The Star (Christchurch)

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The Star
The Star Christchurch newspaper logo.png
TypeWeekly morning newspaper
Owner(s)
Editor-in-chiefBarry Clarke
Founded14 May 1868
Headquarters Christchurch, New Zealand
Circulation 92,000
Website www.odt.co.nz/star-news/

The Star is a newspaper published in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was published daily from 1868 to 1991. It became the Christchurch Star-Sun in June 1935 after merging with a rival newspaper, The Sun, and at the time it ceased daily publication in 1991 it was known as The Christchurch Star. [2] It later became a free newspaper, published twice a week (on Wednesdays and Fridays) until 2016, then once a week (on Thursdays) since 2016. [3]

Contents

History

The Star was first published on 14 May 1868 as the evening edition of the Lyttelton Times . By 1914, the newspaper faced competition from two other Christchurch-based evening newspapers, The Sun and Evening Times. The rival Evening Times subsequently folded in 1917. During the Great Depression, rationalisation and competition led The Star to lower its price from 2d to 1d in November 1934, prompting other Christchurch dailies to follow suit. This price proved financially unsustainable and The Star raised its orice back to 2d in June 1935. [2]

In June 1935 New Zealand Newspapers Ltd, the parent company of The Star and The Christchurch Times (the successor to the Lyttelton Times), purchased The Sun and agreed to cease publication of Christchurch Times. Later that month, The Star and The Sun merged to form a new newspaper called the Christchurch Star-Sun, which became the city's sole evening daily newspaper and competitor to the morning daily newspaper The Press . The newspaper's title changed several times until it ceased publication in 1991. The Star was subsequently revived as a bi-weekly community newspaper. [2]

On 13 July 2012, The Star along with several regional newspapers including the Oamaru Mail was amalgamated into W & H Newspapers Limited. [4]

In April 2013 the Star was sold by APN New Zealand Media (owners of The New Zealand Herald ) to Mainland Media. Mainland Media was owned by Pier and Charlotte Smulders, and chaired by Nick Smith, the director of the Dunedinbased media company Allied Press. [3] Smith had previously worked as an advertising cadet for The Star in 1965. [5] Mainland Media was subsequently renamed The Christchurch Star Company Limited on 29 July 2013. [6]

In August 2018, Allied Press acquired The Star's owners Star Media and its stable of community newspapers, magazines, digital platforms, and events. Following the acquisition, Charlotte Smulders remained the company's magazine publisher. Allied Press' acquisition of Star Media allowed the subsidiary to offer package buys combining the Canterbury Region with other South Island markets. [5]

Controversies

In 1991, The Star featured in the film JFK , with the claim that the 23 November 1963 edition of the Star, shown in the film, had published details of Lee Harvey Oswald which the Star could only have had access to if they were pre-packaged before the assassination. The paper's chief reporter later said that this was simply wrong, as Oswald had been arrested at around 10 am New Zealand time, and the Star was not published until early to mid-afternoon New Zealand time. With access to US wire services that had photographs and biographical details from Oswald's prior defection to and return from the Soviet Union, a front page was drawn up in the time available. [7]

In 2020, The Star faced criticism for advertising propaganda defending the Chinese Communist Party’s policies such as their systematic detention of Uighur Muslims in the Xinjiang province of China. [8] The Star defended their continued publication of these advertisements, as it sees them as expressions of “free speech”. In response, University of Canterbury political scientist Anne-Marie Brady raised concerns that these advertisements were not making clear distinctions between opinion and fact. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christchurch</span> City in Canterbury, New Zealand

Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island and the second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of 415,100, and a metropolitan population of over half a million. It is located in the Canterbury Region, near the centre of the east coast of the South Island, east of the Canterbury Plains. It is located near the southern end of Pegasus Bay, and is bounded to the east by the Pacific Ocean and to the south by the ancient volcanic complex of the Banks Peninsula. The Avon River (Ōtākaro) winds through the centre of the city, with a large urban park along its banks. With the exception of the Port Hills, it is a relatively flat city, on an average around 20 m (66 ft) above sea level. Christchurch has a reputation for being an English city, with its architectural identity and nickname the 'Garden City' due to similarities with garden cities in England, but also has a historic Māori heritage. Christchurch has a temperate oceanic climate with regular moderate rainfall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lyttelton, New Zealand</span> Settlement in Christchurch, New Zealand

Lyttelton is a port town on the north shore of Lyttelton Harbour / Whakaraupō, at the northwestern end of Banks Peninsula and close to Christchurch, on the eastern coast of the South Island of New Zealand.

