The closure of Bauer Media is a "tragedy" for which the Government is responsible, says a leading media commentator - but the Government says the company refused help.
On Monday morning Bauer announced it had no option but to shut up shop meaning the end of some of New Zealand's biggest magazines.
The company published Woman's Day, Woman's Weekly, The Listener, North and South and Metro - all of which will be pulled from shelves.
Bill Ralston, media commentator and former Listener columnist, says the shut down is a "tragedy".
"The magazine industry was already suffering from the fall of advertising due to COVID-19 but it got a bullet in the back of the head when the Government decided to ban magazines and local newspapers, " he told Newshub.
Last week a decision was made that magazines and newspapers were not "essential services" and therefore would not be able to continue to run throughout the four-week lockdown.
Last week a decision was made that magazines and newspapers were not "essential services" and therefore would not be able to continue to run throughout the four-week lockdown.
Ralston says print media was already suffering due to the downturn in advertising revenue thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic and the Government's decision was the nail in the coffin.
"If you're as compromised in financial health terms as the media industry is, then a Government ban will kill you off," he said.
Social media has lit up with expressions of grief from Bauer Media employees and others expressing sympathy.
Bauer's Australia and New Zealand chief executive officer Brendon Hill says the closure is "devastating".
“This is a devastating blow for our committed and talented team who have worked tirelessly to inform and entertain New Zealanders, through some of the country’s best-loved and most-read magazines," he said in a statement on Thursday.
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused advertising revenue to dry up across the board, signalling difficult times for media in New Zealand as a whole.
NZME recently advised its staff they could expect redundancies, and Mediaworks has asked all its TV, radio and digital staff to take a voluntary 15 percent pay cut to keep the business afloat.
