Tauranga is short on newsagents, with the role usually performed by bookshops and Lotto outlets. The New Zealand Herald (based in Auckland), and other major daily papers such as Wellington’s Dominion Post are available from downtown Lotto outlets such as AJ’s Lotto at 15 Devonport Road, and Mag Addiction, at 77 Devonport Road, Tauranga City Lotto at 44 Grey Street (a ‘lucky’ Lotto that’s sold a few first divs) and Books A Plenty at 28 Grey Street.
Newspapers and Magazines:
Bay of Plenty Times
Tauranga’s leading daily paper (afternoon, no Sunday edition). The best days for entertainment listings are Thursday’s Bay Beat: arts news, movie previews, etc, and Saturday’s Bay Weekend: travel, movies, CD & book reviews, etc. (108 Durham Street, Tauranga, all departments, tel 577-7770. (www.bayofplentytimes.co.nz) The Bay of Plenty Times celebrates 140 years of publishing in September 2012. The first issue of the Bay of Plenty Times was printed on Wednesday September 4, 1872!
Bay News
Free giveaway weekly from the Bay of Plenty Times stable, that incorporates the Mount & Papamoa News. Comes out Wednesday, with pages full of things to do – including events calendar, what’s on, and gig and movie guides. (108 Durham Street, Tauranga, tel 575-3133; editorial: Stuart Whitaker, tel 577-3203.)
Weekend Sun
The free Weekend Sun that comes out Fridays, filled a clear gap for a lively, locally- owned newspaper . It has an obsessive focus on local people and happenings, no matter how low-key. Sun Media promotes itself as Bay-born-and-bred, with its heart in the region. The Sun’s ‘What’s On’ is especially strong, with information including movie listings and a gig guide —and it’s available on their website. (428 Devonport Road, Tauranga, tel 578-0030, www.sunlive.co.nz)
Uno
Uno is a pioneering magazine that was a first for the Bay of Plenty, as a glossy lifestyle quarterly with an upmarket focus. The doomsayers predicted Uno wouldn’t last, but it’s not only gone the distance but extended its ‘formula’ to other regions. Cover stories have featured everyone from fashion gurus, to young sports achievers. Uno is $9.95 in bookshops, in upmarket lodgings, and the rooms of doctors, lawyers accountants, etc. Pitched at ‘those who enjoy the good things in life,’ it features a wining and dining section, travel, health and beauty, etc. (Tel 579-0279, www.unomag.co.nz.)
