 | |
| Stuff | |
| Formerly | Fairfax New Zealand |
| Company type | Private |
| Industry | Publishing |
| Founded | July 1, 2003; 22 years ago (2003-07-01) |
| Headquarters | Wellington, New Zealand |
Key people | Sinead Boucher (owner) |
| Brands |
|
| Website | stuff |
Stuff Limited (previouslyFairfax New Zealand) is a privately heldnews media company operating in New Zealand. It operatesStuff, the country's largest news website, and owns nine daily newspapers, including New Zealand's second and third-highest circulation daily newspapers,The Post andThe Press, and the highest circulation weekly,Sunday Star-Times.[1] Magazines published includeTV Guide, New Zealand's top-selling weekly magazine.[2] Stuff also owns social media networkNeighbourly.[3]
Stuff has been owned bySinead Boucher[4] since 31 May 2020. It was called Fairfax New Zealand Limited until 1 February 2018.[5][6] In December 2024, Stuff was restructured into two separate print and digital media divisions:Masthead Publishing andStuff Digital.[7][8] In June 2025, online retailerTrade Me acquired a 50 percent stake in Stuff Digital, with Stuff's property section being rebranded as Trade Me Property.[9]
The print publications and theStuff website previously belonged toIndependent Newspapers Limited, until they were sold to Australian companyFairfax Media in 2003.[5][10]
When a 7.8earthquake struck Kaikōura 14 November 2016, cutting the town off via road access, Stuff (then Fairfax New Zealand) flew free copies of its newspapers to residents.[11]
In 2016, Fairfax New Zealand and media companyNew Zealand Media and Entertainment (NZME) sought clearance from theCommerce Commission to merge their operations in New Zealand. As part of the merger proposal, Stuff's Australian owner Fairfax Media would have received a 41 per cent stake in the combined business plus $55 million cash. On 2 May 2017, the Commerce Commission declined to approve the merger. Stuff Ltd. and NZME appealed the Commission's decision to the Wellington High Court, which upheld the Commission's decision on 18 December 2017. In June 2018, the companies appealed the Commission's decision at theNew Zealand Court of Appeal, which rejected their merger bid on 25 September 2018.[12][13] In October 2018, Stuff and NZME abandoned their first merger attempt.[14]
On 1 February 2018, Fairfax New Zealand Limited changed its name toStuff Limited.[5]
In July 2018, Stuff's parent company Fairfax Media merged with Australia'sNine Entertainment, which acquired Stuff and its stable of New Zealand newspapers.[15] In July 2019, Nine Entertainment attempted to sell Stuff but did not receive any adequate bids.[16]
In November 2019, NZME confirmed that it had entered into negotiations with Nine Entertainment to purchase Stuff and submitted a proposal to the New Zealand Government regarding a "possible transaction." NZME proposed a "Kiwishare" arrangement that would ringfence Stuff's editorial operations and protect local journalism.[17][18]
On 11 May 2020, NZME offered to purchase Stuff for a symbolic $1 on the basis of saving jobs during theCOVID-19 pandemic. In response, Stuff's parent company Nine Entertainment terminated further discussion with NZME.[19][20][21] In response, NZME filed for an emergency injunction at theAuckland High Court to force Nine Entertainment back into negotiations.[22] On 19 May, the Auckland High Court rejected NZME's bid for an interim injunction against Nine Entertainment.[23][24]
On 25 May, Nine Entertainment agreed to sell Stuff to Stuff's chief executiveSinead Boucher for NZ$1, with the transaction due to be completed by 31 May. This marked the return of the company into New Zealand ownership. Nine retained all of the proceeds of the sale of wholesale broadband business Stuff Fibre to telecommunications companyVocus Group, and ownership of Stuff's Wellington printing press.[25][26][27]
In later-released court filings, it was revealed Nine had decided it would shut down Stuff if a merger or sale had not proceeded by 31 May.[28]
On 18 October 2022, Stuff released details of a proposed restructure for its regional and local publications. Under the proposal, the number of newsroom staff at theManawatū Standard,Nelson Mail, andTimaru Herald would be reduced from seven reporters to three. Other regional newspapersTaranaki Daily News andThe Southland Times would retain four reporters each. In addition, news director roles at regional papers would be disestablished, with the remaining editors expected to write news. Stuff has proposed counterbalancing these job cuts by establishing a new regional team composed of a group regional editor, four news directors and nine breaking news reporters. According toRadio New Zealand, several unidentified Stuff employees expressed sadness and unease about the restructuring and increased work load.[29]
