William signs out

After a two-year, 10-month stint at the Marlborough Weekly, William Woodworth has written his final story (for now) and bids farewell to Marlborough – moving to sports reporting at Newstalk ZB, while Evan Tuchinsky takes over in the newsroom.

So that’s the final whistle. It’s been almost three years since I moved to Marlborough, slightly less since I wrote my “Three weeks in Marlborough” piece in the 2 May 2023 edition, and that time has flown by.

The team at Top South Media and the folk of Marlborough have allowed my wildest career dreams to become not only a possibility but also a reality.
I won’t forget it in a hurry.

I came down here with nervous energy (and admittedly plenty of naivety), wanting a job that gave me as much variety, experience and professional development as possible – and Marlborough has provided that in absolute spades.

I’m proud that I have done my utmost best representing what the paper epitomises – writing about Marlborough, weekly.

After ups and downs, happy stories and those that left me sobbing, amazing characters and hard times with silver linings, writing great stories and those I made mistakes within to learn from, I’ll now be heading back to Auckland with plenty of personal lessons and growth, but also a few more grey hairs and rugby scars.

In that piece I penned three weeks in, I noted, “You just don’t know how good you have it until some outsider tells you,” and “Marlborough knows what it is, instead of trying to be something else.”

It’s been my absolute pleasure to tell you just how good you are for the last two years and 10 months. Stay fantastic, and don’t try and be anywhere else.

Cheers, William.

P.S. Get up you mighty, MIGHTY Harlequins.

Interviewing the interviewer - William Woodworth answers to his peers

Summa: What did you love most about working in the TSM Marlborough Office?
It’s been seeing the small independent team producing everything (aside from printing) in house, and the care and love with how it happens. While “flexibility” has its stretches sometimes, our hard-working team here, with help from head office just across the hill, producing a community-focused information source is so important for Marlborough and the Top of the South, an approach which should be copied across any region wanting to have a local media voice.

Andrew: What about Marlborough do you think you’ll remember most fondly?
A new understanding for what wine is really supposed to taste like, and an appreciation for the power of motivated people, and the key message that New Zealand is much more than our main centres.

Peter: Best sporting memory of your time in Boomtown?
Getting a photo holding the Ranfurly Shield – it’s been a long time since a Northlander held it so I took my chance when I could! Really though it’s being given the club captaincy of Harlequins RFC – a huge honour and a club I’m really hoping goes from strength to strength now.

Alex: Who has shaped your journey at Marlborough Weekly the most?
This might sound like a cop out of an answer, but I couldn’t have done this job without the people of Marlborough doing interesting things. On a more personal note, it’s Pete Jones, Andrew Board and Paula Hulburt for the professional writing, interviewing and photography development which I really wanted after taking on this job.

Anna: What’s the most embarrassing on-the-job memory?
I was in such a rush I forgot that I had moved my car from one usual parking spot to another. I proceeded to report it stolen and ask local businesses if they’d seen it anywhere. It took my flatmate driving home and seeing it still parked there that night, to tell me where it was.

Toni: What is your most memorable/meaningful article you have written while with the Marlborough Weekly, the one that will stick with you always?
It’s the ones where I felt I made an impact in writing it, whether that’s helping Stadium 2000 get more lifeguards so people can use that amazing facility better, or helping Harold the Giraffe and the Life Education Trust continue their work with getting new trustees for the board. Special shout out to Rosie the Labrador being found under a bridge in central Blenheim three days after being swept away!

Evan: What is it about your time in Marlborough which will stick with you?
Personally it’s self-belief, and backing myself to make a leap like this into local community media.

Nat: What was your favourite front page?
Favourite front pages are the Mako vs Wellington August 2023 Ranfurly Shield defence; the “Dire Straits” front page from June 2024 on the ferry beaching; July’s “Global MADness” story and just seeing how professional the Academy of Dance girls were; the Hobby Horse Fundraiser front page from August; and “Pure and Simple” from this November for the pure cheek of it.