Regional Life Group launches free local paper for Orange
The independent publisher behind Orange City Life and National Life has launched a free local paper – NEWSWATCH – which will be available for free each weekend in Orange.
The first edition will launch May 23 in full-colour with the slogan ‘Local news delivered with integrity, wisdom and balance’.
Orange City Life already serves the region of Orange
Publisher Bob Holland said the paper will strive to be accurate and impartial with its reporting.
“We pledge to report news to the Orange community that is accurate and without embellishment on matters of interest, concern, and enlightenment to our readers,” Holland said.
“Articles, features, and columns will aim to be well-researched, balanced, and fair at all times.
“News stories will be objective and measured while opinion pieces — those stating the views of a journalist or contributor — will be clearly-marked as such with these beliefs being those of the author only and not of the paper as a whole.”
Dedicated newsstands will be set up around Orange, adjacent to the current Orange City Life stands.
The launch has been timed to dispel the myth that all local publishers are struggling, according to Regional Life Group. The COVID-19 pandemic has seen a number of publications close in regional areas around Australia.
In response, the Federal Government has offered a range of support options, although the measures have been criticised for not going far enough.
“With everything that we do, the overriding question will be: ‘what are we trying to achieve with each story? To inform about a new initiative; to reveal an injustice or inequality; to promote community awareness; or to drive change that makes us better as a city’,” said Holland.
“The way in which we access news impacts on all of us and we’re hoping that NEWSWATCH will become as much a part of our lives as the Orange City Life has for our loyal readership over more than a decade.”
