Central Otago residents can look forward to being better informed about what’s happening in their region following a successful application for funding from NZ On Air by The Central App.

A Public Interest Journalism project was started by community-led development group Connect Cromwell at in late 2020, providing independent news from local government activity for various publications.  

Huge readership resulted from coverage of items like plans for a new hall, town centre development, subdivisions, rates, roading and myriad of other happenings, in what is one of New Zealand’s fastest growing towns.

In February 2021 the government announced a $55M package to support public interest journalism nationwide.  

In response Connect Cromwell started working with The Central App on an application to this NZ On Air-administered fund, in a bid to continue its project’s success and extend local democracy reporting across the region.

The App’s strong community focus and ability to deliver free, easily accessible news to phones and via a website perfectly fitted the aim of keeping people informed, helping them get to know their elected members and learn how local government operates.

Connect Cromwell’s former communications manager Jill Herron will run the project. 

Jill is an experienced journalist who started her career as an Otago Daily Times branch office reporter in Alexandra over 25 years ago. 

She has continued to write for newspapers and magazines as well as working as media manager for the Warbirds Over Wanaka Airshow for 14 years and producing five books.

“We’re bombarded with swathes of information every day and it’s often hard to sort the wheat from the chaff,” Jill says.

“Our hope is that people will come to trust the Central App content as a regular, reliable source of local news.”

Central App owner Vicki McLean says she was delighted to take Connect Cromwell’s project on and the team would work hard to ensure its longevity and continued success in providing unbiased, accurate news that empowers readers.