Star News Group is a media company based in

Pakenham, Victoria Pakenham ( ) is a suburb of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia, south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District and the most populous in the Shire of Cardinia. Pakenham recorded a population of 54,118 at the 2021 census. Pakenham has be ...

, in Australia. Star publishes many community newspapers in the Melbourne area and other parts of Victoria. It also has publications in

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

and

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

. Star also publishes a number of parenting magazines under the masthead Kids Today. Star operates Network Classifieds Pty Ltd, a contact centre in Pakenham that provides

classified advertising Classified advertising is a form of advertising, particularly common in newspapers, online and other periodicals, which may be sold or distributed free of charge. Classified advertisements are much cheaper than larger display advertisements use ...

and

display advertising Digital display advertising is online graphic advertising through banners, text, images, video, and audio. The main purpose of digital display advertising is to post company ads on third-party websites. A display ad is usually interactive (i.e. ...

services for print and online. Star is also a founder and partner of the Today News Group with operations in Queensland and South Australia.

History

Star News Group was founded by Albert Edward Thomas in 1909 as the ''Berwick Shire News'' and ''Pakenham and Cranbourne Gazette''. Star News is still owned by the Thomas family and the company is managed by Paul Thomas, a fourth-generation family member. The company changed its name from South East Newspapers to Star News Group in August 2005 to reflect the growth of the company and the diversity of regions that the company covers. In December 2022, it agreed terms to purchase 14 publications from

Australian Community Media Australian Community Media (ACM) is a media company in Australia responsible for over 160 regional publications. Its mastheads include the '' Canberra Times'', '' Newcastle Herald'', '' The Examiner'', '' The Border Mail'', '' The Courier'' an ...

.Publisher ACM announces proposed sale of South Australian, Queensland regional community newspapers to Star News Media
''

Canberra Times ''The Canberra Times'' is a daily newspaper in Canberra, Australia, which is published by Australian Community Media. It was founded in 1926, and has changed ownership and format several times. History ''The Canberra Times'' was launched in 1 ...

'' 21 December 2022

Publications

Star News Group's 80 or so community newspapers have a combined circulation of more than 500,000 copies per week. In addition, Star produces a number of niche education, wedding, tourism, real estate, kids, seniors and lifestyle magazine titles.

Children's

Kids Today magazines include: ''Bayside Glen Eira Kids Today'', ''Casey Cardinia Kids Today'', ''Stonnington Boroondara Kids Today'', ''Geelong Coast Kids Today'', ''Sunshine Coast Kids Today'', ''Knox Monash Kids Today'', and ''Yarra Ranges Kids Today.'' Education titles include ''Victoria School Guides''.

Northern Territory

In the NT, the company publishes ''The Centralian Today'' and ''Tennant Creek Today''.

Queensland

Star publishes 20 titles here including ''Warwick Today'', ''Stanthorpe Today'' and, in

Noosa The Shire of Noosa () is a local government area about north of Brisbane in the Sunshine Coast district of South East Queensland, Australia. The shire covers an area of . It existed as a local government entity from 1910 until 2008, when it w ...

,
Noosa Today
'. The company is also involved in publishing
CQ Today
', ''Gladstone Today'', ''Bundaberg Today'', ''Gympie Today'', ''South Burnett Today'', ''Central & North Burnett Today, Maranoa Today, Ipswich News Today, Longreach Leader,'' and ''Central West Leader.''

South Australia

Star publishes 17 titles in SA, including ''Border Watch'', '' South Eastern Times'', and ''Penola Pennant'' on the Limestone Coast in South Australia. These publications all closed in August 2020 during the COVID19 pandemic. ''Border Watch'' was relaunched in November 2020 and the other two in March 2022. Another newspaper, '' Barossa and Light Herald'', was not relaunched after shuttering, however. As of 2025, it also manages several other regional SA newspapers: '' Border Chronicle,'' '' Bunyip, Coastal Leader, Eyre Peninsula Advocate, Fleurieu Sun,

Plains Producer The ''Plains Producer'' is a weekly newspaper published Wednesdays by Papers and Publications Pty. Ltd. in Balaklava, South Australia, Balaklava, South Australia. It was founded in 1903 and was printed until 1941, when it was stopped by the Second ...

, Port Lincoln Times, The Islander, The Murray Valley Standard, The Naracoorte Herald (Limestone Coast Today), The Recorder, South Eastern Times,

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

The Transcontinental ''The Transcontinental'' is a weekly newspaper published in Port Augusta, South Australia which dates from October 1914. Formerly owned by Rural Press and Australian Community Media, since 2022 it has been owned by the Star News Group. Histor ...

'', '' Two Wells & Districts Echo'', and ''

Whyalla News ''The Whyalla News'' is a newspaper serving the town of Whyalla on Eyre Peninsula, South Australia since 1940. It was later sold to Rural Press, previously owned by Fairfax Media, but now an Australian media company trading as Australian Commun ...

.''

Victoria

Star’s main holdings are in Victoria where it currently manages 34 titles. In

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

's South East, the company produce the following newspaper titles; '' Pakenham Gazette'', ''Berwick Gazette'', ''Pakenham Officer Star News'', ''Berwick Star News'', ''Cranbourne Star News'', ''Dandenong Star Journal'', ''Endeavour Hills Hallam Doveton Star Journal'' and online provide Star Community. Star also owns and operates Star Weekly titles in Melbourne's West as MMP Star Pty Ltd and they include;
Brimbank & Northwest Star Weekly
',
Maribyrnong & Hobsons Bay Star Weekly
', ''Melton & Moorabool Star Weekly'', ''Northern Star Weekly'', ''Sunbury & Macedon'', ''Ranges Star Weekly'', and ''Wyndham Star Weekly''. In

Healesville Healesville is a town in Victoria, Australia, 64 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district, located within the Shire of Yarra Ranges local government area. Healesville recorded a population of 7,589 in the 2021 census. H ...

, in the

Yarra Valley The Yarra Valley is a region in Victoria, Australia, centred around the Yarra River. Known for its natural beauty, agricultural significance, and as one of Australia's prominent wine-producing areas, the valley stretches from the upper reache ...

and the

Dandenong Ranges The Dandenong Ranges (commonly just the Dandenongs) are a set of low mountain ranges in Victoria, Australia, approximately east of the state capital Melbourne. A minor branch of the Great Dividing Range, the Dandenongs consist mostly of rol ...

of Victoria, Star publishes the ''Ferntree Gully Belgrave Star Mail'', ''Mount Evelyn Star Mail'', ''Mountain Views Star Mail'', ''Ranges Trader Star Mail'', ''Upper Yarra Star Mail'' as well as the region's web site Star Mail Community. In the Greater

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung language, Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in Victoria, Australia, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River (Victo ...

region, Star produces newspapers the
Geelong Independent
' and ''Ocean Grove Voice'' as well as ''Geelong Coast Magazine''.

References

External links

Star News Group corporate siteStar CommunityMail Community
Companies based in Melbourne Newspaper companies of Australia Publishing companies established in 1909 1909 establishments in Australia {{Melbourne-stub