Charlotte Jane was one of the First Four Ships in 1850 to carry emigrants from England to the new colony of Canterbury in New Zealand.

<i>The Press</i> New Zealand newspaper

The Press is a daily newspaper published in Christchurch, New Zealand, owned by media business Stuff Ltd. First published in 1861, the newspaper is the largest circulating daily in the South Island and publishes Monday to Saturday. One community newspaper—Northern Outlook—is also published by The Press and is free.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allied Press</span> News publishing company based in Dunedin, New Zealand

Allied Press is an independent New Zealand media and publishing company based in Dunedin. The company's main asset is the Otago Daily Times, New Zealand's oldest daily newspaper. Allied Press has a number of other daily and community newspapers and commercial printing operations throughout the South Island including the Canterbury–based media company Star Media. It also formerly operated Dunedin's regional television station, Channel 39.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lyttelton Harbour</span> Inlet on Banks Peninsula, New Zealand

Lyttelton Harbour / Whakaraupō is a major inlet on the northwest side of Banks Peninsula, on the coast of Canterbury, New Zealand; the other major inlet is Akaroa Harbour, which enters from the southern side of the peninsula. Whakaraupō enters from the northern coast of the peninsula, heading in a predominantly westerly direction for approximately 15 km (9.3 mi) from its mouth to the aptly-named Head of the Bay near Teddington. The harbour sits in an eroded caldera of the ancient Banks Peninsula Volcano, the steep sides of which form the Port Hills on its northern shore.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Tancred (New Zealand politician)</span> New Zealand politician

Henry John Tancred, also known as Harry Tancred, was a 19th-century New Zealand politician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Tanner (politician)</span> New Zealand politician

William Wilcox Tanner (1851–1938) was a New Zealand politician of the Liberal Party. In 1905 he was associated with the New Liberal Party group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Thacker</span> New Zealand doctor and politician

Henry Thomas Joynt Thacker was a medical doctor, New Zealand Member of Parliament and Mayor of Christchurch.

The Star is a free newspaper published weekly in Dunedin, New Zealand by Allied Press since 1979. It is the successor to The Evening Star, which was the city's daily evening newspaper from June 1863 to 1979.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Wilson (mayor)</span> New Zealand politician (1819–1897)

William Barbour Wilson, also known as Cabbage Wilson, was the first Mayor of Christchurch in New Zealand in 1868. A nurseryman by profession, he had large landholdings in Christchurch. His reputation was dented by a fraud conviction, and when he was subsequently elected onto the city council once more, five councillors resigned in protest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harry Beswick (politician)</span> New Zealand mayor (1860–1934)

Harry Joseph Beswick was Mayor of Christchurch in 1896.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Ollivier</span> New Zealand politician (1812–1893)

John Ollivier was a Member of Parliament in New Zealand, but was better known for his membership of the Canterbury Provincial Council. He was the second chairman of the Christchurch Town Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Statue of Robert Falcon Scott, Christchurch</span> Statue in Christchurch, New Zealand

The Statue of Robert Falcon Scott commemorates British Antarctic explorer Robert Falcon Scott. The statue is located at a small recreational park at the intersection of Worcester Street and Oxford Terrace in Christchurch Central City, New Zealand. Scott likely died on 29 March 1912 during his Terra Nova Expedition to the South Pole. His death became public knowledge on 10 February 1913, in response, locals organised a committee dedicated to Scott within one week of the news of his death. The statue was commissioned to be carved by Scott's widow, Kathleen Scott, in which she travelled to a marble quarry in Italy to carve it in March 1916. Her work was shipped to New Zealand in late 1916 and was unveiled on 9 February 1917. The statue is one of few monuments recognising the significance of early 20th-century Antarctic exploration.

