SA's oldest newspaper, The Herald, has launched a specialised daily Garden Route edition to be sold in Knysna, Plettenberg Bay, George, Oudtshoorn and Mossel Bay - all areas that have seen tremendous growth in recent years.
The new Herald edition will contain Garden Route content as well as national and international news, views, investigative journalism, opinion and analysis.
The launch was backed by a national radio and marketing campaign that includes full-page adverts in local George, Knysna and Plett papers. Flyers were used in the 6000 copies of Sunday Times that are sold along the Garden Route.
Herald editor Jethro Goko says: "This is a great business opportunity. Many people who relocated to this region wanted more news than is available at present. Daily they need hard news and all the pressing issues plus all the colours and flavours of their most fascinating area."
To facilitate this expansion, the PE based Herald has opened an editorial office in central Knysna and has transferred several reporters there. Bureau Chief is Brett Adkins, a veteran journalist of the Sunday Times who is supported by Athane Scholtz and Phindile Chauke.
Adkins says: "A newspaper is a voice for the community and we want the entire Garden Route community to know that we are here to cover the stories and issues which matter to the people who live here. Interaction is the key and we will strive to be a top source of diverse news and information."
