Our History

Nation Review was a central part of Australian politics in the early 1970s, and Local Media pioneer Ash Long was there at the beginning. The weekly Sunday Review newspaper was founded on Sunday, October 11, 1970, and the family of Ash Long (then aged 13) had a part-time newspaper distribution business for Gordon Barton’s Melbourne Sunday Observer. It would

The Sunday Observer newspaper of March 1, 1970, became part of the story when the paper’s owner, Gordon Barton, funded the flight of banned journalist Wilfred Burchett back into Australia. News Editor Bill Green wrote the front-page story of how Burchett was flown into Brisbane in a chartered air craft ending years of attempts to return to his

‘Race For Local Football Pools’ announced the first front-page of the Observer, as it hit the streets on Sunday, September 14, 1969. The newspaper, in its first edition, speculated that British football pools organisation, Littlewoods, could mount a challenge to operate football lotteries based on the big English pools. Tattersalls held the monopoly for gambling

IPEC transport magnate Gordon Barton published the first issue of the Melbourne Sunday Observer on September 14, 1969. It was Melbourne’s first regular Sunday newspaper. (Michael Michaeledes, who ran the Greek newspaper Torch , officially took the honours by publishing the Sunday Post, which lasted for seven editions. Dern Langlands started his weekly Postscript Weekender newspaper in August 1969.

The first issue of the Sunday Observer (Sep. 14, 1969) was critiqued by The Canberra Times. Newspaperman Rohan Rivett (picturede) assembled the report. He was the elder son of Sir David Rivett, and his wife Stella (née Deakin). He was a grandson of the former Prime Minister of Australia, Alfred Deakin, and of the Rev. Albert Rivett (1855-1934), a

Local Media Pty Ltd publishes a local Waverley Gazette/Monash Gazette edition of The Local Paper. The newspaper commenced publication as the Glen Gazette on Februray 8, 1961, under the auspicies of the Coleman-Kingsway Traders’ Association. The new paper filled the gap of the Mulgrave Mercury, established on November 4, 1949, and absorbed in the South Eastern Standard News-Pictorial from February 25, 1960.

When Leader Newspapers ceased print production of The Free Press in the Dandenongs in 2016, Local Media Pty Ltd quickly commenced publication of The New Free Press in the following week (July 7, 2016). The commencement of The New Free Press was done with the blessing of News Corp., owners of the Leader group, which continued an online presence under

Local Media Pty Ltd publishes a local Diamond Valley News edition of The Local Paper. The name Diamond Valley News was first used in 1959, after the Heidelberg Publishing Co. Pty Ltd was formed as a partnership between Leader Publishing Co., and the publishers of the Heidelberg City News. Development of The Mall retail centre at West Heidelberg following the

Local Media Pty Ltd publishes Frankston and Mornington Peninsula editions of The Local Paper. It incorporates the traditions of the Mornington Peninsula Post, Southern Peninsula Gazette and the Hastings Sun. The Peninsula Post  began in 1913 as a re-plated edition of the Frankston Post The Mornington Standard was born on October 5, 1889, at a time when the town’s population was 794. William Crawford Jnr

Local Media Pty Ltd publishes local Northcote, Budget, Preston Post, Reservoir Times and Whittlesea Post editions of The Local Paper. The Northcote Budget heritage name is linked to the Leader-Budget newspaper that was produced in the City of Northcote from 1936-1966. The Northcote Leader had its beginnings on January 21, 1888, produced by R. Lemon and brothers (The Rev.) A.H. ‘Henry’ and