<i>Lyttelton Times</i>

The Lyttelton Times was the first newspaper in Canterbury, New Zealand, publishing the first edition in January 1851. It was established by the Canterbury Association as part of its planned settlement of Canterbury and developed into a liberal, at the time sometimes seen as radical, newspaper. A successor paper, The Star, is published as a free bi-weekly newspaper.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lyttelton Times Building</span> Initially commercial, now hostel in Christchurch, New Zealand

The Lyttelton Times Building, last known as Base Backpackers, in 56 Cathedral Square, Christchurch Central City, was the last headquarters of the Lyttelton Times before its demise in 1935 as the then-oldest newspaper in New Zealand. The building in Chicago School architectural style was registered with New Zealand Historic Places Trust as a Category I heritage item, with the registration number 7216. The building's last use was as a backpackers' hostel and a restaurant. It was demolished following the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Brittan</span> New Zealand newspaper editor (1806–1867)

Joseph Brittan was a New Zealand surgeon, newspaper editor, and provincial councillor, was one of the dominant figures in early Christchurch. Born into a middle-class family in southern England, he followed his younger brother Guise Brittan to Christchurch, where he and his wife arrived in February 1852 with four children. Joseph Brittan soon got involved in the usual activities of early settlers and gained prominence in doing so. He had bought 100 acres on 10 July 1851 and took up 50 of this to the east of Christchurch that he converted to farmland. There, he built the family residence, and the suburb of Linwood was subsequently named after Brittan's farm and homestead of Linwood House.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard James Strachan Harman</span> New Zealand civil engineer (1826–1902)

Richard James Strachan Harman was trained as a civil engineer. However, in Christchurch, New Zealand, he worked as a bureaucrat, politician and businessman. He was one of the Canterbury Pilgrims, having arrived in Lyttelton, on Sir George Seymour, one of the First Four Ships. He was a business partner of Edward Cephas John Stevens and senior partner of Harman and Stevens, and together they took financial control of the Christchurch newspaper The Press from its original proprietor, James FitzGerald, over a protracted period. Harman held many important roles with the Canterbury Provincial Council and was the last Deputy-Superintendent.

Star Media, formerly known as Mainland Press and Mainland Media, is a Christchurch-based media company that is a subsidiary of the New Zealand media company Allied Press. Notable assets include the Christchurch community newspaper The Star, the South Island lifestyle magazine Style, and national magazines Kiwi Gardener, Kiwi Gardener Quarterly and Rugby News. Star Media also runs several Christchurch events including the City 2 Surf and the Home and Leisure Show.

References

  1. 1 2 "Star Media connects and engages with Christchurch, Canterbury and New Zealand audiences every day". Star Media. Archived from the original on 12 May 2021. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 "The Star". Papers Past. National Library of New Zealand. Archived from the original on 27 March 2024. Retrieved 26 June 2024.
  3. 1 2 Wood, Alan (18 April 2013). "Christchurch Star sold to Mainland Media". Stuff . Archived from the original on 11 April 2021. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  4. "Certificate of Amalgamation: W & H Newspapers Limited". New Zealand Companies Office. 13 July 2012. Archived from the original on 8 July 2024. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  5. 1 2 Tim (1 August 2018). "Sale of Star Media to Allied Press". Ocean Partners. Archived from the original on 2 March 2021. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  6. "Certificate of Incorporation: CSEP Holdings Limited" (PDF). New Zealand Companies Office. Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 July 2024. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  7. "The assassination of John F. Kennedy as reported in The Christchurch Star 23 November 1963". Christchurch City Libraries. Christchurch City Council. Archived from the original on 31 January 2021. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  8. Zaki, Anan (2 August 2020). "Critics deplore China's NZ ads defending policies". The New Zealand Herald . ISSN   1170-0777. Archived from the original on 1 February 2021. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
  9. "Pro-China ad campaign in Chch newspaper worries expert". Newstalk ZB . Archived from the original on 11 April 2021. Retrieved 22 August 2020.