Sweeping changes to New Zealand's media make-up should not have ramifications for the Otago Daily Times and its southern readers.
APN News & Media wants to spinoff its NZME stable of media platforms into a stock exchange-listed company, and, subject to Commerce Commission approval, merge its assets with those of Fairfax, creating a monopoly with massive market share.
The 155-year-old Dunedin-based newspaper has a news service partnership with NZME and Allied Press also prints the Fairfax-owned daily Southland Times.
ODT managing director Sir Julian Smith maintains it will be "business as usual'' for the paper, with an expectation of negotiations at a later date on a shared news service.
Sir Julian was not surprised by the announcement yesterday, noting APN had signalled on several occasions its desire to exit New Zealand assets, and having canned an initial public offering of NZME in recent times.
While the newspaper industry remains under intense pressure from digital platforms, Sir Julian was adamant newspapers remained "complementary'' to the media industry overall.
"Undeniably, there's been [online] growth that has been a threat to the [newspaper] industry and it can be love-hate in some respects.
"Online is instantaneous and the subject matter is well aired, but the in-depth aspect is left to the newspapers.''
He said the merger proposal was "possibly inevitable'', but could also present opportunities, particularly for an independent publisher.
The ODT was "poised to launch'' new products to extend and enhance delivery of both print and multi-media content, Sir Julian said.
The ODT maintained "relatively stable'' readership numbers in the face of the increasing online platforms, but he expected both mediums to work in together "to the benefit of all readers''.
"There's no plans to sell [the ODT] while there is a good viable business,'' Sir Julian said of the paper's future - given it is one of only a handful of publications still in private hands in the country.
Commentators have suggested the merging of NZME-Fairfax assets has been advertising driven.
"There is a realisation they [NZME/Fairfax] may have ignored their base product [newspapers], but I don't believe they will ignore them at their peril,'' he said.
He said if the asset merger proposal made a better product for the audience, then it would provide a better platform for advertisers.
•Allied Press owns the ODT, Mountain Scene, the Greymouth Star and 12 community newspapers covering North Canterbury to Invercargill and the West Coast. It also operates Dunedin Television Channel 39.
