IT Media claims it's business as usual

Friday 18th January 2002

TIM CONNELL: Tough times ahead

By Nick Smith

Dark rumours continue to swirl around troubled publisher IT Media and its parent company, Wilson Neill, which is facing prosecution by the Companies Office.

Subscribers were yesterday still waiting for the December/January issue of New Zealand Rugby World, amid revelations IT Media's printing company had severed its relationship with the publisher.

Meanwhile, the Companies Office is considering prosecuting Wilson Neill for its continued failure to file annual accounts for last year.

A spokeswoman for the office confirmed it had still yet to receive the accounts, required under the Financial Reporting Act, and was considering whether to prosecute.

Telephone calls to Wilson Neill's Auckland office went unanswered.

McCollam Printers general manager Brian Lundry confirmed he had severed the relationship with IT Media before Christmas, saying "Tim [Connell, IT managing director]'s got a better deal somewhere else."

He said the company had now paid its printing bill for NZ Rugby World. FinTech, which puts together another IT title, New Zealand Business Times, confirmed its bills had also been paid.

The National Business Review understands several cheques to staff bounced over the holiday period, but that claim was hotly denied by Mr Connell.

IT Media had not been dumped by McCollam as the company always intended to switch to the cheaper web press process, Mr Connell said.

While NZ Rugby World had been delayed, it would be out shortly, said the owner of the now-crashed Flying Pig website.

Midway through last year, the August edition of NZ Rugby World was not published until late September. At the time, Mr Connell denied the delay was due to unpaid printing bills but rather a missed deadline.

The weekly Business Times would publish its first issue for 2002 during the first week next month, Mr Connell said. He said that was as planned.

But the seven-week break means readers paying for a year's subscription to the paper would receive only 45 issues in a 12-month period. The Business Times subscription form promises subscribers 48 issues per year.

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