. "Rebrand and Relaunch: Australasia's Bauer Media now titled Are Media". StopPress. 28 September 2020. Archived from the original on 30 September 2020. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  2. "The "New Zealand Listener." – New Radio Magazine". The New Zealand Railways Magazine. 14 (4). 1 July 1939. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
  3. "Duff, Oliver – Biography". Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand. 2011. Retrieved 30 June 2011.
  4. "Today in History First issue of NZ Listener published". NZ History. 2011. Retrieved 30 June 2011.
  5. John Drinnan (18 April 2008). "Listener at centre of climate storm". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 14 June 2010.
  6. "Listener Media Kit" (PDF).
  7. Edmunds, Susan; Nadkarni, Anuja; Cookes, Henry (2 April 2020). "Govt 'could have given half-a-million' to help Bauer but publisher didn't want it, Faafoi says". Stuff. Archived from the original on 2 April 2020. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  8. "Covid 19 coronavirus: Bauer Media closing - publisher of the Listener, Woman's Day, North & South". The New Zealand Herald. 2 April 2020. Archived from the original on 2 April 2020. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  9. "Covid-19: Major magazine publisher Bauer Media closing down". Radio New Zealand. 2 April 2020. Archived from the original on 2 April 2020. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  10. "Publisher of NZ Listener, Woman's Weekly, North & South to shut down". The Spinoff. 2 April 2020. Archived from the original on 2 April 2020. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  11. "New Zealand Listener". Bauer Media Group. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  12. "New Zealand Listener Magazine Subscription". Magshop. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  13. "Bauer Media NZ bought by Australian investment company". Radio New Zealand. 17 June 2020. Archived from the original on 18 June 2020. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  14. Edmunds, Susan (17 June 2020). "Bauer magazines sold to private equity firm". Stuff. Archived from the original on 18 June 2020. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  15. Edmunds, Susan. "The Listener and other Bauer mags return — some may be gone for good". Stuff. Archived from the original on 17 July 2020. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  16. "Bauer resumes publishing of The Listener and NZ Woman's Weekly after Mercury Capital takes over". New Zealand Herald. 17 July 2020. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  17. Blackiston, Hannah (28 September 2020). "Bauer Media rebrands as Are Media". Mumbrella. Archived from the original on 29 September 2020. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  18. Holcroft, Monte (1 July 1989). "As I Remember It". New Zealand Listener.
  19. Hamilton, Stephen (2008). "Montague Harry Holcroft, 1902 – 1993". Kōtare. 2. ISSN 1174-6955.
  20. "O'Connor, Rev. Canon (Brian) Michael (Mcdougal), (born 20 June 1942), Dean of Auckland, New Zealand, 1997–2000", Who's Who, Oxford University Press, 1 December 2007, doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.28719
  21. "A farewell to Ian Cross". Newsroom. 5 November 2019. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  22. "Journalist and author Ian Cross dies aged 93". RNZ. 3 November 2019. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  23. Noted. "Ian Cross, celebrated Listener editor, 1925–2019". www.noted.co.nz. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  24. Noted. "Tony Reid: 1943–2020". www.noted.co.nz. Retrieved 22 February 2020.
  25. Zealand, Massey University, New. "Champion of press freedom honoured – Massey University". www.massey.ac.nz. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
  26. Black, Joanne (2 June 2006). "News man". The Listener. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  27. de Lore, Clare (10 March 2019). "Jenny Wheeler: the first woman to be appointed Listener editor". New Zealand Listener.
  28. "Finlay Macdonald, RNZ National Presenter". RNZ. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
  29. New Zealand Listener on Twitter
  30. "Russell Baillie". Noted. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  31. "Marc Wilson, School of Psychology". Victoria University of Wellington. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  32. "About – Paul Thomas – NZ Writer Author Novelist". Paul Thomas. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  33. "Paul Thomas". Noted. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
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