Stuff.co.nz

Stuff

Logo of Stuff.co.nz

Screenshot of the Stuff.co.nz main page masthead
Type of site
 News
Available in English
Owner Fairfax New Zealand
Created by Independent Newspapers
Website www.stuff.co.nz
Alexa rank 3,279. In New Zealand: 6 (December 2016)[1]
Commercial Yes
Registration Optional
Launched 27 June 2000 (2000-06-27)[2]
Current status Online

Stuff.co.nz is a New Zealand news website published by Fairfax Digital, a division of Fairfax New Zealand Ltd, a subsidiary of Australian company Fairfax Media Ltd.[3] Stuff hosts the websites for Fairfax's New Zealand newspapers, including the country's second and third highest circulation daily newspapers, The Dominion Post and The Press, and the highest circulation weekly, The Sunday Star-Times. It is also a web portal to other Fairfax websites. As of June 2012, the website had an Alexa rank in New Zealand of 8; the site's main competitor, The New Zealand Herald website, had a rank of 9.[4] The site statistics for April 2012 were 4.9 million unique browsers, and 147.5 million page views.[5]

History

The former New Zealand media company Independent Newspapers Ltd (INL), owned by News Corp Australia, launched Stuff on 27 June 2000 at a cybercafe in Auckland, after announcing its intention to go online more than a year earlier.[2][6] The development of Stuff was supported and governed by, the INL Board, Mike Robson, INL CEO, and Don Higgins, Corporate Development Manager. Mark Wierzbicki, INL Internet Business Manager, lead development and ongoing management of the Stuff site and team. Advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi conceived the name "Stuff", and INL had to buy the domain name from a cyber squatter.[2] In its first month, the site had 120,000 unique visitors.[6] At the time, Mark Wierzbicki, described the name as a copywriter's dream, although he conceded that "it's not without risk, especially if we stuff up." The start up website was built by a group of tech companies in Wellington led by project manager Bill Alp and internet development manager Will Everitt and used a software platform from News Corp Australia's news.com.au.

On 30 June 2003, INL sold its publishing assets including The Dominion Post, The Press, and the Stuff website to Fairfax Media.[7][8]

Fairfax upgraded the website in December 2006, and again on 4 March 2009, adding the ability for visitors to personalise the homepage.[9] The first mobile phone news service from Stuff began in 2003, in a partnership with Vodafone New Zealand. On 21 April 2009, Stuff launched a dedicated mobile site, m.stuff.co.nz.[10]

For larger news events, the site usually creates a dedicated section, such as for the Bain family murders retrial and the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake. During the trial of Clayton Weatherston, press.co.nz, a subsidiary section on Stuff accidentally ran the headline "Guilty of Murder" the day before the jury delivered the verdict. The article was quickly withdrawn, and Fairfax executive editor Paul Thompson said it was a mistake "we take very seriously."[11]

The site has won numerous awards including the Newspaper Publishers' Association awards "Best News Website" for 2010 and 2011.

The earliest articles still available on Stuff are from around August 2007.

On 17 April 2013, to celebrate the passing of same-sex marriage in New Zealand, the colour of the Stuff logo was changed from black to the colours associated with the pride flag.[12] The editor of Stuff at the time, Mark Stevens, openly declared his support in August 2012.[13]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Stuff.co.nz Site Info". Alexa Internet. Retrieved 28 June 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 Scherer, Karyn (28 June 2000). "Online launch for INL 'stuff'". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 28 September 2011.
  3. ↑ "About Stuff". Stuff. Fairfax Digital. 20 August 2008. Retrieved 4 November 2012.
  4. ↑ "Top Sites in New Zealand". Alexa Internet. Retrieved 28 June 2012.
  5. ↑ "Stuff.co.nz". Fairfax Media New Zealand. Retrieved 28 June 2012.
  6. 1 2 "A million readers get Stuff". National Business Review. 6 August 2005. Retrieved 28 September 2011.
  7. ↑ "Inl Shareholders Approve Sale To Fairfax". Scoop / INL press release. 30 June 2003. Retrieved 28 September 2011.
  8. ↑ "Fairfax snaps up NZ publisher". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 14 April 2003. Retrieved 28 September 2011.
  9. ↑ "Stuff redesign: All the stuff you ever wanted". Scoop/Fairfax Media press release. 4 March 2009. Retrieved 28 September 2011.
  10. ↑ "Stuff Goes Mobile - Get Stuff Wherever You Go". Scoop/Fairfax Media press release. 21 April 2009. Retrieved 28 September 2011.
  11. ↑ Porteous, Debbie (25 July 2009). "Contempt rethink needed, academic says". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 28 September 2011.
  12. ↑ Stevens, Mark (17 April 2013). "Stuff celebrates marriage equality". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
  13. ↑ Stevens, Mark (2 August 2012). "Debating marriage equality". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
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