Messenger Newspapers

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A copy of the Messenger. Portside messenger.jpg
A copy of the Messenger.

Messenger Newspapers is the publisher of 9 free suburban weekly newspapers together covering the Adelaide metropolitan area. Established by Roger Baynes in Port Adelaide in 1951, Messenger has since acquired other independent suburban titles to become Adelaide's only suburban newspaper group. The paper is a subsidiary of News Limited. [1] The Messenger is delivered weekly to 9 different suburban areas, each paper targeting content to its distribution area with some shared content.

Contents

The newspapers cover events in the distribution area, including local council decisions, controversial developments, local social trends, articles about local volunteers or young people, and local sports clubs. There is an editorial and "letters to the editor" page, as well as significant classifieds and real estate sections. All Messenger titles feature regular sections such as lifestyle, Vibe (entertainment guide), Sport, and Your Garden.

In mid-2009, Messenger Newspapers moved from its headquarters at 1 Baynes Place, Port Adelaide to new offices at Sir Keith Murdoch House, 31 Waymouth St, Adelaide. The Adelaide Advertiser, Sunday Mail and various other News Ltd publications are also based in Sir Keith Murdoch House.

In 2016, News Corp SA announced changes to content and distribution of some of its titles, including renaming several mastheads, [2] followed by additional changes in 2017, including mergers of several mastheads. [3] In May 2020, as a result of issues related to the coronavirus, several News publications (Messenger South Plus; Messenger East Plus, Messenger North, Messenger West, Messenger City, Adelaide Hills, and Upper Spencer Gulf) became digital only. [4]

History

The office of the Messenger group of newspapers in Waymouth St, Adelaide Advertiser Building.JPG
The office of the Messenger group of newspapers in Waymouth St, Adelaide

In 1951, Port Adelaide courier Roger Baynes, in partnership with Len Croker, took over the Largs North Progressive Association's Progressive Times. In March 1951, the Progressive Times was relaunched as the Messenger. The Messenger originally operated out of a small room above a Port Adelaide bicycle shop. The business later moved to an old butcher's shop on Commercial Road, Port Adelaide.

In 1954, Croker left the Messenger to run the Woodville Times. In 1959, Baynes' fellow courier, Ron Mitchell, joined Messenger to run its newest acquisition, the Standard. Messenger Press continued to acquire suburban newspapers across Adelaide and turned them into Messenger titles. Messenger Press acquired John Carroll's four News Review titles, the Edwardstown District Community Centre Newspaper and the Glenelg Guardian, previously run by the Smedley brothers at Glenelg. [5]

By 1962, Messenger Newspapers were being delivered to 250,000 homes across Adelaide. Two years later, Baynes sold nearly half of the company's shares to The Advertiser. In 1983, shortly before his death, Baynes sold his remaining shares to The Advertiser.

In the 1970s and 1980s newspapers in the Adelaide Hills, south coast and Barossa Valley were added to the Messenger stable. In 1988 the City Messenger was established to cover the Adelaide CBD.

Messenger had several printing firsts, most notably, in 1968, being the first newspaper in the southern hemisphere to own a web offset press - just one year after being the first press to use IBM tape electric typesetting. In 1981 the firm purchased a Mitsubishi L600 colour press, enabling Messenger to print coloured magazines including The Advertiser Magazine, Football Times, South Australian Radio TV Extra and Adelaide Matters. However, from 1988 production moved to The Advertiser. From 1991 all Messenger newspapers were printed by News Limited.

In 2007, Messenger Newspapers began publishing news online and uploaded web videos for the first time. In January 2008, Messenger added a number of online interactive features to its websites, including photo galleries and a breaking news feed from Adelaide Now, the online news service of The Advertiser newspaper.

In October, 2009, Messenger Community News re-launched The City Messenger, featuring a new look, improved design and new weekly features, such as the 60 Second News Tour - a quick snapshot of stories across Messenger's 11 titles. Also in October, Messenger relaunched a new look Standard Messenger under the new name City North Messenger. The newly launched publication now takes in North Adelaide, which was previously covered by The City Messenger. The City North was launched with a new emphasis on increased coverage of news, sport and lifestyle content. The Standard Messenger website was rebadged www.citynorthmessenger.com.au to reflect the changes.

