King Media Regional Pty Ltd publishes the highly successful LattéLife Wingecarribee (NSW Southern Highlands) and LattéLife Goulburn newspapers under the stewardship of journalist and Publisher, Cristian King, who says he is excited to launch LattéLife Newspaper back into the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney where the journey began.
Above: Cristian King with former News Corp CEO Kim Williams. King refers to the ‘cannibalisation of publishers by PR firms’. He explains, “By 2015, it had almost become a trend for small, and medium-sized enterprises (SME’s) in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs to have Public Relations representation. “The down-the-line effect was that many small businesses were overpromised and underdelivered by inexperienced or unethical PR firms who used unpaid interns to pump out press releases, pitching us editorial,” said King. “SME’s are more savvy in 2019. Many have learnt the hard way that PR’s cannot guarantee editorial and the publisher-client relationship is essential to return on investment. "It’s very rewarding to work alongside a small business, develop a strategy, and for our LattéLife mastheads to be a part of their success story. “In 2014, we decided to take our publishing model to regional NSW. Australian Community Media (ACM) mastheads, that were a part of the Fairfax portfolio, were laying off journalists and allowing their newspapers to dwindle, in some cases down to just eight pages.” King says newspapers in regional and rural NSW are straightforward. “Local firms continue to locally advertise within our publications as we investigate and report news. The increasing advertising revenue year-on year has made it possible to invest further in content and employ more journalists.” “Eyes on pages count,” says King. “We ask for our readers time, so we deliver a good read! “Reader trust translates into return-on-investment for advertisers. LattéLife Wingecarribee (NSW Southern Highlands) is solid proof that rather than taking the Fairfax and ACM approach of ‘sacking to prosperity’, we have reinvigorated local media, invested in quality journalism, and will continue to do so.” Known for his tabloid approach to local press, King says, “The respective success stories of LattéLife Wingecarribee (NSW Southern Highlands) and LattéLife Goulburn fly against the adage of ‘print is dead’. "We run on a 32 per cent profit and employ 23 staff. Local print done well is the most sought after content in Australia*.” LattéLife Eastern Suburbs was launched by into the affluent Eastern Suburbs in 2010, where it became a highly anticipated and popular local title, delivering a mix of local and investigative news, celebrity interviews, red carpet events along with wine, dining, travel and motor reviews. The new-look LattéLife Eastern Suburbs will be a full colour gloss tabloid-sized publication, printed in NSW & ACT via an ultra-violet (UV) offset printing process using sustainably sourced premium Norske Skog Norwegian paper, delivering a clearer and superior finish compared to traditional cold-set printed newspapers. *Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) Consumer Use of News Survey 2018, local news ranked the highest, at 71 per cent, within genres of news content that are most important to Australians. Australian politics and news of the day each ranked at 65 per cent.
