Stuff (website)
Stuff is a New Zealand news media website owned by newspaper conglomerate Stuff Ltd (formerly called Fairfax). As of early 2024, it is the most popular news website in New Zealand,[2] with a monthly unique audience of more than 2 million.[3]
This article is about the New Zealand news website. For the British magazine, see Stuff (magazine).
Type of site
Stuff was founded in 2000,[4] and publishes breaking news, weather, sport, politics, video, entertainment, business and life and style content from Stuff Ltd's newspapers, which include New Zealand's second- and third-highest circulation daily newspapers, The Post and The Press, and the highest circulation weekly, Sunday Star-Times, as well as international news wire services.
Stuff has won numerous awards at the Newspaper Publishers' Association awards including 'Best News Website or App' in 2014[5] and 2019,[6] and 'Website of the Year' in 2013[7] and 2018.[8]
History[edit]
Independent Newspapers Ltd, 2000–2003[edit]
The former New Zealand media company Independent Newspapers Ltd (INL), owned by News Corp Australia, launched Stuff on 27 June 2000 at a cybercafe in Auckland, after announcing its intention to go online more than a year earlier.[1][9] The development of Stuff was supported by Don Higgins, Corporate Development Manager and Mark Wierzbicki, founding Internet Business Manager. Advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi conceived the name "Stuff", and INL had to buy the domain name from a cyber squatter.[1] In its first month, the site had 120,000 unique visitors.[9] At the time, Wierzbicki described the name as a copywriter's dream, although he conceded that "it's not without risk, especially if we stuff up." The start up was built by a group of engineers from a few tech companies in Wellington led by founding CTO and engineering manager Will Everitt and project manager Bill Alp and used a software platform from News Corp Australia's news.com.au.
Fairfax Media and Nine Entertainment, 2003–2020[edit]
On 30 June 2003, INL sold its publishing assets including The Dominion Post, The Press, and the Stuff website to Fairfax Media.[10][11]
Fairfax upgraded the website in December 2006, and again on 4 March 2009, adding the ability for visitors to personalise the homepage.[12] The first mobile phone news service from Stuff began in 2003, in a partnership with Vodafone New Zealand. On 21 April 2009, Stuff launched a dedicated mobile site.[13]
