Tributes flow for media man who broke the story of the Rena
Friday, 16 September 2022
Brian Rogers, the co-founder and owner of the Bay of Plenty media company behind SunLive and The Weekend Sun newspaper, has passed away after a long battle with cancer. He was 61.
Rogers formed Sun Media 22 years ago alongside his wife Claire, launching what would go on to become one of New Zealand’s most read community newspapers.
Other titles under the Sun Media banner included rural newspaper Coast & Country and Waterline Magazine, and in 2009 the couple created SunLive - an online news site specialising in breaking stories from around the region.
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From humble beginnings on 2nd Avenue in the centre of Tauranga, with little more than his mother’s car and a bicycle, the company went on to occupy one of the city’s oldest and most prominent buildings at No. 1 The Strand, which remains Sun Media’s home to this day.
Rogers made headlines of his own in 2011 when the cargo vessel Rena struck Ōtāiti - Astrolabe Reef approximately 12 nautical miles off the coast of Tauranga and grounded.
A member of the local Coastguard, Rogers was the first journalist on the scene of what would become one of New Zealand’s biggest environmental disasters, arriving in his seven-metre alloy Pelin pontoon.
Speaking on the 10th anniversary of the grounding, Rogers remembered his initial thoughts as the magnitude of the situation sank in. “I wasted no time in launching and getting out to the reef,” he said, ‘hoping that it wasn’t a serious incident.
“Unfortunately, as history has played out, that wasn’t to be the case.
“The worldwide media, and even the national media, were slow for this to register. It was a day or two before it really kicked into gear, but when it did Tauranga was on the map for all the wrong reasons.”
Rogers was also renowned locally for Rogers Rabbits - a satirical, forthright and often deeply political weekly column in The Weekend Sun that delighted and infuriated the local community in equal measure each Friday.
Former National Party leader Simon Bridges – a contributor to The Weekend Sun for many years in his capacity as MP for Tauranga – paid tribute to Rogers’ “laugh-out-loud but cutting” style.
“Brian was an independent media pioneer who managed to be hugely successful in the business year after year when many others couldn’t,” said Bridges.
“This was through business savvy, providing readers with what they wanted - as radical as that was - and his wicked sense of humour. His Rogers Rabbits column was often laugh-out-loud funny while cutting all at once.
“Brian was also a guy with a fiercely strong sense of justice. While not everyone would always agree with him, he knew where he stood and would stand his ground on things that mattered.
“He was also a strong family man and my heart goes out to them right now. We will all miss him.”
Bay of Plenty MP Todd Muller has also penned a regular column for The Weekend Sun, and hailed Rogers for “showcasing the best of us” through local journalism.
“Brian was a man who loved his community,” said Muller. “He was passionate about giving a voice to our successes, challenges, wisdom and idiosyncrasies.
“He was particularly interested in the often overlooked stories of locals showcasing the best of us. He was a smart businessman who loved his community and had a very witty sense of life. I miss his Rogers’ Rabbitings.
“He will be missed, and my deepest condolences go to Claire and their wider family.”
The Weekend Sun became a regular winner at the annual New Zealand Community Newspaper Association awards across various categories, and president David Mackenzie recognised the part Rogers played in producing such consistency.
“Brian was a stalwart of independent community newspapers and the role that they play,” said Mackenzie. “He was a loyal supporter of the association and active in many ways.
“To have the initiative to start a paper like The Weekend Sun from nothing, and to build it up to what it is today with the loyal following that it has, needs to be recognised, as does Brian’s focus, dedication and passion.
“It’s the love and the energy from both Brian and Claire that has kept the paper going. In a challenging time for the industry it has continued to thrive. My deepest condolences go to Claire and her family.”
Tauranga Business Chamber chief executive Matt Cowley called Rogers an “incredibly strong supporter of small businesses” across the Bay of Plenty.
“Along with his wife Claire, he was committed to sharing knowledge with business owners, while also putting a spotlight on up-and-coming businesses to recognise their local journeys,” said Cowley.
“What started as a humble media outlet has won various national awards for its journalism and commitment to telling local stories. Brian will be celebrated for following his passion and turning it into the successful business that so many people have come to love and enjoy.”
As well as his role in local journalism, Rogers was a qualified skipper, a keen musician and a frequent fisherman and kayaker in the waters of the Bay of Plenty and Coromandel.
A social media post announcing the news called Rogers a “most beloved husband, father, grandfather, son, brother, uncle and friend to many”.
“He has sailed his last ocean, paddled his last river, drummed his last beat, caught his last fish, written his last word,” it read.