Sir Julian Smith.
Queenstown community newspaper
Mountain Scene and
its website have been bought by Allied Press Ltd, publisher of
the
Otago Daily Times.
Allied Press Ltd managing director Sir Julian Smith and
Mountain Scene publisher Richard Thomas made the announcement
to their respective staff at 5pm yesterday. The deal takes
effect from February 1.
Details remain confidential. Mountain Scene, which was
founded by Barry Thomas as a tourist publication in 1972, has
established a national profile for what it terms its
''hard-news edge''. That approach will continue under Allied
Press, Sir Julian said yesterday.
''We intend that Mountain Scene will continue to
retain the identity with which it has become known,'' he
said.
''We see the Mountain Scene and its website as a
valuable addition to our current stable of newspapers,
websites and television stations.
Richard Thomas.
''The company has a strong and historic presence in
Central Otago and the Lakes District with the
ODT, The
News (an Alexandra-based community newspaper) and our
commercial printing business,
ODT Print, also based in
Alexandra.
''The addition of the Mountain Scene in Queenstown
complements the existing businesses, including the
Queenstown Times, our tabloid distributed in the
Wakatipu.
''And we are pleased that Mountain Scene will continue
to be owned and operated by an Otago-based business.''
Allied Press Ltd publishes the ODT and its website,
www.odt.co.nz, and more than 10 community
newspaper titles in Canterbury, Otago and Southland. It also
has a major interest in the Greymouth Star and its
associated titles, and owns the television stations Channel
9, in Dunedin, and CTV, in Christchurch.
Richard Thomas, who has agreed to continue as a director of
Mountain Scene, said: ''We're pleased to be able to
keep our family's 40-year association in the business alive.
''This agreement sees Queenstown's strongest media brand join
New Zealand's largest independent media entity.
''I'm 100% confident Mountain Scene's future is in
safe hands.''
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