The Plains Producer is a weekly newspaper published Wednesdays by Papers and Publications Pty. Ltd. in Balaklava, South Australia. It was founded in 1903 and was printed until 1941, when it was stopped by the second world war. The publication was revived in 1946 and it has been published continuously since then.
History
The newspaper, founded by James Walker, was first known as Central Advocate, which started on 25 September 1903 and continued until 10 September 1909. when it was renamed Wooroora Producer, to reflect its link to the former Electoral district of Wooroora. It was purchased in 1910 by W. Hancock who went into partnership with S.W. Osborne, then by Amy Henstridge in July 1926. In 1926, the newspaper shifted from a broadsheet to a tabloid format and from September 1932, the Henstridge family assumed ownership. The Wooroora Producer was printed until 27 June 1940, when the publication was renamed on 4 July to The Producer. However, due to wartime restrictions and rationing, publication ceased for five years, from 19 June 1941 until resuming as a "Post-War Series" on 4 July 1946. In 1975, it moved from private ownership when it was bought by Papers and Publications, and in an effort to overhaul the newspaper, it was renamed to Plains Producer in 1983.
Distribution
According to the website, the media workshop , the newspaper currently "enjoys a 90% penetration rate in Balaklava and surrounding areas", meaning a readership of around 7,000 people in the towns of: Snowtown, Blyth, Brinkworth, Clare, Watervale, Manoora, Port Wakefield, Balaklava, Auburn, Saddleworth, Riverton, Owen, Hamley Bridge, Tarlee, Kapunda, Dublin, Windsor, Lower Light, Mallala, Two Wells, Gawler, Wasleys, and Virginia. As of 2018, the newspapers weekly print run is around 3,500, representing a readership of around 10,000 people.
Awards
The newspaper won the BankSA Best Newspaper award in 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, and 2008. It also won the Country Press SA Inc. award for best newspaper in 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2008 and 2009.
Digitisation
carries images and text versions of the newspaper from 1903 to 1941, and 1946 to 1950, accessible using Trove, the on-line newspaper retrieval service.
