About The Ashburton Guardian
What Makes Us Special
Let’s start with a number. A very big number. Try 1879. That’s the year the Ashburton Guardian was founded and 1900 was another important year because that’s when Robert Bell bought the Ashburton Guardian. That’s a surname synonymous with the newspaper and the district’s history, with five generations of the Bell family having owned the Guardian since that turn of the 20th century.
But now the company is owned by Daryl Holden, which means the Guardian remains one of the very few wholly independently owned newspapers in the country not connected to a bigger corporate organisation like Stuff, NZME and Allied Press. The Guardian, a media pacesetter since those early days, also publishes the monthly Rural Guardian. The Guardian is also a genuine multi-media organisation, hosting a website and popular social media platforms.
What we offer
For a start, let’s remember that we’re zeroing in on 150 years of trusted coverage in local news, advertising, and entertainment for the people of Mid Canterbury. That’s some legacy and one we’re all immensely proud of.
Our advertising sales team have close connections and partnerships with businesses across the district and love working with them to promote their brand and wares. But, acknowledging the need to meet the demands of our all readers and advertisers, we’re much more than just a print-focused organisation. Our online options continue to evolve and include this new, modernised website.
Marketing & Content Creation
Yes, that’s us, too. The varied skills and wide industry experience of our staff allow us to slip into that marketing and communication space with ease.
Our multi-talented performers include owner and managing editor Daryl Holden, who has developed media and communication strategies for national businesses and worked in local Government, the rural sector and private company PR and marketing roles.
We can create content for all platforms and produce it for businesses and groups to use on their own sites and platforms. That content doesn’t have to appear in the Guardian if you wish.
Voice of Mid Canterbury
We see our role as not just reporting local news, but also being a community leader to set agendas, to stand up for our people, to recognise and celebrate success. We’re very much the true local voice of Mid Canterbury. That was highlighted in 2021 when we urged
Ashburton shoppers to throw their support behind local retailers and businesses or risk losing them.
Our Shop Smart, Shop Local – Put Your $ Where Your Heart Is campaign was launched because many businesses were fighting for survival after one of the worst trading periods in 50 years. We published campaign stories for four successive months and what a success it was, with shop owners coming to us in tears to thank us for saving their livelihoods.
In 2024, our community focus was highlighted once more when we launched our Heart of Ashburton Community Awards. The awards were also introduced to inspire a sense of unity and civic pride, and ultimately foster a stronger, more connected local community.
Awards Success
We’re one of the very best newspapers in New Zealand and have been for some time. We proved that again by pulling off a rare feat by being named the country’s best newspaper for three straight years from 2022 in the New Zealand Community Newspaper Association Awards.
We also took home the big gong at the Voyager Media Awards in 2022 as the Community Newspaper of the Year and then backed that up by being a top three finalist in 2023. There have been many other award wins and national achievements, which included Daisy Hudson named a finalist in the Voyager Media Awards’ editorial leader in a category in 2023.
While being one of three finalists in the best editorial project – for our Shop and Love Local campaign – at the Voyager Media Awards in 2022 was also a big moment up against industry heavy-hitters Stuff and NZME.
has his hands after a successful New Zealand Community Newspaper Association Awards
night in 2025. The Guardian was named the newspaper of the year for a record third straight
year.
