The Marlborough Express newspaper printed its last edition this week after 160 years. Photo: Marlborough Express
"The only constant in life is change."
That was the stark message on the front page of the Marlborough Express (MEX) last Wednesday.
So stark in fact that there was nothing else on the page except for the masthead, the $3.20 cover price and the date - 30 July, 2025.
It was the day the paper went out of print for good after 160 storied years.
"We've had a few people coming into the office to pick one up," editor Ian Allen told Nine to Noon the next day.
Inside the final edition was a look back at Express front pages through the ages and current editor Ian Allen thanked "all who have read, written, delivered, sold, photographed or printed the paper".
He also thanked Heraclitus, the Greek philosopher who said the words he picked for the final front page.
But Allen was also at pains to point out it's not the end of the MEX - as staff and some locals call it - for readers.
There is still a newsroom in Blenheim, and Express subscribers can opt to get Christchurch daily The Press instead or a digital-only subscription which also gives them access to Marlborough Express content via the press.co.nz website. Express subscribers can also continue to get a daily news update by email.
The free weekly paper Weekend Express will still appear in the Marlborough region too, Stuff says.
Free papers the Blenheim Sun and Marlborough Weekly will also still be published for those who like their news in print.
"It's too easy for corporates to cut costs on a spreadsheet without knowing the impact it will have on the community the paper serves," Marlborough Weekly editor Andrew Board pointedly told readers when Stuff announced the Express was going online-only.
"When the Marlborough Express was at its peak, it was owned locally by the Furness family. Their strength came from their deep connection to the region," he added.
Clearly the end of the Express on paper is a shame those who still valued it - and have paid for it for years.
Was it inevitable?
Some said the writing's been on the wall for since 2017, when - along with the Nelson Mail - Stuff cut back printing to just three weekdays, with a daily email of news to cover the gaps for subscribers.
Nicola Coburn was the editor at that point when the Express was forced to confront the future of the paper.
"I think it was inevitable, but I don't think that's unique to Marlborough Express. I think that extends to most paid newspapers," Coburn told Mediawatch.
"We've known for a very long time now that readers are turning away from newspapers ... and also it's just the feasibility of actually producing a printed paper and having it delivered. It's very expensive."
"I actually think the Express has done extremely well and battled very hard to hold on to the printed product for this long."
In 2016 Coburn ran a project called 'Express of the Future' which invited readers to give their thoughts.
Photo: Screenshot
The Marlborough Express reaches out to readers. Photo: screenshot
"That was all about working out a way to remain viable so we could continue with the print version at the centre. That's when we first started the digital newsletter and things like that as well."
"But it was also about the sustainability of the overall newsroom ... and how to keep the most journalists' bums on seats. It's the number of journalists that I think that have the biggest impact on the ground for that local readership."
Did the readers' views change the process or the decisions that were made in the end?
"We did take it on board. It was clear that people valued the Express and they wanted it to stay. It was also good to let readers and the community know the very real challenges that the Express was facing, that it was competing with Facebook and Google for advertising dollars."
Announcing the end of the MEX in print in early July, the managing director of Stuff Mastheads Joanna Norris said "the average community newspaper is now 46 percent more expensive to produce than it was in 2022".
"That plays a huge role in what's happening as well," Coburn said.
"Older generations remember the glory days and newspapers have played such a huge role in their lives in knowing what's going on, knowing what's happening at council and what's happening in sports.
"Efforts have been made to try and attract younger audiences to actual newspapers [but] younger ones are online."
Local news and newspapers really make a difference when there's something dramatic going on. But a three-weekday printing schedule is not ideal for that.
When Spring Creek and Renwick suffered serious flooding on Friday 30 June, the MEX wasn't able to print the news and images over four pages until the Monday.
"Again the actual number of journalists on the ground has a bigger impact in the reporting of severe weather events or disasters - rather than whether it's online or whether it's printed," Coburn said.
"Yes, it is sad that the Marlborough Express will not be in print, but the good thing is it is there online. The tragedy for me is the sheer number of journalists that we've seen go from the regions this past five to ten years.
"I think the distinction between paid and free newspapers is a really important one. While I love a good free community newspaper, they serve a different purpose. Blenheim actually has three which is amazing but I can't help thinking if it was one paper with three journalists, the community would be receiving a better product."
Councils part of the problem for papers?
Westport News reports its own struggle to retain crucial advertising from the local council. Photo: Westport News
In June, Stuff's Joanna Norris also cited a lack of support from local councils as another reason for closing papers.
Coburn grew up in Westport, which has the paid daily family-owner paper Westport News. It has been pushing back against a recent Buller District Council decision to place the bulk of its advertising in a free paper produced in Greymouth.
"When any council chooses not to advertise in their local newspaper, it does have a huge impact. It's not about councils propping up newspapers ... but if you want to keep the local community informed and you have a strong and well-loved local newspaper, why wouldn't you support it?
"It's pretty special for a town the size of Westport to still even have a daily newspaper - and the reason it's still there is because people love it.
"I've never seen so many letters to the editor over that issue - pages and pages of them asking why the council was sending money out of town when it could be supporting its own local newspaper.
"It doesn't go to every single household. But that's still the starting point for most information in Westport. Whether you've read it and you tell your neighbour or you pass the paper to your neighbour or your cousin, whatever, it's still a really important voice for the town."
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