Western Weekender
| Owner(s) | Kathryn Garton |
|---|---|
| Founder(s) | Greg Evans |
| Publisher | Western Sydney Publishing Group |
| Editor | Troy Dodds |
| Founded | 1991 |
| Language | English |
| Headquarters |
Suite 2, 42-44 Abel Street Jamisontown NSW NSW 2750 |
| Circulation | 59,600 |
| Sister newspapers | Inner City Weekender, The Newcastle Post, The Hunter Post |
| OCLC number | 222030802 |
| Website | http://www.westernweekender.com.au/ |
The Western Weekender is a local newspaper servicing the region of Penrith, New South Wales. It is the most widely distributed newspaper in Penrith[1]
The Western Weekender is an independent newspaper, owned by Western Sydney Publishing Group.
The Western Weekender was first published in 1991.
It is issued on Fridays.
Editorial format
The Western Weekender features the following sections: Local News, Business, History, Entertainment, Life & Style, Trades & Services and Sport.
During the rugby league season, The Western Weekender runs a weekly 16-page liftout called 'Extra Time'.
Each week, a gloss A4 property magazine, 'Western Property', is delivered together with the newspaper.
Discontinued sections include: "View, FYI, Chill Out, West Life"
Journalists and columnists
The Western Weekender has a team of full-time and part-time journalists, as well as columnists.
Long-time columnists include Michael Todd (business), David Stein (Fitness) and Troy Dodds (opinion), but the newspaper runs between 15 and 20 columns across a range of subjects each week. High profile columnists have included Erin Molan, Peter Overton and Luke Priddis.
Rugby league
The Western Weekender has a strong connection to rugby league. It is a major sponsor of the Penrith Panthers NRL team, and previously had naming rights of the St Marys Leagues Club Stadium. It runs the biggest rugby league coverage in the Penrith area through its Extra Time publication, delivered weekly. The newspaper has not avoided controversy surrounding its rugby league coverage, however, and in the book 'Panthers, Passion & Politics', there is numerous references to the way the newspaper covered an inquiry into the club.[2]
2008 collapse and 2009 revival
The Western Weekender newspaper collapsed in 2008. It was widely reported that the collapse of the Sydney Spirit National Basketball Team was the cause of the newspaper's collapse.[3] Both were owned by the same company. The paper fell into receivership and published for what appeared to be the final time in January 2009. Two months later, The Western Weekender was revived under new ownership - Media View Pty Ltd. Troy Dodds was appointed as its new Editor, the first in a raft of changes to the publication.
Expansion
The Western Weekender expanded in 2010 to feature two new major initiatives. In the first, it separated its entertainment section from the newspaper itself, moving to an inserted magazine and labelling it "FYI". The magazine ranges in size from 16 to 24 pages and features primarily local entertainment content. It was eventually discontinued, and entertainment now runs as part of the paper itself (after a short stint in another form, called West Life). Also in 2010, The Inner City Weekender was launched, covering the LGA of Marrickville. In 2011, The Western Weekender launched a gloss rugby league magazine, called "Extra Time". The gloss format was discontinued for 2012 and the section now runs as its own tabloid-sized section.
Awards
The Western Weekender received the Highly Commended Award in the Community Newspaper of the Year Awards at the 2014 PANPA Newspaper of the Year Awards