Sharing the joy in local paper

Alex Roberton likes his job at the Marlborough Weekly so much he’s decided to buy into it.

Alex is an advertising consultant at Top South Media Marlborough, which publishes the Marlborough Weekly, Marlborough App and Marlborough Magazine.

On June 20, Alex became a minority shareholder in the company alongside Awatere Valley’s Summa Bruning and Nelson-based Andrew Board.

TSM Marlborough was founded when Summa bought this&that magazine off Nadine Hickman in 2016.

In 2018 she and Andrew launched the Marlborough App and a year later the Marlborough Weekly. Alex says he was excited about the positive impact the company has on the community and its potential so asked if he could invest in the company.

“I saw how exciting this company is and how exciting the future of this region is so was keen to become even more involved.

“I’m delighted to be partnering with Summa and Andrew and further connecting TSM Marlborough with the Marlborough community.”

Director and co-owner Summa says it was the right time to bring on a new owner.

“We’re all about local and want to make sure that our newspaper remains locally owned so bringing on Alex fitted into that strategy.

“He’s been a great part of our team since he started last year and we’re excited about what the next few years have in store for us.

“Marlborough Weekly is the only newspaper in the region with local ownership. The Blenheim Sun is owned in Dunedin and Marlborough Express in Wellington.

“Local ownership ensures that locals can support locals and here in Marlborough, that means a lot.”