An exciting future of innovation and change

This month, the team at The Southern Argus will celebrate our first year of publishing. 

The new custodianship signifies a special chapter in the newspaper’s proud history spanning 156-years. 

This is a proud achievement, but we could not have done it without you, our loyal readers and advertisers. 

In our first twelve months, we’ve worked hard to establish your trust – a quality that we understand is earnt. 

Building upon this foundation, we understand our obligations to serve you and our team is committed to a shared vision of integrity, honesty, fairness and innovation. 

We value the close relationships we’ve formed with our readers who rightly expect us to uphold the highest standards. 

With a view that everyone has the right to receive quality local news, our commitment to delivering quality journalism will not change. 

As we proudly reflect on the past year, we look to the future with the same spirit of innovation and excellence that has enabled us to form deep connections with our community. 

In a market full of distraction, The Southern Argus will continue to innovate while always keeping our valued readers front-of-mind. 

It is essential that we create a truly sustainable news media business and appeal to an even greater audience through the investment of technologies that best serve our readers and viewers. 

Today, I have immense pleasure to reveal our brand-new website: www.southernargus.com.au 

Our team of local experts have been working hard to create a site that complements the hard copy newspaper. 

The local news-serving website will complement the strength of the paper and provide even greater choice for consumers. 

For local news organisations to survive and support the number of journalists required to adequately cater for a growing community, I am confident that our competitive subscription model will prove very popular. 

News paywalls are an essential component in operating a healthy news website and your continued investment will help to maintain the high-quality local journalism that is essential in our democracy. 

For a modest $2 per week subscription, you will receive full access to the website, including delivery of our in-demand E-edition (a digital replica of the weekly newspaper.)  

For the many readers who love the feel of the printed newspaper and take pleasure in turning the pages of expertly curated news written by skilled journalists locally, there is some reassurance. 

I firmly believe we will be printing the newspaper for many more years.  

At the same time, however, it is inevitable that many changes will occur during the coming decade, driven by what consumers want from their local newspaper. 

It’s our responsibility to provide them with choice. 

Our future will not be so different from our past when it comes to the role we play in your community – sharing the stories of local people for local people.