The Northern Star
| Company type | Daily newspaper |
|---|---|
| Industry | Newspaper publishing, commercial printing |
| Founded | May 13, 1876 |
| Headquarters | Lismore , Australia |
Area served | Lismore, Tweed Heads, Kyogle, Casino, Evans Head, Byron Bay, Ballina |
| Products | The Northern Star, The Byron Shire News, The North Coast Advocate, The Richmond River Express Examiner, The River Town Times, The Farmer Bulletin |
| Owner | News Corp Australia |
The Northern Star is a daily newspaper based in Lismore, New South Wales, Australia, under the ownership of News Corp Australia.
Its distribution area includes Lismore and neighboring regions, extending northward to Tweed Heads, west to Kyogle and Casino, and south to Evans Head. The coverage also encompasses coastal communities such as Byron Bay and Ballina.
Average circulation figures reach 14,737 copies from Monday through Friday, increasing to 22,653 on Saturdays. In addition to The Northern Star, the company publishes several other titles including The Byron Shire News, The North Coast Advocate, The Richmond River Express Examiner, The River Town Times, and The Farmer Bulletin. It also maintains operations in commercial printing. Its digital presence is integrated within the APN Regional News Network.
History
The inaugural issue of The Northern Star appeared on 13 May 1876 as a two-page publication printed using a compact Albion hand press.
In 1955, construction commenced on a new media facility located in Goonellabah, with the move from Molesworth Street completed by 1957.
By 1981, production was enhanced through the installation of a seven-unit Goss Urbanite Web Offset press capable of producing 20,000 copies hourly. Ownership shifted from Northern Star Holdings—linked during the 1980s to Frank Lowy's Westfield Capital Corporation—to Australian Provincial Newspapers (now known as ARN Media) in 1988 when Lowy redirected focus toward television enterprises.
A significant modernization occurred in 2004 with the introduction of a twelve-unit press system that increased output to 3.2 million pages per hour and expanded color printing capacity from 16 to 48 pages per run.
In June 2020, aligning with trends among other regional titles under NewsCorp, The Northern Star discontinued its print editions and transitioned exclusively to an online format.
The original Albion hand press is preserved as a historical artifact displayed in the foyer of the Goonellabah Media Centre.
Digitisation
Through the efforts of the Australian Newspapers Digitisation Program managed by the National Library of Australia, the paper has been digitised to improve access and support research and commercial analysis.