Launch of a couple of “replacement” newspapers as a response to pandemic closures has grown into a group of 69 news mastheads across Australia.
Today News Group managing director Paul Thomas tells GXpress that he had already had already talked with fellow newspapermen Damian Morgan and Bruce Ellen about the decline of regional and community journalism which meant they were able to hit the ground running when two much larger groups started closing newspaper titles.
Thomas – a fourth-generation newspaperman – says the story of Today News Group is essentially a story about what happened when regional Australia was suddenly at risk of losing its local voice, and about three people who believed local newspapers still had a future if they were genuinely local.
Their understanding of the business has helped deliver the “magic sauce” that has not just kept those first titles going, but seen Today grow profitably through the acquisition of numerous mastheads and the launch of more.
Thomas describes it as a combination of scale, strong local presence and a genuine belief in the importance of place-based journalism. “We believe local journalism needs to be independent, balanced and properly grounded in the communities it serves,” he says.
“That matters enormously in regional areas, particularly at a time when misinformation, social media distortion and now AI-generated falsehoods are making trusted reporting more important than ever.”
The trio had already been talking about a situation in which they thought some larger publishers had lost sight of what made local newspapers valuable. “Local newsrooms had been reduced, genuine local content was being replaced by syndicated material, and too much attention was shifting towards clickbait and digital traffic rather than the patient, practical work of reporting on towns, regions and communities,” he said.
Each member of the trio brought a different but complementary background to the conversation. Thomas was managing director of Victoria’s Star News Group, founded in 1909 and with a long history in local and community newspapers.
Ellen – publisher of the Latrobe Valley Express and Gippsland Times in Sale – also came from a newspaper family, and was part of a wider regional media tradition connected with the Elliott newspaper group and the Lanyon family publishing legacy. “That meant he understood, at a deeply personal level, what it meant for a family-owned regional newspaper to act as a custodian of a community’s stories, records and identity,” Thomas told GXpress.
Morgan had worked closely with businesses, publishers and media people across regional Australia as a media consultant and strategist, and understood local commercial relationships and “the importance of building newspapers that were not only editorially relevant but commercially sustainable”.
“We shared a view that regional communities deserved better, and that there was still an opportunity to provide proper, place-based local journalism – journalism produced by people who knew their towns, understood their communities and cared about more than clicks,” he said.
Soon after COVID-19 hit in 2020, News Corp announced the closure or withdrawal of most of its regional and local newspapers, while Australian Community Media also suspended and closed papers.
“In many towns, communities that had relied on local newspapers for generations were suddenly left without a trusted local publication,” he said.
Not just a crisis in the media industry, but a call to action and perhaps opportunity.
An added complication was that Thomas and Ellen were both locked down in Victoria, facing “an unusual circumstance” from the same restrictions that were confronting businesses and communities.
“With travel limited and much of normal life suspended, the three of us threw ourselves into the opportunity,” Thomas recalls, “working day and night to restore local newspapers in communities that had suddenly lost them.”
Star launched the Warwick Today and free Noosa Today print editions within a week of News Corp’s mastheads in those towns gong digital-only. Later News was also to close its only recently-reequipped Warwick print centre.
“Our rapid response was only possible because of the significant publishing infrastructure Star News Group had behind it,” says Thomas. “We had long-established back-end systems, technology, production capacity, management experience and administrative structures. Plus centralised services across areas such as finance, administration, IT, pagination, design, digital publishing, advertising systems and classified services.
“That structure meant new newspapers could be launched or relaunched quickly, without each business having to build an entire operating platform from scratch.”
He says of equal importance was that Star had the people capable of making that structure work under enormous pressure. “The experience and skills of our senior team were critical.”
He names group editor Garry Howe, chief operating officer Michael Nesbitt, head of IT and programmer Hui Jin, head of classifieds Sue Hall, and later SA Today general manager Renee Bennett. “They, together with many other skilled, passionate and committed staff across editorial, sales, production, administration, technology, finance, classifieds and management, helped turn the idea into a functioning and growing group,” he says.
“Through the pandemic period, staff worked through uncertainty, disruption and constant change to keep newspapers publishing, support new launches and help local communities retain a trusted news service.”
Morgan’s industry relationships were also critical. Through his consulting work, he knew many of the former News Corp general managers and sales staff in regional Queensland. “He got on the phone and began speaking with people who had local knowledge, relationships and a desire to keep newspapers alive in their own communities,” Thomas recalled.
The first new company established under this model was South Burnett Today. It included Daniel Pelcl, who had been general manager of News Corp’s South Burnett Times, as managing director. “This was important to the model,” Thomas says: “Wherever possible, the new publications were not simply operated from outside the market. They involved people with genuine local experience, relationships and commitment to their communities.”
A similar approach followed in Gympie. Andrew Guiver, who had been working in sales for News Corp’s Gympie Times, joined a new company called Gympie Today. The Gympie Times, incidentally, had been part of an unofficial “swap” in 1999, when then-owner Rural Press – effectively today’s ACM – exchanged regional masthead as part of a consolidation. News bought it for $36 million in 2016 as part of a package of 72 APN News & Media newspapers.
When another of these, the NewsMail in Bundaberg went digital-only, Today followed a similar model, with former News Corp general manager Ingrid Barham becoming involved in Bundaberg Today.
A major step for the Today group was in Rockhampton, where Central Queensland Media was established, this time without a local owner, but with Thomas, Morgan and Ellen involved as owners.
The group not only launched local publications in Central Queensland, but also purchased the former News Corp print site in Rockhampton – where News had turned the Morning Bulletin digital-only – together with its Manugraph newspaper press and production infrastructure. “It was a significant commitment to print, regional publishing and local employment at a time when many others were retreating from the industry,” Thomas says.