In October 2016 News Corp SA announced changes to several mastheads, renaming the Weekly Times Messenger to the Westside Weekly, the Portside Messenger to the Portside Weekly, and the Guardian Messenger to the CoastCity Weekly. The distribution area for the Eastern Courier would be expanded to include Mitcham, Blackwood and Belair. Adelaide Matters would be included as a new section in the other mastheads, and no longer be a stand-alone publication. [2]

In July 2017 additional changes were announced, including the merger of the Leader Messenger and East Torrens Messenger to form the "Northeastern Weekly", and the City North with the City Messenger. [3]

Local editions

TitleRegionDelivery dayCirculationReadership
News Review Salisbury, Elizabeth and Gawler Wednesday92,00096,016
Northeastern Weekly [3] Modbury and Golden Grove Wednesday56,00043,674
Westside Weekly [2] Woodville, West Lakes, West Beach Wednesday65,00066,461
Portside Weekly [2] Port Adelaide and Lefevre Peninsula Wednesday55,00033,187
City Adelaide Thursday35,00019,702
East Torrens Payneham, Athelstone, Magill Wednesday43,00035,243
Hills & Valley Aberfoyle Park Wednesday29,00019,597
City North Messenger Prospect, North Adelaide, Walkerville and Enfield Wednesday48,00038,043
Eastern Courier Norwood, Burnside, Goodwood, Mitcham, Blackwood, Belair Wednesday86,00062,673
CoastCity Weekly [2] Glenelg, Marion, Hallett Cove Wednesday75,00071,252
Southern Times Reynella, Noarlunga, Sellicks Beach Wednesday88,00060,088
Adelaide Matters Adelaide Monthly106,347127,000

See also

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Leader Messenger is a weekly suburban newspaper in Adelaide, part of the Messenger Newspapers group. The Leader's area covers the outer north-eastern suburbs of Adelaide, extending between Windsor Gardens on the city side and Golden Grove on the hills side.

Weekly Times Messenger is a weekly suburban newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, part of the Messenger Newspapers group. The Weekly Times' area stretches from Woodville in the north, through to Adelaide Airport in the south, and covers many of Adelaide's coastal suburbs, including Grange and Henley Beach.

East Torrens Messenger is a weekly suburban newspaper in Adelaide, part of the Messenger Newspapers group. The East Torrens' area is bounded by Hackney Road to the west, the River Torrens Valley to the north, Magill Road to the south and the Athelstone foothills in the east.

Guardian Messenger is a weekly suburban newspaper in Adelaide, part of the Messenger Newspapers group. The Guardian's area is bounded by Hallett Cove in the south, Main South Road to the east, the airport, and the coastline. The newspaper generally reports on events of interest in its distribution area, including the suburbs of Glenelg, Marion, Hallett Cove and Morphettville. It also covers the City of Holdfast Bay, City of Marion and City of West Torrens councils.

Standard Messenger is a weekly suburban newspaper in Adelaide, part of the Messenger Newspapers group. The Standard's area covers the inner-north of Adelaide's metropolitan area, from Collinswood in the south to Gepps Cross in the north.

Eastern Courier Messenger is a weekly suburban newspaper in Adelaide, part of the Messenger Newspapers group. The Eastern Courier's area is bounded by South Road to the west, Magill Road to the north, the foothills, and the city.

Portside Messenger is a weekly suburban newspaper in Adelaide, part of the Messenger Newspapers group. The Portside covers the entire Le Fevre Peninsula, taking in Adelaide's northern metropolitan beach suburbs, and all of Port Adelaide.

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References

  1. Messenger Newspapers - mastheads portal to digital editions Retrieved 23 June 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Messenger’s bold new age — and what it means for you news.com.au 16 October 2016. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 News Corp cuts number and delivery of Messenger newspapers InDaily, 7 July 2017. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
  4. Meade, Amanda (27 May 2020). "News Corp announces end of more than 100 Australian print newspapers in huge shift to digital". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 15 September 2020.
  5. Holdfast Bay Chamber of Commerce Archived 30 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine