The GB Weekly changes format
It’s The GB Weekly’s 17th year, and this week we celebrate its leap forward to tabloid size and colour photographs.
From today, the page size and layout will change, the paper and printer will change, and the Bay’s wonderful scenery and people will be represented in full colour photos. Colour advertising will also be available.
For manager Marg Braggins the transition has involved some lengthy consideration. “I’ve been proud of the fact that the GBW’s been black and white and a little A4 size for so long. There can’t be many like it in New Zealand, so it’s a bit sad to see it change,” she said.
But the market was forcing a business decision. “Late last year we found that we were about to lose a significant amount of advertising simply because we couldn’t offer colour to our clients. That advertising was paying for articles. It was actually possible that we could have lost three pages each week. The articles, letters, tide chart, police report, movie reviews and so on are really important to the GBW, and it would have become smaller and less interesting.”
The move to colour was not an easy choice, as the GBW’s Golden Bay printer, Stefan Waldner, was unable to provide it, and there were no viable local alternatives. Finding a printer outside the Bay also meant finding a style and quality Marg was happy with. “We didn’t want the GBW’s unique personality to be lost in the format change, so retaining its flavour was really important,” she said.
Together with husband Neil Wilson (GBW reporter, teacher and staff coffee-maker), the acquisition and examination of other regional papers and printers began—and examples slowly covered the floor of their Pohara office.
“It was a very difficult decision for us to end our contract with Stefan. He’s been printing the GBW on his own account since 2002 and he worked for Unlimited Copies when they printed the paper for some years before that. Stefan has been great. He’s an excellent printer and he’s been able to fit in with whatever we’ve needed for seven years. We wish him every success in his next venture.”
Printing will now be done in Blenheim by The Marlborough Express, said Marg. “Copies will arrive in Takaka about 7.30 every Friday morning so they’ll be out at about the same time as usual. Only some Takaka town readers will notice a difference. Their papers won’t be in their boxes by breakfast time any more; it’ll be closer to morning-tea time for some of them, probably.”
Neil hopes readers will enjoy the colour editions. “We had a really positive response to the coloured photos on our website; hopefully readers of the paper in hard copy will enjoy the change, too. Some people have said that it would make the GBW seem more important, more like a ‘real paper’. Because of the colour we have managed to attract a big advertising client, so that means more pages, more articles.
“Some have even said that the new GBW might make lighting their fire a lot easier.” (The paper’s ineffectiveness as a fire starter was the subject of criticism in earlier days.)
Readers can expect a period of adjustment, Marg added. “We’re doing our best with the changes, and there are some serious logistics to deal with, but we’ll do our best as always and hope people enjoy the end product. Feedback is always welcome.
“We’re not planning any other radical changes. I think that’s quite enough for now.”
Maria Polglase