From there, the group continued to expand into other regional markets where newspapers had closed or where communities were at risk of losing their local voice.
In Mount Gambier, The Border Watch and its associated papers announced their closure under the Scott family ownership after almost 160 years of publishing – a devastating moment for the community. After a period of negotiation, Thomas, Ellen and Morgan joined with South Australian newspaper publisher Andrew Manuel to buy the paper and relaunch it three months after its closure. The South Eastern Times and Penola Pennant followed some time later.
A similar situation occurred in Longreach, where the local consortium behind the paper decided to close. Central Queensland Media, based in Rockhampton, stepped in to buy the masthead and relaunch it.
“These relaunches were met with enormous appreciation from local communities,” says Thomas. “In many places, people had been devastated by the announcement that their local paper would close. The return of a local newspaper was seen as more than a business decision. It was a sign that the community still mattered and that its stories, people, businesses, clubs, councils and institutions would continue to be recorded.”
He says the model that emerged was different from a traditional media chain. “Today News Group developed as a group of related regional publishing companies, often with local people involved, supported by the experience and systems of Star News Group and its associated businesses,” he says. “The aim was to keep newspapers close to their communities while giving them the back-end strength needed to survive.”
In 2023, an approach from Australian Community Media led to the acquisition of the nine South Australian and two Queensland regional newspapers which had been acquired from Nine Entertainment in 2019. Around the same time, Andrew Manuel sold his three South Australian papers, the Plains Producer, Fleurieu Sun and Eyre Peninsula Advocate to Today, and exited from his interest in The Border Watch group.
Bruce Ellen and his family also exited the South Australian operations because of his ill health. He died in 2024 after a battle with prostrate cancer, but the Ellen family remain involved.
Thomas says the group has also continued to respond to communities that wanted local newspapers restored. In Alice Springs, where News had first closed the printing plant of its Centralian Advocate, and then stopped the print edition altogether – which it had trucked from Darwin – a group of locals had been keen to see a local newspaper.
“There were discussions over a period of time, and it was agreed that a newspaper could be launched if the local community could provide a base level of advertising support, including a page a week of advertising,” says Thomas. “This led to the establishment of Centralian Today, bringing a regular local newspaper presence back to Alice Springs.” Interestingly, the new newspaper is now being printed by News Corp at its Mile End, Adelaide print centre, which had been refurbished in 2022 with the installation of a press relocated from Fairfax North Richmond, and parts of which were originally installed at The Age in Melbourne in 2002.
Thomas recalls further launches in other “news desert” areas – Tennant Creek Today, Maranoa Today and Western Downs Today – all launched with assistance from funds provided through Meta grants. “These publications were created in communities where local news services had been lost, reduced or were under serious pressure,” he says.
Other launches included Ipswich News Today, Gladstone Today and Emerald Today in Queensland. The expansion also continued through the purchase of long-standing family and independent newspapers, including the Lockyer and Somerset Independent.
In December 2024, The Bunyip in Gawler was purchased from Ben Tayler, and in the following January, the Portland Observer and Hamilton Spectator were purchased from Richard Beks and his family after those papers had closed due to commercial difficulties.
More important regional mastheads became part of Today group when in September 2025, the Sunraysia Daily, Broken Hill Times, Swan Hill Guardian and Gannawarra Times were purchased from the Lanyon family – all newspapers with deep local histories across Victoria and New South Wales.
In December that year, the Fassifern Guardian, Ipswich Tribune and Moreton Border News were purchased from the Creighton family, further strengthening the group’s presence in south-east Queensland.
Thomas says growth of the group was not limited to core local newspapers. “Over the same period, the businesses also established and expanded numerous speciality publications and products, including regional directories, lifestyle magazines, tourist publications, education magazines, agricultural newspapers and many other niche publications designed to serve specific local audiences and advertisers.
“The group also increased its focus on social media, digital media, newsletters, websites, digital editions and other audience channels, recognising that local journalism now needed to reach people across print, digital and social platforms.”
Throughout this period, Star News Group remained central to the broader story. Its history, systems, staff and experience gave the newer Today News Group businesses a strong publishing foundation, providing the centralised services that made the rapid expansion possible. These include administration, finance, technology, production, pagination, digital publishing, advertising systems, classifieds and other back-end functions.
“This shared-services model has been critical to the growth and survival of the group,” says Thomas. “It allows newspapers to keep local journalists, salespeople and managers in their markets, while centralising functions that do not need to be duplicated in every location.
“The approach is simple: centralise what can sensibly be centralised, but keep the local presence where it matters most. We believe local newspapers are not just commercial products. They are part of the civic infrastructure of regional communities. They provide a trusted record of community life and play an essential role in local democracy.”
The response of Star News Group and Today News Group has been to invest in local journalism while also modernising the business. The group has continued to support printed newspapers, but has also expanded digital platforms, newsletters, digital editions, audience data, automation, social media, specialty publishing and new publishing tools.
Paul Thomas points to “a story of both rescue and renewal” since 2020.
“At its heart, the purpose has remained consistent,” he says. “To provide proper, trusted, place-based local journalism, and to ensure that regional and community voices continue to be heard.”
Pictured (top): Caroline Vielle and Arthur Gorrie, who both joined Gympie today from News Corp, with Andrew Guiver;
(above):Paul Thomas, print manager Wayne Layt and Bruce Ellen, and (next) celebrating with the Today Print crew in Rockhampton, the first print run after the press was re-established, anchored on a six-tower Manugraph line with Müller Martini inserting;
(below): The late Bruce Ellen collates papers on Today Print’s first night of operation in Rockhampto•n