Peninsula News celebrates 10 years
This issue of Peninsula News celebrates 10 years of publication.
The first edition was a 12-page paper, issued in April 1999.
Peninsula News was started as a medium of information and communication for and by members of the Peninsula community.
The aims and operation of Peninsula News remain as they were when it started 10 years ago.
The accompanying article, which was written just 18 months after the start of the paper, describes the origins and purpose of the newspaper.
It describes the unique structure, the community ownership through a non-profit association working with a commercial operator, which has allowed the paper to remain viable over the years.
As a result of following these principles, Peninsula News receives much more positive feedback and community support than most mainstream and independent regional and community newspapers.
It is sad but significant that our 10th birthday coincides with the closure of the Sun Weekly and the publication of its last issue last week, perhaps the last casualty of the battle between News Ltd and Fairfax for domination of the Central Coast.
During the Central Coast newspaper war of 2001-2004, both the Express Advocate and Central Coast Herald produced daily newspapers, and the Daily Telegraph contained a daily Central Coast insert.
The regional media were scrounging for all the news items they could find.
Despite this, Peninsula News maintained its record of providing a better news coverage for the Peninsula than any other medium.
Peninsula News has always had more news items about the Peninsula in each fortnightly issue than all the other media combined.
For this birthday issue, we asked some of the original contributors, such as the then Member for Robertson Mr Jim Lloyd and Peninsula Chamber of Commerce president Mr Matthew Wales, as well as current community representatives to reflect on the role of Peninsula News in our community.
Mark Snell, 30 April 2009