New Zealand Listener

History

The Listener was first published in June 1939 as a weekly broadcasting guide for radio listeners, and the first issue was distributed free to 380,000 households. First edited by Oliver Duff then from June 1949 M. H. Holcroft, it originally had a monopoly on the publication of upcoming television and radio programmes. In the 1980s it lost that monopoly, but despite the increase in competition since that time, it was still one of the top selling magazines in the country. It was privatised in 1990 and was published by Bauer Media Group until the magazine's closure in early 2020.

Pamela Stirling was the editor since 2004, and by 2018 readership was 197,000 with a circulation of 45,262.

From 2004 to 2009, the Listener produced an annual New Zealand Listener Power List of the 50 most powerful people in New Zealand. It also published the Best 100 Books, Best 50 Kids Books, and Best Cookbooks, every November/December.

Notable writers to have had their work published in the Listener include James K. Baxter, Janet Frame and Maurice Shadbolt.

Closure and restart, 2020

On 2 April 2020, the Bauer Media Group announced the closing of many of its New Zealand and Australian publications, including The Listener, due to the continued loss of advertising revenue, hastened by the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to that, the weekly current affairs printed magazine was billed as "New Zealand's best-selling current affairs magazine with a per capita circulation higher than Time, the New Yorker and Spectator".

On 17 June 2020, Australian investment company Mercury Capital purchased The Listener as part of its acquisition of Bauer Media's Australia and New Zealand assets. On 17 July, Mercury Capital announced that it would resume publishing The Listener and other former Bauer publications. In late September 2020, Mercury Capital rebranded Bauer Media as Are Media, which took over publication of The Listener. Publication of The Listener resumed with the issue of 10 October 2020.

On 30 June 2023, Are Media partnered with New Zealand media company NZME to launch a digital subscription version of The Listener called "Listener.co.nz." The website is hosted on The New Zealand Herald website and also features digital exclusive content.

In June 2025 digitised issues of the Listener from 1939–1959 were made available on Papers Past.

Editors

• Oliver Duff (1939–1949)
• M. H. Holcroft (1949–1967; 1972–1973)
• Alexander MacLeod (1967–1972)
• Ian Cross (1973–1977)
• Tony Reid (1977–1980)
• Peter Stewart (1980–1983; 1987–1989)
• David Beatson (1984–1989)
• Geoff Baylis (1989–1993; Editor-in-chief, CEO)
• Terry Snow (1991–1995)
• Jenny Wheeler (1995–1997)
• Paul Little (1997–1998)
• Finlay Macdonald (1998–2003)
• Pamela Stirling (2004–2021)
• Karyn Scherer (2021–2023)
• Kirsty Cameron (2023–current)

Regular writers/journalists

• Diana Wichtel
• Donna Chisholm
• Bill Ralston
• Nicky Pellegrino
• Sally Blundell
• Paul Thomas (writer)
• Jane Clifton
• Russell Baillie, Books & Culture Editor
• Fiona Rae
• Michael Cooper
• Clare de Lore
• Peter Griffin
• Marc Wilson, psychology columnist
• Paul Thomas, sports columnist
• Jennifer Bowden
• Greg Dixon
• Michele Hewitson
• Mark Broatch
• Rose McIver
• Andrew Anthony
• Sam Neill
• Louise Chunn
• Cathrin Schaer
• Bernard Lagan
• Charlotte Grimshaw

Regular cartoonists/illustrators/photographers

• Chris Slane (cartoonist)
• Anthony Ellison (cartoonist)
• Andrew Tristram (cartoonist)
• Jane Ussher (photographer)
• Ken Downie (photographer)
• Simon Young (photographer)
• Hagen Hopkins (photographer)

References

References

1. (28 September 2020). "Bauer Media rebrands as Are Media". [[Mumbrella]].
2. (28 September 2020). "Rebrand and Relaunch: Australasia's Bauer Media now titled Are Media". StopPress.
3. (1 July 1939). "The "New Zealand Listener." – New Radio Magazine.". The New Zealand Railways Magazine.
4. (2011). "Duff, Oliver – Biography".
5. (2011). "Today in History First issue of NZ Listener published". NZ History.
6. John Drinnan. (18 April 2008). "Listener at centre of climate storm". The New Zealand Herald.
7. "Listener Media Kit".
8. (2 April 2020). "Govt 'could have given half-a-million' to help Bauer but publisher didn't want it, Faafoi says". [[Stuff (website).
9. (2 April 2020). "Covid 19 coronavirus: Bauer Media closing – publisher of the Listener, Woman's Day, North & South". [[The New Zealand Herald]].
10. (2 April 2020). "Covid-19: Major magazine publisher Bauer Media closing down". [[Radio New Zealand]].
11. (2 April 2020). "Publisher of NZ Listener, Woman's Weekly, North & South to shut down". [[The Spinoff]].
12. "New Zealand Listener".
13. "New Zealand Listener Magazine Subscription".
14. (17 June 2020). "Bauer Media NZ bought by Australian investment company". [[Radio New Zealand]].
15. (17 June 2020). "Bauer magazines sold to private equity firm". [[Stuff (website).
16. "The Listener and other Bauer mags return – some may be gone for good". [[Stuff (website).
17. (17 July 2020). "Bauer resumes publishing of The Listener and NZ Woman's Weekly after Mercury Capital takes over". [[New Zealand Herald]].
18. (30 June 2023). "NZME teams up with Are Media to launch Listener.co.nz". [[NZME]].
19. "New Zealand Listener". National Library of New Zealand.
20. Holcroft, Monte. (1 July 1989). "As I Remember It". New Zealand Listener.
21. Hamilton, Stephen. (2008). "Montague Harry Holcroft, 1902 – 1993". Kōtare.
22. Rees, Jeremy. (9 May 2020). "A Listener flashback: The sacking of an editor". Asia Pacific Report.
23. (2007-12-01). "O'Connor, Rev. Canon (Brian) Michael (Mcdougal), (born 20 June 1942), Dean of Auckland, New Zealand, 1997–2000". Oxford University Press.
24. (2019-11-05). "A farewell to Ian Cross".
25. (2019-11-03). "Journalist and author Ian Cross dies aged 93".
26. Noted. "Ian Cross, celebrated Listener editor, 1925–2019".
27. Noted. "Tony Reid: 1943–2020".
28. Zealand, Massey University, New. "Champion of press freedom honoured – Massey University".
29. Black, Joanne. (2 June 2006). "News man".
30. de Lore, Clare. (10 March 2019). "Jenny Wheeler: the first woman to be appointed Listener editor". New Zealand Listener.
31. "Finlay Macdonald, RNZ National Presenter".
32. {{twitter. Russell_Baillie
33. "Russell Baillie". Noted.
34. "Marc Wilson, School of Psychology". [[Victoria University of Wellington]].
35. "About – Paul Thomas – NZ Writer Author Novelist". Paul Thomas.
36. "Paul Thomas". Noted.