A new free weekly magazine for Sydney's northern beaches is part of Antony Catalano's bold expansion of his ACM regional publishing group into the metro market.
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Northern Beaches Review, with a focus on local lifestyle and real estate news, will also mark a new print relationship between ACM and established digital property platform, realestateview.com.au.
Mr Catalano, who took control of the ACM group of 170 mostly regional and rural news titles last year, is a key shareholder in realestateview.com.au. He has made no secret of his desire to not only build Australia's biggest regional media business but to do so alongside a comprehensive digital property marketing strategy.
"It's fantastic to be launching Northern Beaches Review in what is such an important part of the Sydney market. It adds another quality title to the ACM stable," Mr Catalano said.
In a coup for ACM, editor of the new magazine is northern beaches local - and publishing veteran - Kate Cox.
Ms Cox is a former editor of The Sun-Herald newspaper and magazines Sunday Life, Good Food, Travel and Surf Life Saving Australia. She was commercial content director of the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, The Australian Financial Review, Nine Entertainment and subsidiaries.
"Kate brings with her a wealth of journalism experience, but importantly knows how to find the local stories that people want to read, through her time as a breaking news reporter covering everything from crime to entertainment to property," Mr Catalano said.
From her perspective, the magazine is "a dream opportunity" Ms Cox said. Having spent most of her life living and playing in and around Manly, she is excited to help launch a product in an area so close to her heart.
"The ACM team is investing not only in me but in the entire community and I can't wait to launch this beautiful, relevant, exciting news and lifestyle magazine. It's so refreshing to see a company committed to local news and, crucially, helping to support local journalism," she said.
Using the mantra "love where you live", Ms Cox said readers of the Northern Beaches Review could expect something quite different from a traditional local newspaper. The gloss magazine will include local news but also stories about people and events in the area and lifestyle content, with a healthy section devoted to real estate, in partnership with realestateview.com.au.
Inspiration for the content mix and styling has come from the success of The Weekly Review in Melbourne, established by Antony Catalano a decade ago.
The Northern Beaches Review first edition will publish on October 8, with 65,000 copies letterbox-dropped across the Northern Beaches local government area.
ACM chief revenue officer Tony Kendall said the magazine would not only keep the community informed and connected, it would be a valuable platform for businesses to talk directly to their audiences.
Critically, the launch of Northern Beaches Review will give the realestateview.com.au brand a firm foothold in the Sydney market.
Paul Tyrrell, who is chief marketing officer of both ACM and realestateview.com.au, said the northern beaches area and the magazine were a perfect fit for the property platform.
Established in 2001 and now offering a suite of marketing options for real estate buyers and sellers, realestateview.com.au is one of the country's most visited real estate portals, with a monthly audience of 1.5 million.
"We feel the time is right to push into the Sydney market with our bundled offer of print, the Today Acquire digital marketing tool and listings on realestateview.com.au," Mr Tyrrell said. "We've proven through pilot projects in regional areas that by combining these assets we are able to reach buyers at all stages along their path to purchase."
Northern Beaches Review will join ACM's digital network of 135 websites across the country and have the support of the company's large sales force and team of more than 600 journalists.
ACM, publisher of this website, reaches an audience of more than 7.7 million viewers a month. The group includes 14 daily titles including the Canberra Times, Newcastle Herald, Border Mail and Launceston Examiner as well as leading agricultural mastheads such as The Land and Queensland Country Life.