'Press' was a mass of reading

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 6, Issue 236, 22 March 1988, Page 6

'Press' was a mass of reading

In last week's paper we looked at the setting up of a new community newspaper to serve the Waimarino area: the Central District Press. As we reported the Central District Press started initially in a broadsheet format (same size as today's major metropolitan dailies) and was printed and published by Laurence Nation Ltd in Raetihi by Edmund Victor Wall. It was not to last longer than six months in its broadsheet format. The first edition o f 1949 (5 January) saw the Central District Press re-appear as a tabloid, the same page size as today's Bulletin which was to become an increasingly popular format for community newspapers in later years. It continued to be printed and published in

Raetihi by L.W. Nation Ltd by Edmund Victor Wall for another six months until Monday June 20, 1949 when Vol 2 No 3 appeared. The next edition, Vol 2 No 4 dated Wednesday June 29, 1949 was "Printed by the Wanganui Chronicle Coy Ltd, Wanganui, and published by Edmund Victor Wall, Seddon Street, Raetihi, for the proprietors, L.W. Nation Ltd, Seddon Street, Raetihi" according to the imprint on that issue. Apart from the obvious change of page size the most significant change was in the balance between advertising and editorial content. Not only were there fewer advertisements on the front page but throughout the paper

the editorial content was greatly increased giving these tabloid editions more the appearance of a topical newspaper than a static advertising hoarding. Technology change Developments in printing technology, particularly with the introduction of the semi-automated Linotype and Intertype typeset.ting machines from Europe and America which cast lines (or 'slugs') of type rather than individual letters, no doubt contributed to the paper's ability to change the editorial content more easily and rapidly than before. Many of these early tabloid editions of the Central District Press

ran to six and sometimes eight pages with a corresponding increase in news coverage. World news Surprisingly though, for a community newspaper, many of the news stories were from overseas and elsewhere in New Zealand with headings such as: 'Triumph of Berlin Airiift', 'Drought Hits Central Queensland' and 'Stricter Control of Drugs in Britain.' Perhaps the Waimarino was not as well served with daily major metropolitan and provincial newspapers in those post-war years as it is today and the 'local' paper may have been the only way of obtaining international and national news stories. Certainly these days

such a practice of reporting other than 'local' news is a definite 'No No' with most community papers in New Zealand unless such a story can be related to some matter of regional concern or interest. However, the Waimarino community was also well served with news from the region and a regular series of articles dealing with specific topics - local sport, school news, court reports, gardening, stock saies, a women's column, borough briefs, a racing page etc - gradually emerged. Those early editions of the Central District Press certainly carried a lot of reading matter. Mass of type Very few photographs appeared in the editorial columns and headings were, by today's standards, small and restrained. The net result of these two factors was to present the reader with unrelieved masses of type in each issue. Whilst no doubt considered a 'good read' it must nevertheless have been frustrating for both reader and publisher to have to wait for an improvement in photographic technology and the half-tone reproduction process before the paper could present a satisfactory standard of pictorial material to complement the text. Years of change In the 40 years since the Central District Press was launched newspaper technology has come a long way. That is why today's Bulletin is able to strike a happy balance between visual and written material in both black and white as well as full colour as was demonstrated in our inaugural 'new-look' edition of Tuesday, February 23.