WhereAreTheyNowArchiveJuly

It’s been nearly 10 years since the GENESIS newspaper first hit the letterboxes in Milton. Although today’s paper follows the same principals as the early editions, the difference is that the paper keeps “getting better and better.”

That’s according to GENESIS Acting Editor Marion McGuigan, who has been involved in the paper since its inception in 1997.

The GENESIS newspaper was the brainchild of then Tokomairiro High School Principal Murray Whitworth, who was frustrated that the school newsletter often didn’t get from the schoolbags of students into the hands of parents. He was also aware of community dissatisfaction with the perceived inadequate access to existing media for local news and events, as the local Milton Gazette had ceased production.

With the support of Tokomairiro High School’s Board of Trustees, weekly production of the GENESIS newspaper began in 1997. The objective of the newspaper was to inform the community of local news and events and create a more positive community outlook. The newspaper also included in it the Tokomairiro High School newsletter, so there was no excuse for parents or students not to read it!

In 2000 the GENESIS initiative won Tokomairiro High School the Supreme Award at the TrustPower Clutha District Community Awards. The school then went on to be named Runner Up at the TrustPower National Community Awards. Marion McGuigan says winning the Awards made the local community view the paper quite differently.

“People woke up and saw that we were producing something that was actually quite good, instead of just being seen as a school newspaper. Being named Runner Up at the TrustPower National Community Awards also made the community realise how lucky we are to have a paper produced solely for and by our local community.”

Today, GENESIS is still going strong. The paper continues to be delivered to 1650 households in the Tokomairiro catchment free of charge and is still the number one place to look for local news, views and events.

Two part-time paid staff run the newspaper, with students from the High School continuing to contribute articles for the paper about various happenings in the school and the community. Marion McGuigan says the level of student input depends on the skills and interests of the students currently at the school and can change from year to year, although the paper continues to be used as a curriculum component for some classes.

The paper is funded through paid advertising along with a community appeal held in March/April each year, which the community strongly supports and which helps keep the books balanced.

This year the printers used to produce GENESIS have been upgraded, thanks to funding from various community grants. Marion McGuigan says that means they can now produce a better quality paper.

“Our aims and objectives for the paper haven’t changed over the last nine years, but we have got better at doing it! I think today we are producing a more professional paper than when we first started…but it’s only natural that the longer you do something the better you get!” says Marion McGuigan.

To contact GENESIS phone 03 417 4483 or email genesis@tokohigh.school.nz.