ALISTAIR FINLAY
EDITOR, MOLONG EXPRESS
Well, we made it! And I’m so pleased with the outcome.
It’s been a few months since I first rolled into Molong and sat down for dinner with Rozzi, but I knew during that meal we had what it was going to take to give the Molong Express a new lease on life.
Now, with the publication of this newspaper, we can say it’s formally an honour and a privilege to take on the responsibility of shepherding this fine, historical masthead into the future.
But the Molong Express is not just a newspaper; for almost 150 years it has held and told the stories of our proud and beautiful communities.
It’s a lasting record of us. Of who we are. Of what we did. Of the meaning we created.
As the latest in a long line of shepherds, we want to thank and acknowledge Rozzi and Paul for their recent custodianship of the Molong Express, as well as all the people who came before them.
Custodianship is the perfect word for it.
Our philosophy, that of myself, my co-director, and our team, is we never “own” these mastheads.
More often than not they pre-date our arrival on this earth and will, should, and hopefully, be around long after we’re gone.
Such is the case with the Molong Express.
Our promise to you is we are going to work hard so this outlet is around for another 150 years, and more.
As part of that, we’re slightly redirecting the focus of the paper.
You can see it below the masthead on the front page, but now we’re formally the Molong Express – Covering Cabonne Shire.
So we now have the privilege and honour of telling and celebrating the stories of our communities all over the municipality.
From Yeoval to Canowindra, from Eugowra to Mullion Creek, from Cargo to Cumnock, and everything in between.
The Molong Express is covering Cabonne Shire.
It’s something we’ve done before. Myself and my co-director Erin Bush have decades of experience in publishing and news production in Australia and across the world.
Together, we’ve established and saved newspapers all over Victoria and New South Wales. And then we’ve helped them thrive.
Last year our work was awarded the blue-ribbon title of Overall Newspaper of Excellence in Victoria for regional non-dailies, and the paper we established in Broken Hill was highly commended in the same category for NSW.
Working with us is highly-talented local reporter and photographer Michelle Peters, whose fine work you can see across this edition. We’re very lucky to have her.
Making it all work for us is our IT guru John Hua. His work behind the scenes is what enables us to do what we do.
Putting all this together allows us to do what we love. Not just making newspapers and telling your stories, but doing it with love and passion and commitment.
We want to thank all those who have willingly and strongly helped make this happen from the beginning.
Our anchor advertisers who have backed us, the retailers who have come onboard to sell the paper and help us get it to you, the contributors who’ve gleefully put their hands up to supplement our content, and our digital subscribers who have taken a risk committing to our offering.
You are the reason we do this, because you are our communities. In places like Molong, or Canowindra, or Cudal, we are all the same people.
Thank you for your support, now and into the future.