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Fairfax gives up on Sun Weekly

Fairfax Media has pulled out of the Central Coast newspaper market closing its Central Coast Sun Weekly paper and laying off twenty people after a circulation war with News Limited that has cost both companies millions of dollars over the past nine years.

Fairfax, through its subsidiary, Newcastle Newspapers Pty Ltd, bought the Sun Weekly in 2000 with the prime aim of establishing a paid daily in the region. However, the move sparked a bitter war between News Ltd and Fairfax which saw the daily Central Coast Herald shut down in June 2004 after just three years.

During that time News Ltd increased its twice weekly Central Coast Express Advocate to a free daily paper and introduced a Central Coast edition of The Daily Telegraph. The business community failed to support the Central Coast Herald during its short life and turned away from the Sun Weekly as well.

The closure of the Sun Weekly has taken the Central Coast back twenty years when News Ltd had the market to itself.

The Central Coast Sun Weekly was originally established by two Gosford businessmen – Denis Sidery and Colin Butcher – in 1987 with the backing of a number of real estate agents, motor vehicle dealers and other major advertisers to break the monopoly that News Ltd had on the regional market through the Express Advocate.

Shortly after it commenced operations, newspaper executive, Ed Manners was invited to take over the company which he did and subsequently became the major shareholder.

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