16 October 2018
Media: Rotorua Daily Post
Topic: Council's Tatau Tatau magazine
Enquiry
Reporter working on story re Council's Tatau Tatau magazine indicated story would be published tomorrow (Weds 17 Oct). Initial enquiry re this was in August but story did not run.
No change to or additional questions (see initial questions below), however reporter sought updated cost info:
- How many part time, full time, contract staff are hired to put out Tatau Tatau?
- How much do these staff earn?
Additional question which followed initial response:
-Has Council taken on any additional staff to produce the magazine?
Response
Please attribute to Strategy Group Manager Jean-Paul Gaston:
During the past few years Rotorua Lakes Council has made a considerable effort to increase engagement with the community and to increase the reach of council information by using multiple channels, recognising that people want to access news that is relevant to them in different ways.
To try and reach the approximately 72,000 people now living in our district, Council has introduced some new channels including livestreaming of meetings, a dedicated online consultation tool (Let's Talk - Korero Mai), a weekly e-pānui and the Tatau Tatau magazine. The magazine provides a lens into the community as well as covering council matters, projects and collaborations, and sharing information about upcoming events.
The magazine and its budget has largely replaced Council's use of traditional print media which has declining reach. Tatau Tatau is delivered to about 26,000 properties throughout the district.
Council continues to monitor and review how it communicates with the community and will continue to assess opportunities and seek new channels and new ways to reach residents.
Tatau Tatau is written and designed in-house as part of business as usual for the communications staff, who take a team approach to producing it. This is in addition to other responsibilities including managing Council's various communication tools and channels (as above), planning and implementation of internal and external communications for Council, media relations, graphic design, and web management.
Additional:
We can confirm that Council has not taken on additional staff to produce the magazine and staff do not record time spent producing the magazine.
The earnings of individual staff members involved in the production of Tatau Tatau magazine are private and confidential. However, for your info/interest, the LGOIMA titled Official Information Request - 1 July 2018 (PR Comms Staff) (available at https://www.rotorualakescouncil.nz/our-council/officialinformation/OIA2018/Pages/Official-Information-Request---1-July-2018-(PR-Comms-Staff).aspx) provides the number and budget for Council's communications/public relations staff since 2016.
Updated info re cost of magazine:
$12146.46 in August 2018: $9557.84 (printing), $2588.62 (distribution)
*NOTE 1: Initial media enquiry and response can be viewed HERE
*NOTE 2: Due to the time that had lapsed between the initial enquiry and the media's subsequent enquiry seeking to update information, Council requested that it be able to re-submit a response.
