Our Story Your Story - Waikato Business News 25 Years

20 | OUR STORY YOUR STORY
Fourteen years in the
hot seat
... By Mike Blake ...
It began in 2002 when at a family
gathering Deidre mentioned
she was looking for an editor
for the newly acquired Waikato
Business News.
My wife Eileen and I were quite comfortable
playing our roles in a corporate environment
in Auckland, but a move back to the great city
of Hamilton offered an even more comfortable
lifestyle…we thought.
the sound teaching of editor John Barrett,
news editor Ken Coates, chief reporter Claude
Coombes and others.
But this latest move to Hamilton was not
a done deal, really, until we saw what we
were getting ourselves into with Waikato
Business News.
On an early visit a copy of the paper was
reverently laid in front of me. It was a 16-page
tabloid newspaper with the potential to grow.
And as I had made several moves away and
back to Hamilton I felt I knew the town and
many of the key people making it buzz.
Eileen and I said yes and sealed the deal.
the other with early set ups…the hopes
and aspirations of young people willing to
get out and give it a go.
Meanwhile I went out, camera in hand, to
record as many business functions as possible
and include attendees’ faces in the paper.
The tactic worked as people were pleased to
see themselves in WBN and others, in turn,
wanted theirs to be there next time. This meant
they needed to attend some of the functions.
This also meant attendances went up and host
businesses got a better bang for their buck.
And people would seek out the paper which led
to ever-increasing circulation numbers.
So, a deal was agreed, hands were shaken, and
after our resignations were accepted by the
Auckland team, our Ponsonby home was put
up for rent and we moved to the town where it
all began (for me anyway).
I had joined the Waikato Times as a cadet
reporter in 1965 and a career emerged from
A couple of my first moves were to visit the
Waikato Chamber of Commerce and chat to
CEO David Robinson, then on to the Business
Development Centre and CEO Sandra Perry.
Both these organisations were geared to
direct me to business happenings throughout
the city. One with established businesses,
Advertisers received positive feedback and
everyone felt they were on a win…win...win.
Quite quickly, Deidre could see the benefit
of giving the paper a better look and began
printing on gloss paper. Another bonus
for advertisers and much better photo
reproduction.