Strategic regional partnership expands local news offering

A NEW era has begun in regional news media this week with a strategic partnership between radio giant Sports Entertainment Network (SEN) and leading regional news media publisher Times News Group.

The latest offering, which was signed off in the past month and launched today (Wednesday, November 8), is the rebranding of the formerly SEN owned Lifestyle 1 magazine to the co-owned masthead Mt Gambier Times.

SEN and Times News Group will use the respected media success of both companies across radio, print and digital platforms to develop a regional media partnership that will strengthen independently-owned news and sport media offerings, initially in the Limestone Coast region of South Australia and the Victorian border.

Times News Group managing director Warick Brown said he was thrilled to bolster Times News Group’s growing suite of mastheads with a new arm of the partnership that aligned well with the his company’s business model.

“The way Times News Group delivers news and media content across our mastheads and digital assets will be complemented by this partnership with SEN.

“We’ve worked in partnership with SEN for more than three years through shared brand coverage, national sports coverage and more recently the successful Saturday morning SEN radio show The Warm Up – this is a step in the right direction for our media brand; to produce another premier printed and digital product under the Mt Gambier Times masthead.

“Integrating the assets of both businesses across radio, print and digital will strengthen our ability to provide free local news and sport coverage to a wider audience.

“We are really excited to build on the legacy that the local paper has had in Mt Gambier over 20 years with a local owner and more recently SEN.

“Free local news allows everyone in the community to keep up to date with what’s good about where we live.”

SEN chief executive officer Craig Hutchison also looked forward to what the future would look like for the Mt Gambier Times.

“We always saw the potential in what is now the Mt Gambier Times, and putting it in the hands of someone as experienced and driven as Warick Brown will see that potential realised,” Mr Hutchison said.

“We are thrilled about this exciting new chapter for the newspaper, and the wider partnership between SEN and Times News Group.

“We’re committed to elevating the brand and delivering exceptional local news and sports content to an even wider audience, and we look forward to doing that side by side with the Times News Group.”