The Ferret lies low

AUCKLAND, Today: The new owner of Metro magazine is papering the ad/media sector with a flyer that provides no firm resumption date, and – apart from two editorial appointments – very little information about the identity of the people who sent it.

The new owner appears to be an independent NZ publisher called Simon Chesterman – but his name is not mentioned in the flyer, and Google/Linkedin searches were unproductive. The magazine’s new website (scroll down for the link) is equally secretive.

“Henry Oliver and Jean Teng return as editor and food editor. Kelvin Soh is the art director.”

The flyer says: “In November, Metro will be returning to shelves and mailboxes as a revamped, quarterly print magazine, with four bigger, fatter, more beautiful issues a year of the best (and sometimes worst) of Auckland.

“Online, Metro will develop several digital platforms, giving Aucklanders new access to insider knowledge of their city.

“Henry Oliver and Jean Teng are returning to the title as editor and food editor respectively. Art direction will be shepherded by Kelvin Soh of DDMMYY.

“As the closure of Metro’s previous owner and the loss of several iconic titles made clear, if you want a thriving, independent, local media ecosystem, you need to support it.”

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• www.metromag.co.nz