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Source: Reuters -
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Forty-two jobs will be lost as the New Zealand Press Association
(NZPA) prepares to close at the end of this year.
The long standing media institution has a history spanning 132 years. It supplies the country's newspapers and news websites with local news and images.
The announcement was made today at a staff meeting at the company's Wellington newsroom.
NZPA journalist Kent Atkinson told ONE News after the meeting that while there is a human toll for the workers, it will be the nation's loss.
"In future the news that people see will be from a few large organisations all of which have some reliance on paid advertising," said Atkinson.
"One of the nice things about working for NZPA was that we simply were concerned with news values and not what the advertisers thought."
He said he believed share-holder APN decided it did not want to continue with the operation after Fairfax, also a shareholder, pulled out of the company.
"They [APN] didn't want to stick around and pay all the costs," said Atkinson.
NZPA journalist Maggie Tait said no one came out of today's meeting happy.
"We're all just feeling really gutted right now."
Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union (EPMU) national industrial officer Paul Tolich said today's announcement was a huge loss for journalism.
"A national news agency is an essential part of a healthy democracy," said Tolich.
"Every nation needs a news gathering and dissemination organisation that can provide news feeds 24 hour a day, seven day a week, to all news media outlets, regardless of their ownership.
"The dedicated staff at NZPA has done this for decades, some of them investing their working life in the agency.
"The loss of so many journalistic positions means there will be less newsgathering and researching in New Zealand."
Tolich said the EPMU and the company have agreed to consult on arrangements prior to the closure.
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