The first newspaper printed in Taranaki was the Taranaki Herald. The first issue hit the streets of New Plymouth on 4 August 1852 and was originally published three times a week. By the turn of the 20th Century most of the smaller townships in the province had their own papers. These were:
The Egmont Star, 1885 until about 1914
The Hawera Star, 1880 until present (currently called Taranaki Star)
The Hawera and Normanby Star, 1894 until about 1900
Stratford Evening Post, 1903 until 1993
The Stratford Courier, dates unknown
The Inglewood Times and County Chronicle, 1964 until 1969
Inglewood Guardian and County Advocate, dates unknown
The Opunake Times, 1894 until 1949
Patea County Mail, 1875 until about 1889, then 1975
Patea and Waverly Press, dates unknown
The Waimate Witness, 1888 until 1928
Inglewood Record, dates unknown
The Eltham Argus, 1897 until 1967
The Kaponga Courier, 1925 until the 1940s
Weekly Record, dates unknown
The Taranaki Weekly, dates unknown
The Budget and Weekly Herald, dates unknown
The Taranaki Herald was first issued in 1852 and until it closed in 1989, was the oldest daily newspaper in the country.
From 1875 to 1900s, the Weekly Budget & Weekly Herald was printed on a Saturday as a digest of the previous week's news. It was specifically for distribution to the outlying areas of the province. During World War Two the Overseas News Sheet was produced for people overseas.
By the 1950s Herald and Taranaki Daily News were produced in separate buildings across the road from each other on Currie Street. In 1962 they merged on the present site At this time, they both came under the umbrella of Taranaki News Ltd, a subsidiary of New Zealand Newspapers Ltd, an Auckland based company that published the Auckland and Christchurch stars.
While much of the administration and publishing activity was combined, the editorial departments were kept separate and stayed fiercely competitive.
In 1988, Taranaki Newspapers Ltd was bought by Independent Newspapers Ltd after a failed bid by Independent Newspapers to set up the Auckland Sun as main competition of the New Zealand Herald in Auckland.
The Taranaki Herald was closed the next year after losing a long battle to retain advertising volume and diminishing circulation. Lance Girling-Butcher was its last editor.
The Daily News began life on 14 May 1852 as Taranaki News, and became Taranaki Daily News in 1885 when daily publication began. Taranaki was dropped from its masthead about 1962, at the time of the merger with Taranaki Herald. The change was made to recognise the newspaper went further than Taranaki with a growing circulation in the King country.
In 2004, it was put back again, along with a colourful picture of the province's most well-known icon – the mountain, Taranaki.
Specials have been issued since 1860s for such major events as an update of political events during the Taranaki Wars, the surrender of Japan or a central city flood. A multi-page special was printed by the Daily News after terrorist attacks on World Trade Centre in 2001 - now known as 9/11.
City Express arrived in 1963 with morning milk deliveries. The name was changed to Sunday Express in 1968 when it was taken over by Taranaki Newspapers Ltd. Later renamed Weekender, an additional Midweek came out on Wednesday.
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