Samoa's successful daily newspaper, the Samoa Observer, has launched a New Zealand edition in Auckland to meet demand from local Samoans for news from home.
The newspaper group's editor-in-chief Savea Sano Malifa, says 3500 copies of the first edition have rolled off the press but it's too early to say how many sold.
Savea, who founded the paper as a weekly publication in 1978, says launching the product has been a costly operation but he hopes to expand into other parts of New Zealand eventually.
The newspaper will come out several times a week and will feature news from the islands and stories about local Samoan communities.
"We're happy to be in Auckland and to have a newspaper facility that will be of service to the Samoan communities around New Zealand. And we'll try to do the best we can to keep them abreast of what's happening in their home country."
Savea says that paper was set up to target a niche market, not to compete with existing newspapers in Auckland.
