Two businessmen in Tasmania have recently bought a 94-year-old newspaper called the North-Eastern Advertiser. Neither of the businessmen had any experience running a newspaper.


BARBARA PONGRATZ: Deep in the bowels of Scottsdale, Tasmania's newest media moguls are catching their breath.

Ted Twidle and Ken Hall have just rescued the 94-year-old 'Advertiser' from oblivion.

For the first time in decades, locals had to do without their weekly dose of who's doing what and why after the community newspaper went into liquidation.

These enterprising friends saw an opportunity to expand their interests and jumped into the alien world of media.

TED TWIDLE: We were particularly keen to see the newspaper remain in the North-East.

That was our vital -- that was the most important thing that we decided on plus the fact that there are quite a few businesses in the North-East that are struggling.

BARBARA PONGRATZ: Ken and Ted have been mates for 19 years.

They both have businesses in the region but harvesting trees and selling tyres doesn't qualify them for weekly editorials and advertising targets.

Instead, they keep a guiding hand on the finances and leave the paper's day-to-day operations to its four full-time staff.

KEN HALL: It's very difficult to buy a small business in Scottsdale area, other than a logging business or growing potatoes or buying property.

BARBARA PONGRATZ: Is that because there's not much choice?

KEN HALL: That's all the choice that we have in this area.

Like it's a logging town, it's a farming community, and to get into big business like to buy a dairy farm is very difficult.

It was out of my Ted's and my line for milking cows.

BARBARA PONGRATZ: But running newspapers isn't?

It's bit different.

KEN HALL: Absolutely different, but it's hard to get a small business like this and get into the media.

BARBARA PONGRATZ: The man behind the typeface is the editor and sole reporter, Peter Fish.

Up until a couple of months ago he was also a part-owner but had to move over when the bank called.

Peter Fish came to Scottsdale to be the school principal but 10 years ago he opted for this more solitary occupation.

PETER FISH: When I first commenced here 10 years ago it was a hot metal operation which for me was very interesting, but, as you can appreciate, was very slow and that's how we operated for six months before we dragged the paper kicking and screaming into the 20th century and it became an offset printing operation.

BARBARA PONGRATZ: The 'Advertiser' sells about 2,500 copies a week and has quite a few subscribers who've left the region but like to stay in touch.

They're treated to up to a dozen pages of mainly rural news, tales of the economy's ebb and flow and some very parochial sports reporting.

PETER FISH: I think there's always a role for a newspaper such as this one.

It has been going since 1909 and I think people really missed it in the two weeks that it wasn't on the streets.

So in terms of people needing it, and probably realising that they needed it, yes, it still plays a very crucial role, I think, in the community.