Rudy Kokx: Coffee News owner on the 'news deserts' impacting local communities

New Zealand is on the brink of a local news crisis.

A paper from Koi Tu Centre for Informed Futures shows news deserts are emerging around the world - areas with little to no local media gathering or coverage. 

Coffee News owner Rudy Kokx joined the Afternoons team to discuss.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:09):
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Speaker 2 (00:17):
So we've been talking about the decline of local newspapers
and are people just turning to Facebook community groups?

Speaker 3 (00:25):
I'm in you know your own?

Speaker 2 (00:26):
Just let you in.

Speaker 3 (00:27):
Jim has let me into the Aerotown community page. Oh
my god, look at that. There's so much stuff going
on here.

Speaker 2 (00:33):
Can I just check some mine's still pinning?

Speaker 3 (00:36):
Yeah, no, don't bother leving Tyler and he'll just start
trolling everyone. Yeah, you'll have to kick him out. Let
him in.

Speaker 2 (00:42):
Yeah, there's probably saved, Jim.

Speaker 3 (00:43):
I da'tly me and I feel so privileged to Ben
been the Aerotown community page.

Speaker 2 (00:47):
You lucky Lucky man?

Speaker 3 (00:48):
Is the cat still living in the movie theater?

Speaker 4 (00:51):
Good question?

Speaker 3 (00:51):
I'm going to post that. Yeah, OKAYX was the cat
called socks?

Speaker 2 (00:55):
I don't know? Okay, yeah, post and you'll get an answer.

Speaker 1 (00:59):
Right.

Speaker 2 (00:59):
We have also been heaving and we chat about coffee news.
A lot of people rang to talk about the coffee
News that they some hadn't seen it in a while,
but others absolutely love it. So we trinked down. The
man who runs coffee news around the country. His name
is Rudy Cox and he's on the line now get
it ready.

Speaker 4 (01:14):
Good day, How are you very good?

Speaker 3 (01:16):
Thanks for talking to us. What niche does the coffin
news fill in the New Zealand media landscape, Rudy, it's.

Speaker 4 (01:23):
Just fun and it's positive. It's all like when I
scrawled to my Facebook, all I get is this care
guy that that in the US, and it's like all
doom and doom and it's all like and then there's
AI commercials and people trying to sell you shit, and
it's we're just We're just all locals. The people that

(01:43):
are in your newspaper are all locals in your coffee news.
So we love it.

Speaker 3 (01:47):
So how many how many franchises are out there? How
much of the country does it cover?

Speaker 4 (01:50):
Rudy, Currently, we have seventeen different editions, but we are
heavily recruiting, so we know there are places that want
it and and haven't got there yet or they you know,
with God when when cafes closed, with still trying to
sort of like find those those people that actually just

(02:11):
want want to run a franchise. So yeah, it's been good.

Speaker 3 (02:16):
So what basically works as Rudy is you you do
all the content and that goes out and the people,
the franchises sell the ads in their local area. Is
that great?

Speaker 4 (02:25):
They sell the ads and they do the distribution and
the rest we can we can print for them, we
can do layouts for them, we can design ads for them.
Everything is done just delivery and printing.

Speaker 3 (02:36):
Is would the Coffee News ever go political?

Speaker 1 (02:39):
No?

Speaker 4 (02:40):
To be honest, like personally, there are franchisees who have
political ads in there. I don't. I just don't want
to affiliate with anybody. It just alienates to have the country.
So I'm just I'm happy not to take that money
and just keep it, keep it authentic.

Speaker 3 (02:53):
So there's a comedy part of the comedy user is
it called the Lighter Side? Is that what it's called?

Speaker 4 (02:57):
Or yeah? Yeah, yeah?

Speaker 3 (02:59):
So what what's the last joke that you wrote for Rudy?
Can you can you remember?

Speaker 4 (03:06):
I think we're due to write some but one the
top of my list is what does Jeff Bezos do
every night? Before bed?

Speaker 3 (03:15):
What does Jeff Bezos to every night?

Speaker 4 (03:20):
Pajamason again? He won, He puts his Pajamason.

Speaker 2 (03:26):
He puts his pajamas on like Amazon. Amazon, that's a
good one.

Speaker 3 (03:34):
Was too dumb for that was too.

Speaker 1 (03:38):
Good?

Speaker 3 (03:39):
And you write that yourself?

Speaker 4 (03:41):
No I no, I I saw it. The jokes made
like honestly, but I'm like, every time I write it
or take him over like a copy and paste of
I just laugh. And I laughed my head. So I
love it.

Speaker 3 (03:53):
Thank you so much for talking to us. Rudd pajamas.
That is actually really clever. I'm better use that one.
It's so long, so light, it's the light of sight.

Speaker 2 (04:06):
Yeah, it's fantastic.

Speaker 3 (04:08):
Curl News Talk zib to start promoting us and ads
and coffin news up and down the country. Yeah, this blanket,
let's buy an ad for Menta and Tyler afternoons and
every coffin news in the company country.

Speaker 2 (04:21):
Let's start our own franchise. Rudy's looking for people.

Speaker 3 (04:23):
Now I'm gonna, I'm gonna. I'm just gonna sign up
and make them pay. Lady, if you're still listening, just
put us in an ad and everyone.

Speaker 1 (04:30):
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