In response to the proposed restructuring, several journalists affiliated with theE tū union organised strikes in December 2022.[30] Despite opposition from employees, Stuff proceeded with the planned restructuring in early December 2022. Stuff's Chief Content Officer Joanna Norris defended the restructuring, stating that the company had created an internal news service operating across regional New Zealand that would be able to cover stories at any time and place. By contrast,Mayor of NelsonNick Smith expressed concern about the impact of job cuts on the quality of local newspaperNelson Mail's news coverage.[31]
On 27 April 2023, Stuff confirmed that it would launch separate subscription-based websites for three of its newspapers:The Dominion Post,The Press, andWaikato Times. These websites will co-exist with the freeStuff news website. In addition, Stuff confirmed thatThe Dominion Post would be revamped asThe Post from 29 April.[32]
In early October 2024, Stuff Digital's Head of Growth Janine Fenwick confirmed that the Stuff news website would be reorganising its regional news content. Content from the Stuff Group's North Island newspapersTaranaki Daily News,Manawatu Standard and theWairarapa Times-Age would be hosted onThe Post's website while South Island newspapersSouthland Times,Nelson Mail,Timaru Herald andMarlborough Express would be hosted onThe Press's website. Users would also be prompted to subscribe to a single subscription package offering unlimited access to content onThe Post,The Press andWaikato Times websites.[33]
On 16 April 2024, Stuff announced an agreement withWarner Bros. Discovery to replace the outgoingNewshub news service with an evening news bulletin provided by Stuff from 6 July 2024. The news bulletin will run from 6pm to 7pm on weekdays and a 30 minute news bulletin on Saturday and Sunday. As part of the agreement, Warner Bros. Discovery will pay Stuff an annual fee, estimated to be likely in the millions.[34] Stuff publisher Boucher also confirmed that Stuff would hire several former Newshub staff (less than 40–50) to produce the 6pm bulletins.[35]
On 7 May 2024, Stuff confirmed that it would hire seven former Newshub journalists—Samantha Hayes,Jenna Lynch,Laura Tupou,Ollie Ritchie,Juliet Speedy,Zane Small andHeather Keats—to produce its 6pm news bulletin and other news products.[36] In late May 2024, Stuff revealed that the new 6pm news bulletin would be calledThreeNews.[37]
On 15 May 2024, the Stuff Group acquired theWairarapa Times-Age newspaper, its website and associated publications from National Media Limited.[38]
In mid-June 2024, the Stuff Group announced that a new community newspaper calledThe Waikato Local Te Pūtahi would be launched in theWaikato Region on 3 July. This newspaper replaced several defunct Stuff community newspapers including thePiako Post,Matamata Chronicle,South Waikato News and theHamilton Press.The Waikato Local was also distributed inTe Aroha andTīrau.[39]
In December 2024,The Spinoff website reported that Stuff would be restructured into two divisions: Stuff Digital and Masthead Publishing. Stuff Digital was given oversight overstuff.co.nz,Neighbourly and its audio and video divisions. Masthead Publishing was given responsibility over the company's newspaper brands and their websites particularlyThe Post,The Press andWaikato Times.[7][8] In late March 2025,The New Zealand Herald reported that Stuff had threatened to pursue a defamation lawsuit againstThe Spinoff for covering the restructuring.[40]
On 21 March, NZME confirmed it had entered into negotiations with Stuff in late 2024 to acquire several of itsWellington andSouth Island newspapers in order to boost itsOneRoof business revenue and audience. However, Stuff had paused these talks in response to Canadian billionaireJim Grenon's bid to replace NZME's current leadership board during a shareholder meeting scheduled for 29 April 2025.[8]
On 25 March, retail websiteTrade Me CEO Anders Skoe confirmed that his company and Stuff had been discussing content sharing and other unspecified collaborations.[41] On 3 June, Trade Me acquired a 50 percent stake in the Stuff Digital division, whose assets include the websiteStuff and the evening news bulletinThreeNews. In addition, Stuff's property section will be rebranded as Trade Me Property, with listings, advertisements and some content shared across both platforms.[9]
On 19 August 2025, unionised employees of Stuff affiliated with theE tū union voted to strike to protest their employer's plan to split their collective bargaining agreement into two agreements, reflecting the company's split into separate digital and print divisions.[42]
Allen Williams was chief executive officer of Fairfax New Zealand Limited from April 2009 until April 2013, when he was promoted to managing director of Australian Publishing Media.[43] Andrew Boyle was acting managing director until Simon Tong started as managing director in September 2013.[44] Tong left in March 2017, just days prior to theCommerce Commission announcing their final decision on the proposed Fairfax New Zealand merger withNew Zealand Media and Entertainment (NZME).[45] Tong was succeeded by Boyle as acting managing director untilSinead Boucher was appointed chief executive officer in August 2017. Boucher had first been employed by Fairfax as a branch office reporter forThe Press in 1993.[46]
