Providing your local news since 1912. Covering 18 shires in the Wheatbelt, the Mercury keeps you updated with everything happening in your community.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
1) How many journalists and photographers work at the Mercury?
A: Unlike large newspapers that have a team of journalists and photographers, the Mercury has only one journalist, who takes all the photographs, attends (where possible) all the events, conducts all the interviews and writes the entire newspaper in the space of one week.
The hard-working and dedicated person that does this job was Mike Dorizzi from 2007 to September 2009, Tanya Murphy from September 2009 to July 2011 and at present it is Laura Galic.
2) What towns does the Mercury cover?
A: Although based in Merredin the Mercury has a coverage and sales area of 18 shires covering several hundred kilometres. Shires covered are: Merredin, Bruce Rock, Corrigin, Cunderdin, Kulin, Kondinin, Kellerberrin, Narembeen, Nungarin, Tammin, Wyalkatchem, Trayning, Mukinbudin, Mt Marshall, Westonia and Yilgarn.
3) How come there is never anything about MY sporting club in the sports section?
A: Sports write-ups and results published in the sports section of the Mercury must be submitted by the sporting clubs themselves.
As the Mercury has one journalist, that journalist endeavours to attend sports and write about them where possible. However, as sports occur outside of hours and on weekends, the journalist has their own commitments and can't attend and cover all sports.
If your sporting club is interested in having your results published in the Mercury, please allocate a committee member to compile the scores/results every week and fax/email these to the Mercury BEFORE 9AM MONDAY in order to be included in the paper.
Publishing your results and write-ups in the Mercury is a great way to promote your club and attract new members.
If you think the same sports are in the paper every week, this is not a result of preference or bias but simply because those clubs are reliable in sending us their results every week.
4) How can I get the Mercury to give my community group more coverage?
A: We encourage you to phone us and tell us your ideas for a story.
Alternatively, you can do a write-up or take a photo and send it to us.
We are more than happy to publish anything submitted by the public.
You do not have to be an expert at writing to submit something to the Mercury as we can edit your work before printing.
5) Why doesn't the Mercury journalist visit my town or write about it more often?
A: As the Mercury employs only one journalist, that journalist endeavours to attend as many events and cover every town as much as possible. Unfortunately, as there are 18 shires to cover over a space of several hundred kilometres, it is not always possible for the journalist to attend every event or visit every town on a regular basis, especially if these events are after hours or on weekends when the journalist may have other commitments.
As such, the Mercury greatly appreciates YOUR help and contributions. If you have a community event, group, or other news that you want to see in the Mercury, we invite YOU to write a story and/or send a photo and we will be more than happy to publish it.
You do not have to be an expert at writing to submit something to the Mercury as we can edit your work before printing.
6) An important event happened the other day and nobody from the Mercury came to cover it! Where were you?
A: Did you invite us? Much as we try to keep abreast of everything that is happening, we aren't mind readers. If there is a major event, please call us and let us know and we will be more than happy to write about it. Otherwise, we may not know about it.
7) How can I get more involved with my local paper and help to make it better?
A: We encourage all community members to contribute to the Mercury.
The best thing about being a community newspaper is that we welcome YOU, people in the community, to submit photos and stories and we DO print them.
This is your opportunity to promote your sporting club or community group, or to write about a topic that is important to you, and have it published.
If you have a skill for photography, we invite you to practice your skills by photographing local events. Contact us if you are interested, and we can allocate you an event to photograph.
We also welcome all the following:
1) Recently had a new arrival? Send us your newborn baby photos!
2) Recently hitched? Send us your wedding photos!
3) “Mobile Mercury” feature: Take your Mercury with you next time you go traveling. Send us photos of yourself reading the Mercury in an interesting location.
8) Who are the Mercury Staff?
A: There are only 3 staff at the Merredin office.
Laura Galic - Journalist and Office Manager
Jodie Brooker - Advertising and Sales Consultant (part time)
Lyn Sayers - Classified Ads and Reception (part time)
We are a member of the Rural Press and Fairfax Media Group (which owns several rural newspapers) and our head office is in Collie.
Staff in Collie oversee the accounts, subscriptions and other corporate matters pertaining to Rural Press Newspapers.
9) When, where and how is the Mercury printed and sold?
A: The Mercury is printed at the Rural Press Printing Press in Mandurah on Monday afternoon.
On Tuesday morning, the Mercury is delivered to Merredin around 10.30am.
By Wednesday morning, the Mercury is delivered to surrounding shires and as such, the Mercury is refered to as a Wednesday paper.
10) When are your deadlines?
A: Due to our paper being printed on Monday afternoon, deadline for sport is 9am Monday morning and classified ads is 10am Monday morning.
For ROP display ads (large ads in the general news section) the deadline for booking is noon Thursday and the deadline to send ad copy is 5pm Friday.
The reason for this deadline is because the Mercury office does not open on Saturday and Sunday and we need time to book, design and arrange display ads prior to Monday.
11) What is the corporate structure of the Mercury?
A: The Mercury is administered by Rural Press, a company that owns several newspapers in rural WA including the Albany Great Southern Weekender, The Augusta-Margaret River Mail, The Avon Valley Advocate, The Bunbury Mail, the Busselton-Dunsborough Mail, The Central Midlands & Coastal Advocate (Moora), The Collie Mail, The Donnybrook-Bridgetown Mail, The Esperance Express, The Harvey Mail, the Mandurah Mail, the Midwest Times (Geraldton), The Sun City News (Yanchep-Two Rocks) and the Wagin Argus.
Rural Press also has several papers interstate, in New Zealand and in the USA.
Rural Press itself is a wholly owned subsidiary of Fairfax Media which includes papers such as the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and the Australian Financial Review.
12) What are the Mercury's advertising rates?
A: It all depends on what type of advertising you are interested in, but please contact us at the Mercury and we will find the right deal for you.
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- Local business