Waimarino Bulletin first editor vacates desk for retirement

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 2, Issue 29, 18 December 1984, Page 5

Waimarino Bulletin first editor vacates desk for retirement

Dennis Beytagh, the Waimarino Buiietin 's first editor, is to retire after this current edition of the paper which is the last for this year. Dennis has been editor since the Ruapehu region's Waimarino Buiietin was first launched on 1 June last year. N ow, after more than a year and a half Dennis, at the age of 60, thinks it's time for a younger person to take over. During his time as editor the Buiietin has consolidated its position as the Waimarino area's community newspaper — circulation has increased from 2,500 to 3,250 copies each week — with an established format and editorial policy. "With responsibility for a large geographical area and the ever-present pressures of collecting enough news to ensure that the pages of each weekly edition are filled — no matter what the size of the paper — leave a country newspaper editor with very little or no free time for anything else," he said. "It means attending meetings and sports fixtures, being present at many social functions — often in the evening or at weekends — interviewing people, following news story leads, checking reports, researching historical events, taking photographs and chasing fire engines!" "Then back at the office, there's the subbing of submitted material, proofreading, laying out the editorial content of the

paper, writing headlines and photo-captions ... all the usual responsibilities associated with bringing out a weekly buiietin of local news." "At first, when the paper was smaller — both in page size and number of pages — it was possible to cope with all this single-handedly but as its popularity grew — thanks to local advertising support and reader response — it became increasingly obvious that we would have to co-opt part-time regional reporters and change over to the larger tabloid-sized newspaper. This happened

on the Bulletin's first birthday in May/June this year." "We knew that this change had to come but we didn't expect the need for such a change would occur so soon." Dennis admits that the work has been very demanding but it has also been a great challenge. "I'm pleased to have had an opportunity of helping to set up a local newspaper which was so obviously needed in the Waimarino area. I've met a lot of interesting people as a result of my association with the Buiietin and I hope to maintain these contacts in my retirement," he said ... "and I've also enjoyed working with other members of staff at the Buiietin ." When asked what he would be doing in his retirement Dennis said that he planned to stay in Ohakune and catch up with a whole host of things that have had to be set aside for the more pressing commitments of journalism. "When I returned from Sydney — where I worked for Readers Digest — to live in Ohakune three years ago I thought there would be time to develop and landscape my garden between various art and design projects I've been planning for years."

(Dennis trained as an industrial artist and designer and has practised in this field for 30 years). "But both time and the opportunity for either of these activities have so far eluded me," he said. "Hopefully all that will change next year though I will be available for some free-lance writing for the Buiietin if I'm required when a new editor has been appointed."