Otago Daily Times
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The Otago Daily Times is a newspaper printed in Dunedin, New Zealand published by Allied Press.
The newspaper, which was first published on November 15 1861, is now published by Allied Press. It is New Zealand's oldest surviving daily newspaper (Christchurch's The Press, though six months older, was a weekly paper for its first few years of existence). The paper is known both locally and nationally by the abbreviation "The ODT", or - less kindly - as "The Oddity".
The newspaper was founded by W.H. Cutten and Julius (later Sir Julius) Vogel during the boom following the discovery of gold in the South Island, and its growth was greatly accelerated by discoveries close to Dunedin in 1863 which led to the Central Otago goldrush.
Cutten was the publisher of a weekly newspaper, the Otago Witness, which was founded in 1851, and the already strong political views of co-founder Vogel saw an outlet in the ODT's pages, notably with advocacy for provincial government.
From the start, the ODT held a strong position in South island newspapers. Most of its Dunedin opposition papers were short lived, with only the Evening Star surviving beyond the early 1900s. The Star's eventual demise in 1978 was largely caused by a buy-out of its holding company by the Otago Daily Times, the resulting merger forming Allied Press Limited, which publishes both the Otago Daily Times and several smaller papers throughout New Zealand (ironically including the Greymouth Evening Star).
In its formative years, the ODT was active in many campaigns for social reform, none more important than the exposure of sweat shop working conditions by Editor Sir George Fenwick and Chief Reporter Silas Spragg in Dunedin in the 1880s, which led to major law reforms.
Today, the newspaper is regarded as the father-figure of the country's four main daily newspapers, serving the southern South Island with a circulation of around 46,000 and an estimated readership of 100,000. Its current editor is Robin Charteris.
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