On 25 May 2020, Boucher assumed ownership of Stuff from its Australian parent company Nine Entertainment.[26][27]
On 1 June 2023, Laura Maxwell was appointed as the new Chief Executive of the Stuff Group while its owner Boucher became the Executive Chair and Publisher of the company. In addition, Stuff appointed three new managing directors to lead the major divisions of the company. Chief Audio Officer Nadia Tolich was appointed managing director of Stuff Digital, which includedstuff.co.nz, Neighbourly, and Stuff's audio division. Chief content officer Joanna Norris was appointed as managing director of Stuff Masthead Publishing, which has oversight over Stuff's metropolitan, regional and community newspapers, magazines, websites, and commercial printing operations. Executive Commercial Director Matt Headland was appointed as managing director of Stuff Brand Connections, which also incorporated the company's former Stuff Events business division.[47][48] As part of the restructuring process, Stuff announced a proposed restructuring of editorial and management jobs in mid June 2023. According toRadio New Zealand, several senior journalists were asked to reapply for several new roles including a single position as editor of theSunday Star Times andThe Post newspapers.[48]
Masthead Publishing consists of the company's newspaper brands and their websites particularlyThe Post,The Press andWaikato Times.[7][8]
Stuff Digital consists ofstuff.co.nz,Neighbourly, the evening bulletinThreeNews and its audio and video divisions.[7][9]
In November 2017 Stuff Ltd took full ownership of hyper-local social media networkNeighbourly, having first bought a 22.5 percent stake in December 2014.[3]
In 2019, Stuff launched a longform journalism documentary series calledStuff Circuit with funding fromNZ On Air. Notable titles have includedBig Decision (abortion law reform),Life + Limb (New Zealand's military involvement in theWar in Afghanistan),False Profit (which focused on conspiracy theorist andNew Zealand Public Party founderBilly Te Kahika),Deleted (which looked at New Zealand companies alleged to be complicit in human rights abuses inXinjiang),Disordered (which focused on the treatment of people withFoetal Alcohol Syndrome), andFire and Fury (which looked at vaccine disinformation and conspiracy theories in the wake of the2022 Wellington protests.[51][52]
Stuff has closed or sold many of their former publications:[53][54][55][56][57][49]
In 2008, Fairfax Media New Zealand launched a weekly community newspaper in Dunedin calledD-Scene, which was a subsidiary ofThe Southland Times. The newspaper ran for five years.[59] On 29 May 2013, Fairfax Media confirmed the closure ofD-Scene following a two-week consultation period.[60][59]
On 25 June 2024, Stuff announced it would close the last of itsNorthland community newspapers:The Northern News,The Whangārei Leader andFar North Real Estate. The Kerikeri-basedBay Chronicle was closed earlier in March 2024.[57][61] On 30 June, Stuff announced that itsSunday News newspaper would be closed by late July 2024.[62]
On 2 July 2025,The Press andThe New Zealand Herald reported Stuff planned to close up to 15 community newspapers, including theRodney Times,Central Leader,Eastern Bays Courier,Manukau/Papakura Courier,North Shore Times,Western Leader,Cambridge Edition,Feilding Rangitīkei Herald,Franklin County News,The Hutt News,Kapi Mana News,Nelson and Tasman Leader,Northern Outlook,Taranaki Star andSouthern Outlook.[63][64][58] These 15 newspapers ceased publishing on 31 July 2025.[49][58]
In May 2018 Stuff Ltd took full ownership of internet service provider Stuff Fibre, which won the People's Choice Award, NZ Broadband Provider of the Year, Best Fibre Broadband Provider, and Best Broadband Innovation at the 2019 Broadband Compare Awards.[65] Stuff Ltd also had a 49 percent share in New Zealand-based energy retailer energyclubnz.[66] On 20 May 2020, Stuff sold Stuff Fibre to Vocus[67] and sold its share of energyclubnz back to its founder.[68]
In 2019, Stuff Ltd launched a video platform, Play Stuff. The website hosts free content sourced from content providers such asBBC,Reuters and thePress Association as well as local content fromNZ On Screen andBravo New Zealand.[69] The platform appears to be defunct as of June 2025.[70]
Stuff Ltd has won both national and international awards for its corporate leadership and management.
| Year | Award | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Attitude Awards[71] | Employer Award | Winner |
| 2019 | Deloitte Top 200[72] | Diversity and Inclusion Leadership | Finalist |
| 2019 | INMA (International News Media Association) Global Media Awards[73] | Best new concept or innovation to create new profit centres | First place |
| Best idea to grow advertising sales or retain advertising clients | Second place | ||
| Best idea to encourage print readership or engagement | Third place |
On July 1, 2003 Fairfax New Zealand Ltd purchased the publishing assets of Independent Newspapers Ltd
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
